Cleveland Cavaliers 90
Orlando Magic 103
Orlando Wins Series 4-2
Not this year, Cleveland. A city so desperate for a championship after a 45-year drought will have to wait a little longer. This, of course, is in no way the fault of LeBron James. The King had another stellar performance, but once again, his team was unable to provide him with enough support to overcome another great effort by the Orlando Magic. So instead of the Kobe-LeBron dream Finals everyone thought was inevitable, Kobe's Lakers now get to deal with stopping Superman, Dwight Howard.
The Magic executed a flawless gameplan, going inside to Howard early and often, and he rang up 40 points on the night. When Howard wasn't scoring down low, he was either at the line (where he impressed again, hitting 12-of-16) or drawing double teams that left his shooters open (12 3-pointers). The Magic controlled the boards, outrebounding the Cavs by 13 and managed to stay in control all game. In fact, Cleveland did not lead at any point during the contest. So 14 years after being led to the Finals by a dominant center in Shaquille O'Neal, the Magic are going back on the shoulders of their new dominant big guy.
Cleveland has an interesting offseason ahead of them. Obviously, the focus will again be on giving LeBron James enough of a supporting cast to win it all. Everyone thought that's what they had this season, and this group helped LeBron win MVP and the Cavs to an NBA-best 66-16 record. On top of that, the Cavaliers rolled through the first two series of the playoffs (combined 8-0) before running into a confident Magic team that was playing its best basketball of the playoffs and just presented so many matchup problems for the Cavs. I don't think Cleveland should overreact. They have a good team with good role players that fit, they just didn't play well in this series. I think the Lakers had a lot of criticism about them after the Finals loss to Boston last year, but they didn't overhaul the roster. Granted, it helped to know that they would be getting Andrew Bynum back, but still, they resisted doing anything drastic. I think Cleveland should ignore the inevitable questions of how good the supporting cast is because obviously, it was good enough for 66 wins (plus 10 more in the playoffs), just underperformed at the wrong time.
Coming up on TSG, we will break down the upcoming NBA Finals between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers. Stay tuned!
Showing posts with label Orlando Magic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Orlando Magic. Show all posts
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Eastern Conference Finals - Game 5 Recap
Orlando Magic 102
Cleveland Cavaliers 112
Orlando Leads Series 3-2
Let me just say this....that is not how you punch a ticket to the NBA Finals. It seems that if Orlando was just able to keep things close in the 1st quarter at Cleveland, they would have won this series already. But in each of the 3 games at Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs have jumped out to HUGE early leads. Now each time, Orlando has chipped away and gotten back in the game, but spending the rest of the game just trying to dig yourselves out of that hole takes a lot of energy. And despite coming back to take the lead in both Games 2 and 5, Orlando has taken a loss.
Once again, LeBron did his thing. Only this time, he got enough help from his supporting cast to be in control most of the way. Mo Williams finally found his shot and hit six 3-pointers on his way to a series-best 24 points. In fact, Williams' Game 5 performance was the first time in this series anyone on the Cavs roster outside of LeBron reached the 20-point plateau in a game. Zydrunas Ilgauskas tallied 16, Delonte West had 13, and Daniel Gibson, an afterthought for most of this series, came off the bench to score 11.
The Magic on the other hand, just fell behind and when they got back into the game, couldn't come up with a finishing burst to put away the Cavs. They shot 46% for the game, but that number included a woeful 1-for-10 from Rafer Alston (1-for-7 from 3-point) and 4-for-13 from Rashard Lewis. The Magic didn't help themselves by missing 13 free throws. But what they can do is focus on the parts of the game where they did thoroughly outplay the Cavs, and take that gameplan back to Orlando to try and finish the series in Game 6. Back at home, the Magic have been able to prevent the fast starts the Cavs have gotten in Cleveland, and if they do, I like them to close it out.
If not, the Magic are going to be in an incredibly difficult situation of trying to take a Game 7 from LeBron and the Cavs on their home floor.
