Yesterday we were too caught up in Sunday's Game 7 victory over the now-vacationing Boston Celtics to do Music Monday. So, we're going to do it on Tuesday, again. Since we are looking forward to tomorrow's Game 1 in Cleveland, today we have Bone Thugs In Harmony and "Cleveland is the City."

The lyrics are a bit, umm, let's say NSFW so I'm not going to post them. But hey, "Cleveland Rocks."

At the height of the SVG/D12 drama following Game 5, ESPN writer Bill Simmons had a chat during Game 6 in Orlando. It was an exercise in pounding Dwight, Stan, and everything not Boston. Here are the highlights:

Matt (Colorado): Dwight Howard is becoming the most overrated player in the league, and everyone is starting to realize it. What can he do on offense beside dunk? Then he calls out his coach, when it's the team's fault for the choke job, he has a lot of work to do to become a premier center in this league in my mind.

Bill Simmons: My issue is that he's not getting better, and also, he gets worse at the end of games. He's like Ben Wallace with a jump hook.

Bill Simmons: How fitting is it that Patrick Ewing coaches Dwight Howard? That's like Keanu Reeves taking Paul Walker under his wing.

Jared (Houston, TX): You just haven't seen SVG's good suits yet; you have to catch him either on the set at Vivid or on Olive Garden Wednesdays.

Karma (Everywhere, USA): Sorry, I can't stay and type very long. I need to get back to haunting Dwight Howard.

Kevin (Sioux Falls, SD): Dan Aykroyd just announced they're making Celtic Pride 2. The plot involves making sure SVG gets to the game on time.

Tom, New York: Halftime, just enough time for SVG to tell his team exactly how to gain the lead only to blow it in the 4th quarter, and also shoot two low budget films and polish off a cheesesteak.

Miner (San Francisco): I read an SI article about Dwight Howard that talked about how he and his boys get all decked out, go out to the clubs and bars, and don't drink at all. I don't like him anymore.

Brad, Bloomington, IN: Could Ron Jeremy have coached the Magic better this series?

Joe (Bristol): Um, you're not including Hanks' world class turn as Charlie Wilson? That was a HOF performance for so many reasons.

Bill Simmons: Great point. That was a potentially great movie that Julia Roberts murdered like SVG murdered Orlando's 2009 season. 15 rebounds for Rondo!

Bill Simmons: Come on ESPN - watch the Hedu closeups!! He already broke my HD tuner twice this spring.

Bill Simmons: That's not funny. Boston by one, end of the third. SVG interview coming. Watch how he repeats everything 3 times.

Bill Simmons: Notice that Orlando is playing that lineup I was afraid of? and winning all of a sudden? How dumb is SVG?

Bill Simmons: SVG Wired: "LISTEN! LISTEN WE GOTTA MAKE PLAYS! LISTEN!!!!" He might never work again.

Evilgrin72 (Orlando, FL): I'm going to beat the rush and start putting For Sale signs in SVG's yard right now. BRB.

So there you have it. That pretty much sums it up. My response: Boston is now 32 and FREAKING 1 when leading a best of 7 series 3-2.

Have a neat summer Celtics. That is all.

Image courtesy the Orlando Sentinel

The Big Train:

It was a good night for Magic fans. What we saw last night was a younger, more athletic, and less tired team go out and play the style they have played the entire year. Strong defense, led by Dwight Howard and his 5 blocks, and an offense that thrives off of that strong defense. Orlando was able to get out in the open court better than the previous 6 games of this series, which is really where Dwight is drastically better than any big in the game. His monstrous dunks in the 1st set the tone, and Orlando and their 3 pointers never looked back. Will everyone shut up about SVG now?

Paul Ego:

Like Stan said, if Orlando loses to Cleveland Wednesday night, he goes back to being an idiot again. It's a shame, really, when you consider what Orlando has done over the past two games. Backs against the wall, more pressure in games 6 and 7 than anything other game they have played in ages. Both elimination games, both seemingly perfect times for a "master of panic" to do just that. Both Magic wins in different, but impressive fashion. Magic going to the ECF's, can someone please remind me where the genius that is The Big Shaquego has been this post season?

