Well, there was no magic in Orlando's shooting tonight (no pun intended)* they were horrendous.
*Always wanted to say that.
*Always wanted to say that.
NBA Finals
- Thread starter Paul Wozniak
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Very impressive start by the Lakers in this series.
Kobe was a man on a mission tonight- 40 points.
This was a close game early on, but the second half was all Lakers.
Kobe was a man on a mission tonight- 40 points.
This was a close game early on, but the second half was all Lakers.
That's not the Lakers' branding. The NBA puts those decals out. They'll have one in Orlando too.
Game 1 Recap
This is what happens when a jump shooting team is off for the night. Finally, the team came down to earth by shooting a measly 29.9% from the field. The result? A 25 point beat-down.
In the Cleveland series, the Magic averaged 46% from the field. Credit the Lakers defense for the field goal disparity. It's quite obvious from this first game that the Lakers match up much better against this team than their previous opponents.
I wouldn't panic yet Magic fans. There IS a solution to countering when your outside shooting isn't on. It's called the post game and driving to the lane for higher percentage shots. One stat that jumped out to me was Dwight Howard having 1 field goal the entire game. 1 as in ONE!!!! How does that happen? Is Bynum that good of a defender that he locked down the most dominating center in our game? I doubt it. This is where the coaches will have to make adjustments, starting with Van Gundy. Feed your Bigs Gundy!
The MVP for the game: Kobe. Say what you will about the man, but Kobe is good. 40pts, 8reb, 8ast, 2blk, 2stl. What a stat line!
Game 2 isn't until Sunday at 8pm. I will be watching the game from a bar in North Carolina without a care in the world. One good thing about my team no longer being in it, is that I can finally relax. No stress for me as I no longer have a horse in this race.
This is what happens when a jump shooting team is off for the night. Finally, the team came down to earth by shooting a measly 29.9% from the field. The result? A 25 point beat-down.
In the Cleveland series, the Magic averaged 46% from the field. Credit the Lakers defense for the field goal disparity. It's quite obvious from this first game that the Lakers match up much better against this team than their previous opponents.
I wouldn't panic yet Magic fans. There IS a solution to countering when your outside shooting isn't on. It's called the post game and driving to the lane for higher percentage shots. One stat that jumped out to me was Dwight Howard having 1 field goal the entire game. 1 as in ONE!!!! How does that happen? Is Bynum that good of a defender that he locked down the most dominating center in our game? I doubt it. This is where the coaches will have to make adjustments, starting with Van Gundy. Feed your Bigs Gundy!
The MVP for the game: Kobe. Say what you will about the man, but Kobe is good. 40pts, 8reb, 8ast, 2blk, 2stl. What a stat line!
Game 2 isn't until Sunday at 8pm. I will be watching the game from a bar in North Carolina without a care in the world. One good thing about my team no longer being in it, is that I can finally relax. No stress for me as I no longer have a horse in this race.
Game 1 was a laugher. The Lakers are tough when they are motivated and the Magic aren't so magical when they go cold. Orlando is now 0-5 all time in the Finals.
Anyone notice the Lakers playing some Zone defense last night?
I wonder why no Coach has tried this against the Magic yet?! Seems logical to me.....
Collapse on the post man if they try and go low. The zone also allows you to defend the perimeter very well without allowing too many wide-open shots.
Damn you Mike Brown! Why didn't you think of this!?
I wonder why no Coach has tried this against the Magic yet?! Seems logical to me.....
Collapse on the post man if they try and go low. The zone also allows you to defend the perimeter very well without allowing too many wide-open shots.
Damn you Mike Brown! Why didn't you think of this!?
Why the 2 day layoff in between home games for the Lakers? This is silly. Let's get on with it already!
Maybe they didn't want to go head to head with the ratings juggernaut that is the NHL finals!!
Well...thanks to some "home cooking" calls by the ref....Lakers in game two. Good game, but the this thing about home teams getting the benefit of the doubt on every single call is getting ridiculous. I was SHOCKED Kobe did not get the call when Hedu blocked his shot cleanly from behind. Orlando missedsome WIDE OPEN shots at the end of regulation that should have sealed the game for them.
Unless there is some serious magic in Orlando this series is over. No team has ever come back from 0-2 down in the Finals since they went to the 2-3-2 format. I doubt many recovered prior to that either. The Magic basically has to sweep the games in Orlando to have a legit chance. Even if the Lakers tank a couple of games, as they are prone to do, all they need is one win in Orlando and they can clinch on their home floor in front of Jack and all the other botox and silicone laden celebs.
You're totally right.
So it has been done before but it's not easy. Thanks for the reminder.