Cleveland Cavaliers 112
Orlando Leads Series 3-2
Let me just say this....that is not how you punch a ticket to the NBA Finals. It seems that if Orlando was just able to keep things close in the 1st quarter at Cleveland, they would have won this series already. But in each of the 3 games at Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs have jumped out to HUGE early leads. Now each time, Orlando has chipped away and gotten back in the game, but spending the rest of the game just trying to dig yourselves out of that hole takes a lot of energy. And despite coming back to take the lead in both Games 2 and 5, Orlando has taken a loss.
Once again, LeBron did his thing. Only this time, he got enough help from his supporting cast to be in control most of the way. Mo Williams finally found his shot and hit six 3-pointers on his way to a series-best 24 points. In fact, Williams' Game 5 performance was the first time in this series anyone on the Cavs roster outside of LeBron reached the 20-point plateau in a game. Zydrunas Ilgauskas tallied 16, Delonte West had 13, and Daniel Gibson, an afterthought for most of this series, came off the bench to score 11.
The Magic on the other hand, just fell behind and when they got back into the game, couldn't come up with a finishing burst to put away the Cavs. They shot 46% for the game, but that number included a woeful 1-for-10 from Rafer Alston (1-for-7 from 3-point) and 4-for-13 from Rashard Lewis. The Magic didn't help themselves by missing 13 free throws. But what they can do is focus on the parts of the game where they did thoroughly outplay the Cavs, and take that gameplan back to Orlando to try and finish the series in Game 6. Back at home, the Magic have been able to prevent the fast starts the Cavs have gotten in Cleveland, and if they do, I like them to close it out.
If not, the Magic are going to be in an incredibly difficult situation of trying to take a Game 7 from LeBron and the Cavs on their home floor.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Coach of the Year Being Outcoached?
In what has to be the oddest of occurrences, are we really seeing the NBA Coach of the Year allowing himself to be outcoached by a man that has been incessantly criticized by both the media as well as current and former players for his fiery demeanor and causing his team to wilt under pressure? Yes. Is that same Stan Van Gundy now one win away from the NBA Finals, having built a commanding 3-1 lead in the East Finals over the presumptive title favorites? Yes.
Say what you will about his antics, words, involvement with Shaq (or Ben Wallace), or anything else, but SVG is pushing all the right buttons in this series. He is force-feeding Dwight Howard in the post against a Cleveland front line that has absolutely no answer. Even though his big man has gotten into foul trouble, Van Gundy is not hesitant to go right back into him as soon as he reenters the game. Running the offense through Howard has opened up the floor for the shooters that the Magic surround Superman with. In case you haven't heard the Magic like to hoist threes, and when open, they're pretty darn good at knocking them down, including 17 in Game 4 alone. But the real achievment is SVG channeling his inner Phil Jackson and maybe using some old-fashioned reverse psychology on his counterpart.
This man openly admitted that he had NO ANSWER for stopping LeBron James. And you know what? That's exactly what he wants James to think. Because as we are seeing, LeBron cannot do this by himself. He put up 44 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists last night, but the Cavs couldn't get the win. He ALMOST got them that win (and bailed them out in Game 2) but playing this way, his team is one loss from elimination. Van Gundy knows they can't contain LeBron, but knows that LeBron going off is Plan A versus a Plan B that includes James getting all of his teammates involved and getting that Cavalier offensive machine that was so in tune in the first 2 rounds rolling again. So SVG is publicly admiring LeBron's freakishly good game, but privately glowing about how the rest of his team is locking down Mo Williams, Delonte West and the rest of the James Gang. LeBron is being forced to do EVERYTHING and it doesn't always end well. For that ridiculous stat line shown above, he also had 8 turnovers, 3 in OT alone. So while Van Gundy may be walking a tightrope by having LeBron put up such great stats, he's also survived that tightrope trot 3 times out of 4, with them being one incredible shot away from a sweep. If the Magic win Game 5, this could replace the 2004 NBA Finals as the "5-Game Sweep."
On the other side, Mike Brown just looks clueless, like he usually does. I still believe he was a terrible choice for COY, as detailed in this comment on Who Lurks back in early May. But he is openly admitting that he's just gonna ride LeBron, instead of trying to figure out a new way to play against the Oralndo Magic. Newsflash, Coach Brown: You've lost 10 of 14 to this team over the past 3 seasons. TRY SOMETHING ELSE! Otherwise, this season and maybe the best opportunity to keep LeBron in a Cavs uniform for his entire career, could be gone in an instant. On defense, maybe try a page from Van Gundy's book and force Dwight Howard to really be Superman. Sure, he may put up some ridiculous numbers against your soft, undersized front line, but Dwight's overall offensive repertoire is limited. Obviously, half-assing your double teams is still allowing Dwight to go for his share, while opening up enough shots for the Magic to hit 42 threes in 4 games.
