Amway Center continues to impress as a building and arena experience even three years into its existence.

Stadium Journey Magazine has once again ranked Amway Center among the top arena experiences in the league, coming in third place in this year's poll of NBA stadiums. The Amway Center ranked second in last year's poll behind only the Staples Center in Los Angeles for Lakers game.

This year's poll has Amway Center third behind AT&T Center in San Antonio and Staples Center (Lakers) in Los Angeles.

If having a gorgeous place to watch a game is why you come to the place, then it is outstanding. It is very upscale, even if you are in the cheap seats. The employees there are among the friendliest stadium workers in the business. They really go out of their way. They have something for everyone, including a play area for the little kids. Even outside the arena, walking in and going up the escalators to your seats is impressive. The streets are clean and the arena is lit up in Magic Blue lights. The lobby looks like something you'd find in an airport. For "WOW" it is hard to beat.

The poll takes into account the overall stadium experience including the price of concessions, in-stadium atmosphere, the neighborhood the stadium is located and "return on investment."

Paul Swaney of Stadium Journey Magazine said the reason the Amway Center dropped from second to third in the league was because of the in-game atmosphere at the stadium, something he attributed to the team's overall record and performance.

The Magic were not a strong team this season, but still did decently in attendance. They ranked 16th in the league in attendance this year according to Basketball-Reference, averaging 17,596 in attendance per game.

The criticisms of the Amway Center crowd experience still exist. Fans are still often late to return to their seats after halftime and the crowd can be disinterested at times. However, when the game gets tight or when it is a big game, Magic fans are as good as any others in the league. The team's poor record certainly affects interest on the court.

It will be interesting to see how the atmosphere might change when the Magic complete the entertainment district they have planned for the property across the street from Amway Center. That is still in its planning phases and is at least three years away from being realized. By then, hopefully the novelty of Amway Center has not worn off and the stadium is still delighting fans.

Mark Jackson was faced witha difficult dilemma entering his team's second matchup with Denver in the Playoffs. With David Lee out for the Postseason thanks to a torn hip flexor, Jackson asked his assistant coaches to talk him out of starting point guard Jarrett Jack alongside Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry.

They gave him the go-ahead and the rest was history. Golden State evened up its series behind a 64 percent shooting night, one of the great offensive performances in Playoff history. The move worked perfectly and seems to continue to work as Golden State's offense continued to efficiently hum along in Game Three on Friday night.

The Rockets were faced with a similar decision and opted to sit power forward Greg Smith for Game Two and commit to a small lineup by starting Patrick Beverly. It worked to some degree as Houston turned a 29-point Game One loss into a two-point Game Two loss.

Even the Celtics, looking for an offensive spark, opted to slide Jason Terry into the lineup and take out power forward Brandon Bass. That plan did not work as well as the other two, but the general idea was there. These teams wanted to spread the floor more and create defensive issues by putting as many shooters on the floor as possible -- sometimes defensive consequences be damned.

The power forward position has changed dramatically in the last decade. Perhaps it started with Mike D'Antoni putting Shawn Marion at power forward. The revolution in the NBA into positionless basketball largely happened in Orlando the last five years.

The 3-pointer is one of the most important shots in basketball. Offense are now completely built around it. The power forward is more or less dead. And the Magic might very well have started it. However, now the team is in transition and the franchise's relationship with the 3-pointer has completely changed.

The Magic signed Rashard Lewis to a max contract and change the NBA in four years. Stan Van Gundy, Orlando's recently hired coach, did something drastic in putting him at power forward instead of his traditional small forward. Van Gundy's idea was to spread the flor with 3-point shooters and let it fly with Dwight Howard drawing the defense into the paint.

Washington Wizards center Jason Collins came out as the first active openly gay player in American team sports Monday in an article in Sports Illustrated, a landmark moment in the gay rights movement and for acceptance in American culture.

I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay.

I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand.

Collins is a 12-year pro who has bounced around the league but has always been a model of professionalism and grit. He never cared about stats and was more likely to foul than score. He led the league in personal fouls and was often the guy teams sent in to foul hard and set screens. It was not a glamorous role. But as Collins writes, he did not care.

In his 12-year career, Collins has gone to the Playoffs nine times, including a turn as the "Dwight stopper" in the 2011 Playoffs. OK, so maybe Howard still averaged 27.0 points per game and 15.5 rebounds per game. However, Atlanta's willingness to defend Howard one on one using Collins stymied Orlando's outside shooting in Atlanta's six-game series win.

Collins should be remembered for that kind of grit and determination. In a perfect world, he would.

The Orlando Magic season is two weeks from its conclusion. The focus for the organization has slowly turned toward the NBA Draft and the next stage of the team's growth and development. The players have dispersed from Amway Center and from Orlando for a brief vacation and they will be going in and out of the city as they prep for the 2013-14 season. It is a long way away.

