So much for the NBA Finals being a cake walk. Make no mistake-- the Lakers are still the heavy favorites in this one. But at least Orlando proved they can show up on the stage, and could very well take a game or perhaps even two at home. Hedo Turkoglu was very good--especially on Kobe at the end of the 4th and in OT. His length bothered Kobe enough to prevent a step back jumper, and even though Kobe is about 1.5 steps faster, that great swat at the end of regulation was huge.
Another plus for Orlando--Stan Van Gundy is a very good coach. His players may hate him (he calls them out more than any other coach in the league), but he always puts them in a position to succeed. The lob play to Courtney Lee obviously didn't work, but it was a great design, and if Lee catches the ball a little sooner and doesn't get caught behind the backboard, the magic would have stolen one.
As for the Lake show, Pau Gasol was much more aggressive. He is probably the only Laker other than Kobe to get borderline calls (there was very little contact on his and one in OT, and that pushing call on Dwight Howard was suspect at best). And the Lakers also did very well at the line, hitting 86 percent of their freebies.
One more huge factor for LA--Lamar Odom great defense on Rashard Lewis down the stretch. Lewis hit that one three where contorted his body and sneakers to stay inbounds and behind the arc. Otherwise, he was pretty quiet for Orlando--at least late (only 2 FGs in last 11 minutes of the game).
Game 3 should be interesting... which is more than I thought I would be able to say about game 2 after Thursday's opener.
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Welp, I called it. Don't be surprised, brother - it's a series that is turning competitive.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I'd say "welp, I called it," Evan... You were pretty confident of that Lakers in 5 call. I don't think a 4-1 series can be defined as competitive, even if one or two games ends up being close.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I agree with the call on Rashard Lewis...it's pretty hard to say he was pretty quiet, even if you put that "at least late" disclaimer in there. He was quiet late, but the guy still had 34 points. 34 pts from Rashard Lewis sounds like a big win for the Magic, if you ask me.
Van Gundy does call out his players! His post game interviews drive me crazy!! He is either calling out his players or saying the blame is his fault for not drawing up a good enough play (which I htink he's done everytime his team has lost on a last second shot in the playoffs). What's up with this constant blame game. I don't like it. If I was a Magic fan or player, it would really piss me off.
Lee's shot at the buzzer was a great play (as was Hedo's block on Kobe). Gotta feel for the guy. If I remember correclty he had a great drive and fairly open look at the basket the play before as well, which would have put the magic up then too. Rough for a rookie...but I guess that's part of the game.
Lamar Odom, 8-9 by the way...most of them outside. Wow. Did not see that one coming...
I'm sticking with the Lakers in 5 scenario... Game 3 is obviously a win or die for the Magic.