If this series doesn't do an immediate 180, we will be seeing a Van Gundy coaching in the finals one season after Doc Rivers, and that would seriously be a shocker.
Say what you will about his antics, words, involvement with Shaq (or Ben Wallace), or anything else, but SVG is pushing all the right buttons in this series. He is force-feeding Dwight Howard in the post against a Cleveland front line that has absolutely no answer. Even though his big man has gotten into foul trouble, Van Gundy is not hesitant to go right back into him as soon as he reenters the game. Running the offense through Howard has opened up the floor for the shooters that the Magic surround Superman with. In case you haven't heard the Magic like to hoist threes, and when open, they're pretty darn good at knocking them down, including 17 in Game 4 alone. But the real achievment is SVG channeling his inner Phil Jackson and maybe using some old-fashioned reverse psychology on his counterpart.
This man openly admitted that he had NO ANSWER for stopping LeBron James. And you know what? That's exactly what he wants James to think. Because as we are seeing, LeBron cannot do this by himself. He put up 44 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists last night, but the Cavs couldn't get the win. He ALMOST got them that win (and bailed them out in Game 2) but playing this way, his team is one loss from elimination. Van Gundy knows they can't contain LeBron, but knows that LeBron going off is Plan A versus a Plan B that includes James getting all of his teammates involved and getting that Cavalier offensive machine that was so in tune in the first 2 rounds rolling again. So SVG is publicly admiring LeBron's freakishly good game, but privately glowing about how the rest of his team is locking down Mo Williams, Delonte West and the rest of the James Gang. LeBron is being forced to do EVERYTHING and it doesn't always end well. For that ridiculous stat line shown above, he also had 8 turnovers, 3 in OT alone. So while Van Gundy may be walking a tightrope by having LeBron put up such great stats, he's also survived that tightrope trot 3 times out of 4, with them being one incredible shot away from a sweep. If the Magic win Game 5, this could replace the 2004 NBA Finals as the "5-Game Sweep."
On the other side, Mike Brown just looks clueless, like he usually does. I still believe he was a terrible choice for COY, as detailed in this comment on Who Lurks back in early May. But he is openly admitting that he's just gonna ride LeBron, instead of trying to figure out a new way to play against the Oralndo Magic. Newsflash, Coach Brown: You've lost 10 of 14 to this team over the past 3 seasons. TRY SOMETHING ELSE! Otherwise, this season and maybe the best opportunity to keep LeBron in a Cavs uniform for his entire career, could be gone in an instant. On defense, maybe try a page from Van Gundy's book and force Dwight Howard to really be Superman. Sure, he may put up some ridiculous numbers against your soft, undersized front line, but Dwight's overall offensive repertoire is limited. Obviously, half-assing your double teams is still allowing Dwight to go for his share, while opening up enough shots for the Magic to hit 42 threes in 4 games.
If this series doesn't do an immediate 180, we will be seeing a Van Gundy coaching in the finals one season after Doc Rivers, and that would seriously be a shocker.
Eastern Conference Finals - Game 4 Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 114
Orlando Magic 116
Orlando Leads Series 3-1
Talk about two of the game's best doing all they can to will their team to a crucial win. Last night, both Dwight Howard and LeBron James were hellbent on getting the W in an all-important Game 4. In the end, Dwight's brawn and supporting cast were enough to squeak by King James and the Cavs (again), and the Magic head back to Cleveland with the opportunity to close out this series in Game 5.
After a back-and-forth ending to regulation that saw Rashard Lewis hit another huge 3-pointer, LeBron hit the two biggest free throws of his life with .5 seconds remaining to force the extra period. In OT, Howard absolutely bullied Anderson Varejao. Twice, Howard got position on the block, took the pass, and just backed Varejao underneath the rim before throwing down a rim-rattling dunk. Of course, Cleveland wasn't throwing a much-needed second defender at Superman because they were staying home on the Orlando sharp-shooters that hit a franchise playoff-record 17 treys.