With the season freshly concluded, enough time has passed to really get into the nitty gritty and review the season.

I joined Sports Talk Florida's Mary Stevens and Eric Lopez and Magic Basketball Online's Adam Papageorgiou on Sunday for a discussion of all things Magic from a review of Jacque Vaughn's first year, who could be leaving the Magic this summer, what the future holds for Maurice Harkless and Tobias Harris and who the Magic might take in the upcoming NBA Draft.

It is an hour long podcast, but is well worth the listen. To take a listen you can click on the link above, or click here. I will hopefully be back later in the day as I continue my season recap with a look at What Went Right and What Went Wrong this season.

The Magic will be sending a reliable token of luck for the NBA Draft Lottery on May 21.

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports that Pat Williams will represent the Magic once again at the NBA Draft Lottery. Williams was present when the Magic won the Draft Lottery in 1992 (Shaquille O'Neal), 1993 (Anfernee Hardaway) and 2004 (Dwight Howard). The Magic are hoping that he can once again provide some luck and help the Magic get the No. 1 pick.

Of course, Williams has little to do with actually helping the Magic win the lottery. The lottery is conducted behind closed doors (overseen by Ernst & Young representatives) at the NBA's offices in Secaucus, N.J., before the envelopes are put in place for Adam Silver to reveal on national television.

Williams is the Magic's ultimate good luck charm. He came down from Philadelphia in the mid-1980s and helped Jim Hewitt fulfill his vision of bringing basketball to Central Florida. Williams has been a part of the Magic organization in some form or fashion ever since -- serving as the team's first general manager and then moving into an executive vice president role.

He is the ultimate salesman and if anyone can coax randomness his way, it is Williams. Those ping pong balls will not know what hit them.

The Draft is now two months away (exactly two months away -- June 28) and the Magic are going to begin bringing in prospects and working them out very soon. There is still the NBA Combine in Chicago to get through and, of course, the Lottery. The Magic are still doing their due diligence on the top prospects such as Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore, Trey Burke and Victor Oladipo among plenty others to be sure.

Rob Hennigan has his work cut out for him. He has surely begun his research and analysis with his scouting staff reviewing their thoughts from the scouting done during the season.

For now the waiting begins. At least the Magic have their Lottery ace in the hole ready to go.

Glen Davis is known for speaking his mind. He provided some of the most quotable moments of the season in his short playing time this season -- anyone remember "Opinions are like butt holes. Everyone has got one. Some of them stink." during the Magic's opening weekend?

Davis took the role of team captain seriously and was a leader on and off the floor. When he was injured, he was taking his energy and boisterousness out to the community.

For the first time in his career, Davis is not playing in the Playoffs and that certainly hurts him. He talked all season about the hunger to compete for a championship and that is an important presence on this team.

A little thing like staying home for the Playoffs is not going to keep Davis from being part of the Playoffs though. Davis is taking his turn as a member of the media this postseason (h/t Michael Brumagin of Sheridan Hoops):

Happy to announce that I will be a guest commentator throughout the playoffs with the @bleacherreport. Should be fun. Ayo Baby!!!

— Glen Davis (@iambigbaby11) April 25, 2013

Oh yeah, that is right, Davis is providing his Playoff thoughts for Bleacher Report. And Davis is providing his unique perspective on the postseason.

Over the next few weeks Orlando Magic Daily will be taking a look at the things that went right and wrong this season as Orlando ended its season with its first Lottery season in six years.

The season was a tough one to get through. It would have been easy to give in to despair pretty quickly and disparage the players on the team and the organization's fate. Dwight Howard put fans through the ringer and it would be difficult to trust someone again. The next star on this roster might have to deal with that collateral, emotional damage from that.

In Year One, post-Dwight, Magic fans generally left the season with a positive frame of mind. Orlando might have finished with the worst record in the league, but you would not know it from how fans talk about the team and the general direction it is going.

It is tough to find optimism when you are losing 10 games in a row multiple times, suffer through 62 losses and eight wins in the final 57 games. That would be plenty of reason to stop watching.

Yet, Jacque Vaughn and the young players on the roster helped put a positive sping on an otherwise frustrating season. It did not feel as bad as the record would suggest.

A lot of that credit could go to lowered expectations and the surprising emergence of several young players to build on for future years. A lot of that credit should also go to the way Jacque Vaughn approached this team.

Vaughn had a difficult task put ahead of him for his first year as a head coach. There were growing pains with his first year as he learned how to manage a roster and guide a team through a season. But one thing he certainly did well was keep his team playing hard and playing together through difficult losses.

There is not a whole ton for Magic fans to watch basketball-wise right now.