Jareth Cutestory:

It's really simple. The Magic played THEIR game, and didn't play down to their opponent. The Magic were supposed to win this series, and did. They played an amazing 48 minutes of basketball, and proved why they are to be considered an elite team in the NBA. Now, they move on to Cleveland, a team everybody is ready to say is playing the Lakers in the Finals. I wouldn't crown them just yet, especially if this Game 7 Magic squad shows up for this series.

Maxwell Effort:

So how do you respond to 2 straight late game letdowns against the defending world champions? By absolutely turning up the defense and becoming the more assertive team at both ends of the floor. What the Magic did last night was remarkable. You could see it on KG's face on the bench, Pierce in the press conference, etc. They champions were finally defeated and there was nothing they could have done. The Magic were simply the better team and went out and put an emphatic stamp on this series.

Frank Frank:

PANIC?....We're talking about Panic. And panic the Magic did not. Last night's series clincher speaks volumes on so many fronts, particularly on the maturity level of this squad, overcoming the odds despite adversity: 1) winning without Rafer Alston in game 3, 2) digging out game 6 despite Dwight's comments, 3) Crushing the C's on the road to win the series. The Magic were finally able to revert back to regular season form of burying teams with 3 point sharp shooting coupled with suffocating defense. This is what the Magic are capable of on any given night, and we should have seen a lot more of this during the playoffs thus far. No use in dwelling on the past, it's now time to look forward and focus on Cleveland. If the Magic continue playing with the hunger they did last night, and try to block from their memories that fact that we trounced Cleveland both times in Orlando this year so as to not build complacency, we're in for a fantastic series.

Supply and Demand:

Even without KG, Boston is exactly the type of team that gives us fits. Physical, pushing, grabbing, hacking, flopping to the point they stretch the officiating to gain every advantage possible. Taking out the defending World Champions on their home court in a game 7 in such a decisive manner should help this team get rid of the “soft” label that has been long stuck on them. Bring on the Cavs!

El Fantasma:

Wow, what else can be said. I mean I was sure the Magic would lose. I was extremely happy that we got game 6, I would be able to watch one more game before the season ended. I was happy with giving Boston hell, while our guys grow in experience and learn how to play in the playoffs, you know get them ready for the near future. What a surprise to see my Magic go and whoop some Celtic ***. I mean it wasn't even close. How happy was I to see KG shut the F up. Then how cool was to hear Chuck and Chris Webber pick the Magic to beat the Cavs. I am excited to see the Magic go one more step into the goal. Can't wait to see the series. Here's hoping to a long and exciting series.

I 3 Freely:

Last night’s Game 7 was a study in how a team can perform when all of its players are playing to their individual strengths, but complementing, not hindering, the strengths of their teammates. The Orlando Magic maintained a lead over the Celtics for most of the game, but kicked it up a notch at the start of the all-important fourth quarter. The Magic showed in this game that this was a series that really shouldn’t have been much of a series. The Magic really hurt themselves in Games 5 and 6 and allowed the Celtics to keep this thing going and even gain the upper hand. However, I refuse to give the Celtics too much of the credit, primarily because anyone and everyone has been giving them all the credit and so little to us. If that makes me a homer, fine...but this is a homer who is extremely pleased to see so many Celtics fans – especially the famous ones – down and out right now.

You wanna know how good it felt to thump the Celtics?

The AP game recap has this BS: "And there was no panic this time. Just a lot of Magic."

AND I DON'T EVEN CARE!

In a world where Charlie Brown never kicks the football, the Buccaneers always have a terrible O-line and taxes are always too high, the Magic actually increased a fourth quarter lead.

Hedo Turkoglu deserves a lot of credit(which he's already getting on TNT as I type), but the man who won't get nearly enough is one Mickael Pietrus. Wow.