But LeBron answered Howard's thunder with some lightning of his own, erasing a six-point Magic lead with 7 points of his own, including a ridiculous 3 while falling out of bounds to keep the Cavs within one possession in the waning seconds. However, the Cavs were ultimately undone by the fact that LeBron once again received little help from his teammates. James didn't help matters any by committing 8 turnovers, including 3 in the OT, to go along with his otherwise sparkling stat line of 44 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Now the Cavs are faced with trying to become only the 9th team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series. Just for perspective, for the 8 that have succeeded, 182 teams have closed the door on a comeback. This franchise knows that it can't be put in a better situation than they have this season if they want to win an NBA Championship before LeBron hits free agency next summer. If they can't come up with a comeback for the ages, they could seriously be looking at just one more season in which The King could deliver a title to a championship-starved Cleveland.
Orlando Magic 116
Orlando Leads Series 3-1
Talk about two of the game's best doing all they can to will their team to a crucial win. Last night, both Dwight Howard and LeBron James were hellbent on getting the W in an all-important Game 4. In the end, Dwight's brawn and supporting cast were enough to squeak by King James and the Cavs (again), and the Magic head back to Cleveland with the opportunity to close out this series in Game 5.
After a back-and-forth ending to regulation that saw Rashard Lewis hit another huge 3-pointer, LeBron hit the two biggest free throws of his life with .5 seconds remaining to force the extra period. In OT, Howard absolutely bullied Anderson Varejao. Twice, Howard got position on the block, took the pass, and just backed Varejao underneath the rim before throwing down a rim-rattling dunk. Of course, Cleveland wasn't throwing a much-needed second defender at Superman because they were staying home on the Orlando sharp-shooters that hit a franchise playoff-record 17 treys.
But LeBron answered Howard's thunder with some lightning of his own, erasing a six-point Magic lead with 7 points of his own, including a ridiculous 3 while falling out of bounds to keep the Cavs within one possession in the waning seconds. However, the Cavs were ultimately undone by the fact that LeBron once again received little help from his teammates. James didn't help matters any by committing 8 turnovers, including 3 in the OT, to go along with his otherwise sparkling stat line of 44 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Now the Cavs are faced with trying to become only the 9th team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series. Just for perspective, for the 8 that have succeeded, 182 teams have closed the door on a comeback. This franchise knows that it can't be put in a better situation than they have this season if they want to win an NBA Championship before LeBron hits free agency next summer. If they can't come up with a comeback for the ages, they could seriously be looking at just one more season in which The King could deliver a title to a championship-starved Cleveland.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Eastern Conference Finals - Game 3 Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 89
Orlando Magic 99
Orlando Leads Series 2-1
Was it really just a week ago that people were debating whether the Cavs would lose a game before the NBA Finals? Amazing what a couple days and some tough matchup problems will do. The Magic are one amazing LeBron three from being up a commanding 3-0 in this series.
The Magic did exactly what I thought they needed to after Game 2. They got off to a much better start and didn't have to spend most of the game trying to chip away at a Cleveland lead. Instead, they were able to play with the lead for most of the game, and kept doing just enough to keep the Cavs about 5-6 points back all game. They kept attacking and got to the free throw line a whopping 51 times (making 39). The Magic didn't shoot the ball particularly well from the field (42%) but they held the Cavs to a postseason-low 37%, including just an 11-for-28 (1-for-8 3pt) night from King James. But LeBron got virtually no help and the Cavs bench contributed all of 4 points.
Meanwhile, Dwight Howard is staying out of foul trouble just long enough to get the Cleveland big men in even worse foul trouble. Howard has been able to dominate down low when he's in there, which is huge for the spacing it creates for guys like Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Mikael Pietrus and Courtney Lee. This creates driving lanes and open looks if the Cavs are forced to throw a double team at Dwight. Unfortunately, Howard has had his own foul problems, but at least he did enough work in 28 minutes to earn his stripes: 24 points, 9 rebs, 14-for-19 at the line. Even more importantly, the Cavs big men (Big Z, Varejao, Ben Wallace, and Joe Smith) combined for 21 points and 18 fouls.