The Magic are not in the Playoffs and there are few players that would interest Magic fans. If you are watching the Playoffs, it is likely because you love basketball or are pining to fill an empty hole in your heart for Playoff basketball.

One player most Magic fans want to do well is J.J. Redick. Not only are his Milwaukee Bucks (still feels weird) playing up against the Magic's archrival Heat, but he is also one of the fan favorites. That standing ovation he received in his first game back in Orlando was something very organic and was a showing of appreciation for the first six full seasons of his career.

The trade though gave Redick the opportunity to play in the Playoffs, something he had said was important for him although he understood where the Magic were in the rebuilding franchise. The Playoffs though have not been so kind to Redick so far.

Not a lot was expected for the Bucks this postseason. Milwaukee may have acquired Redick expecting to climb a few spots too. That obviously did not happen. But I think we all expected to be seeing more Redick than we have so far.

Entering tonight's Game Three in Milwaukee, Redick has seen only 24 minutes of Playoff action scoring eight points and three assists while shooting two for seven from the floor. With the Bucks this season, Redick averaged 12.3 points per game and 2.7 assists per game in 28.7 minutes per game.

So why has Redick seen his minutes drastically cut? Cut to the point that he played in only 7:47 of Milwaukee's Game Two loss?

For Magic fans, it is beyond belief. It is beyond belief for many national commentators include SB Nation's Tom Ziller.

Milwaukee has two gunners for guards in Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings. Redick could only help these guys spread the floor and maybe add a guy who could make plays for others as he had shown some ability to do in Orlando. Milwaukee has often run a three-guard lineup featuring all three of these guards. It is probably their best bet offensively.

Even at their best though, they probably were not going to be able to crack the Heat. As we saw in Game Two, the Heat are very capable of just flipping a switch and blowing a team out in 12 minutes as they did in the fourth quarter Tuesday. If the Bucks are lookign to steal Game Three and make this a series, they will need Redick.

If Milwaukee continues to keep one of its best offensive options on the bench (without any real reason), it could be a quick exit for a magic fan favorite.

Over the next few weeks Orlando Magic Daily will be taking a look at the things that went right and wrong this season as Orlando ended its season with its first Lottery season in six years.

The long-term picture for the Magic looks relatively bright. There is young talent, high draft picks and cap space on the horizon. The long-term view requires patience and heartache. There will be more difficult seasons ahead as the Magic try to build back up. And some luck will be needed.

The future might look bright but it is still the future. It is still uncertain and can take many winding paths.

What we know is the present. And in reviewing this season in isolation, it was a a major struggle.

Orlando was 20-62, the second worst record in franchise history. The Magic finished with the worst record in the league for just the second time in its 24-year history. No way around it, finishing with the worst record in the NBA is a bad thing.

Or maybe it isn't. After all, if you want to build through the draft, you have to lose a little bit to get those high draft picks. The Magic are getting their high draft pick. Mission accomplished.

But the point is to win games. And the Magic did not do that.

Quite simply, whether intentional or not, this Magic roster was not built to win and some guys who played extremely hard were met with the disappointment of losing. You could see it as the days dragged on in January and February. Arron Afflalo was quietly trying to push the team to bigger heights, tempering wins and instilling a hunger to win. Jameer Nelson did that too, and Glen Davis seemed to take losing personally.

Over the next few weeks Orlando Magic Daily will be taking a look at the things that went right and wrong this season as Orlando ended its season with its first Lottery season in six years.

When Rob Hennigan took over the job as general manager of the Orlando Magic a little more than a year ago, he had a lot on his plate.

There was still a discontent superstar with an uncertain future demanding a trade as his team lost leverage with each passing minute. Hennigan put his staff in place, reorganized the Magic's front office and hired an inexperienced coach to lead what would become a development movement.

Hennigan had little time and little leverage to make a Dwight Howard deal happen. Howard was calling the shots and demanded -- more or less -- Brooklyn, Los Angeles or bust. It was seemingly clear he would not be returning to Orlando.

Then Hennigan pulled the trigger on the trade that likely will define him as a general manager and make or break his tenure with Orlando in many ways. He had to tear the whole thing down and give the Magic the best chance to build back up to create the "sustainability" the franchise wants so desperately.

The 30-year-old first-time general manager was almost universally panned for trading Dwight Howard, Earl Clark, Chris Duhon and Jason Richardson to the Lakers and Sixers for Nikola Vucevic, Arron Afflalo, Maurice Harkless and Al Harrington plus a group of future picks that have some complex protections and conditions on them.

The move, at the time, seemed like a bad one. Orlando elected not to receive either of the two All Stars involved in the trade -- Andrew Bynum went to Philadelphia while Andre Iguodala went to Denver -- and did not press for Pau Gasol from the Lakers to replace Howard in the middle. For those expecting the Magic to continue competing in the 2013 season, it was a big loss.