17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal in 24 minutes, to go along with some absolutely epic defensive effort on Pierce and Allen. They simply could get nothing open. Credit to Courtney Lee as well for being an absolute nightmare for Eddie House, and for making one of the greatest recoveries I've ever seen to block Ray Allen's layup late. Amazing.

Lord, even Stan was smiling in the locker room. That's how you know it went right.

Look who is going to the Eastern Conference Finals!!

It is moments like these why I love sports. It is because when your team comes out and plays beautiful basketball from beginning to end on both ends of the floor you cannot wipe the smile off of your face. Tonight was the perfect storm. Hedo played absolutely his best game of the year, Dwight controlled the rim, and the 3 ball was dropping from everywhere from everyone. It was just one of those nights where you cannot believe your eyes and you do not want to forget.

At some point we will have to break down and worry about the Lebrons. But for now we rejoice in what was the biggest Magic victory since 1996. Heck tomorrow I might even enjoy the puns.

Dwight showed up and played his best game of the series, which was pretty much the only option for him after his post-Game 5 rant. His 10 offensive rebounds were huge considering Orlando shot only 36.6% from the field. Hedo is continuing to prove that he probably isn't worth the money he was hoping to get after he opts out of his contract this summer. He had just as many FG's as turnovers: 3. And finally, if were coaching this team for Game 7 on Sunday... Shard in the post. All. Day. Long. Ohh, what's up with JJ?

Paul Ego:

The Magic continue to show that they have the talent in place to win even on off nights. Anyone who still thinks this team lives and dies by the three point shot simply hasn't heard of defense. Way to respond under pressure from Boston and an elimination game.

Special guest... HighClassTrash:

Kudos to Dwight for taking care of business in the midst of the media's admonishment of his comments from Tuesday. I think he handled the entire situation very maturely by meeting with Stan privately and admitting publicly that he should have approached the situation differently. I also really liked the advice that Jameer gave Dwight: "handle your business like a man, to his face." On another note, Rashard Lewis is finally earning his money, ya feel me? Is there anyone on the Celtics who can guard him? If the Magic expect to have a chance in game 7, Rashard Lewis is going to have to play like a 118 million dollar monster (blended with a steady dose of Dwight Howard offensive rebounds). PS, can someone do us all a favor and kneecap JJ Redick? Thank you.

The Nickel Steak:

I hate harping on the same **** thing over and over, but our movement away from the ball continues to be a disgrace. I'll explain this in more detail later, I'm sure, but how we manage to zone two players out of the possession every time Dwight gets the ball in the post is quizzical to me.In other news, Rashard continues to destroy whomever is guarding him, Hedo and JJ continue to play baffling badly, and Dwight is Dwight. I'm really looking forward to seeing Dwight after a full offseason of working on his game. I don't know if he's actually had that before this year.

Maxwell Effort:

This team finally showed some fortitude and some fight as they were able to muster enough at the end to finally get one of these close games to go the way of the good guys. I am just as impressed by Dwight's energy and his leading by example by doing everything he could at both ends of the floor to keep his team in the game.

I 3 Freely:

Beyond any in depth analysis of how the Magic played last night I want to point out this one not-so-small fact: the Orlando Magic won an elimination playoff game. For a team with a history of being swept out of the playoffs, this can't be stressed enough.Sure, technically we won one in the 2001 first round against the Bucks, but that was the only game we won in that series. And who can forget the tremendous back-to-back 40 point games from Penny Hardaway in Games 3 and 4 of the First Round series against the Heat in 1997.But neither of those instances can compare in significance to the Game 6 victory last night in the 2nd round against Boston. The Magic had control of this series and then lost it in Games 4 and 5, losing those games in two very different, but equally heartbreaking ways. You have to go back to Game 7 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers to find a Magic team that showed enough heart - no matter how imperfect the performance - to stay alive. The question is whether or not we will get an encore performance on Sunday.