The Cavaliers have a big test at their hands in Game 4 because Orlando now has their confidence regained after Game 2's crushing defeat, the home crowd, and the knowledge that they can play from ahead against this team.
Orlando Magic 99
Orlando Leads Series 2-1
Was it really just a week ago that people were debating whether the Cavs would lose a game before the NBA Finals? Amazing what a couple days and some tough matchup problems will do. The Magic are one amazing LeBron three from being up a commanding 3-0 in this series.
The Magic did exactly what I thought they needed to after Game 2. They got off to a much better start and didn't have to spend most of the game trying to chip away at a Cleveland lead. Instead, they were able to play with the lead for most of the game, and kept doing just enough to keep the Cavs about 5-6 points back all game. They kept attacking and got to the free throw line a whopping 51 times (making 39). The Magic didn't shoot the ball particularly well from the field (42%) but they held the Cavs to a postseason-low 37%, including just an 11-for-28 (1-for-8 3pt) night from King James. But LeBron got virtually no help and the Cavs bench contributed all of 4 points.
Meanwhile, Dwight Howard is staying out of foul trouble just long enough to get the Cleveland big men in even worse foul trouble. Howard has been able to dominate down low when he's in there, which is huge for the spacing it creates for guys like Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Mikael Pietrus and Courtney Lee. This creates driving lanes and open looks if the Cavs are forced to throw a double team at Dwight. Unfortunately, Howard has had his own foul problems, but at least he did enough work in 28 minutes to earn his stripes: 24 points, 9 rebs, 14-for-19 at the line. Even more importantly, the Cavs big men (Big Z, Varejao, Ben Wallace, and Joe Smith) combined for 21 points and 18 fouls.
The Cavaliers have a big test at their hands in Game 4 because Orlando now has their confidence regained after Game 2's crushing defeat, the home crowd, and the knowledge that they can play from ahead against this team.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Eastern Conference Finals - Game 2 Recap
Orlando Magic 95
Cleveland Cavaliers 96
Series Tied 1-1
OML!!
As in....Oh. My. LeBron.
Talk about coming up big. After Cleveland struggled to hold another big lead, LBJ played King Bailout, taking an inbounds pass with 1 second left and draining a 3-pointer to save the Cavs from being in an 0-2 hole heading to Orlando. Just an incredible shot from the game's premier player.
LeBron's game winner answered Hedo Turkoglu's tie-breaking jumper at the other end. Just think if Hedo waits just one more second to fire up that shot? Tough loss to swallow. We'll really see what the Magic are made of in Game 3. They got the split they absolutely needed, but they were oh-so-close to that tantalizing 2 game lead. They've fallen behind early in both games, so they know that the more they do that, the more likely Cleveland is to run them out of the building (and the series).
The key in Game 3 for Orlando will be trying to use the home crowd to get off to a good start. A) they need to start games better than they have in games 1 and 2. B) they need to establish that they will not surrender momentum to the Cavs after this painful loss. As hard as it is tonight, they need to focus on the fact that they got the split they wanted.
Cleveland Cavaliers 96
Series Tied 1-1
OML!!
As in....Oh. My. LeBron.
Talk about coming up big. After Cleveland struggled to hold another big lead, LBJ played King Bailout, taking an inbounds pass with 1 second left and draining a 3-pointer to save the Cavs from being in an 0-2 hole heading to Orlando. Just an incredible shot from the game's premier player.
LeBron's game winner answered Hedo Turkoglu's tie-breaking jumper at the other end. Just think if Hedo waits just one more second to fire up that shot? Tough loss to swallow. We'll really see what the Magic are made of in Game 3. They got the split they absolutely needed, but they were oh-so-close to that tantalizing 2 game lead. They've fallen behind early in both games, so they know that the more they do that, the more likely Cleveland is to run them out of the building (and the series).
The key in Game 3 for Orlando will be trying to use the home crowd to get off to a good start. A) they need to start games better than they have in games 1 and 2. B) they need to establish that they will not surrender momentum to the Cavs after this painful loss. As hard as it is tonight, they need to focus on the fact that they got the split they wanted.
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