The 2009 NBA Finals thread - Orlando Magic vs L.A. Lakers

nice win~ kobe certainly wasn't feeling it in the second half, but shooting 80% in the first half and the best team % in nba history, it would have been incredibly sad had orlando blown this one haha- this is gonna be a great series

 

Just what we needed, a tough win @ home. Go Magic, and Section126 you're dead on man. WOW. I hope you're wrong on the 4-2 Lakers series win. Next game will tell me quite a bit. I call a Magic team dominating game 4 & 5.

 

I don't need a loan, but will be happy to take your money.

And may I say, I am WAY up as well. I bet on everything that could have pssibly happened in these playoffs and am now playing with house money. I am so rich that I am using 20's to wipe my ***.

It must be true, why? Cuz I posted it on a message board!



Just messing with ya section, you know I love you (yes, in THAT way).

Edit: Good win by Orlando tonight. I missed most of the game as I watched the Hockey finals to its conclusion and then had to deal with a pretty crowded bar scene (while being sober at that). But having seen Orlanod win by two points on their home court shooting at an unreal clip, I am now more confident than ever that L.A. wins this thing. It is impossible to hate the Magic though. Great team for many years to come.

 

Orlando came out on fire, hitting open and contested shots abound. It's about time they showed up else I'd have a pair of useless Game 6 tix. I figured the Magic would finally win a Finals game and Game 3 would be it. Was a bit surprised to see the Lakers not take the day off though. The way the Magic were shooting you'd think it'd have reached double digit differences. The fact that the Magic actually trailed despite shooting 75% is a bit laughable and would've been if they actually lost the game. Hopefully we'll take the next game, take Game 5 off to give the Magic fans some pity, and win it at home in Game 6.

Ugh, please don't remind me of that era. Sam Bowie, Nick Van Exel, blech. Though Kwame Brown trumps all those you mentioned. Flat out sucked and I'm glad he sucking it up with the Pistons. Stephen A. Smith's quality and highly accurate rant about Kwame is just awesome.

 

nice win last night.

the Section126 economic stimulus plan rolls on.

I have no opinion on game 4. I think the Lakers will take one of these games in Orlando..not sure which one it will be.

What I will do is Bet the loser of Game 4 to win outright in game 5.

sitting game 4 out.

 

the fact orlando barely pulled that off shooting the best they possibly could................la wins this one 4-1.......thats all she wrote

 

I don't think la will win in orlando.

 

I'm already tired of hearing this mantra from LA fans about how close the game was despite Orlando's shooting.

The Lakers shot over 51% themselves. They also had more than a 2-1 advantage on the offensive boards & LA did a good job of turning Orlando's turnovers into points from the get go.

Orlando didn't shoot their average number of 3s, nor did they shoot their average % from behind the arc. The Magic's record shooting %'s came from penetration, some key passes, & great mid range play - along with some plays above the rim. If not for Rashard the 3 point shooting would have been atrocious for Orlando.

Guess what happened in game 2? Orlando shot abysmal and still got it to Overtime in LA...should have even won it before Overtime...was that more important than the Lakers coming out with the W?

 

Should have doesn't count for anything though does it? Either you do or you don't....and you didn't.

I don't think the series is over, but I do think LA wins in 6 games. I can't see them losing 3 in a row, and I can't see them losing 2 in LA.

 

right and marino should have won a superbowl.......

 

i'm not worried at all, the fact that orlando won by 4 and kobe missed 5 freethrows, which i don't think that has ever happened before, i think the lakers win one in orlando. even if they don't the magic still have to win one in LA and i don't see that happening.

 

I know...but my original instinct was to just watch the game and send it in on the loser for game 5. But that -2.5 is really tempting.

I'll sleep on it and post my bet if there is one tommorow.

 

Woot, I just got to see the Magic win a finals game for the first time in 20 years!! Hopefully I'll only have to wait till Thursday to see the next one.

 

You mean EVER. First one...EVER Gish. Big moment in history for your team. That being said if your team doesn't play better D its all for nothing. I saw a team that has the potential to beat the Lakers any given night. But the defensive effort has GOT to pick up for your squad. I mean, if Kobe would have had a second half like his first one, or would have made the 5 ft's he made, we are looking at a 3-0 deficit right now.

 

It could have also easily been 2-1 Orlando with 2 more games yet to play in Orlando....This is asinine.

 

No..its reality. I wasnt referring to the first two games. I was referring to last nights only. You CANNOT shoot at a percentage that the Magic did last night and barely win against a team like the Lakers very often. It should have been a blow out. But the defensive pressure was not there. At times it was, the steal late in the game by Howard was clutch. He is a beast.

 

-Orlando shot less 3s than their average
-Orlando shot lower 3pt % than their average
-LA got Offensive Boards over the Magic 2-1
-LA Hit more 3's than Orlando
-Both LA and Orlando missed FTs
-The Lakers shot over 51%

This is why the game was so close, and Kobe's ridiculously tough shots kept in it going into the second half when it should have been a bigger lead. The fact is, anyone who is looking at the Magic's shooting % as a factor as to why they won't win other games are completely missing the point.

Game 2 and Game 3 were close and showed what this series will be all about, both teams were right with eachother on the road but lost close games. They each "could have gone either way", and someone who is sitting there imagioning the series being 3-0 "if Kobe hit his FTs" are oblivious to reality if they can't also see Orlando potentially being up 2-1 using the same logic.

 

How many points did the Magic win by? How many FT's did Kobe miss? Math son, its just math.

 

Kobe missed 5 Free throws.


How many Free throws did Howard miss? 5




WE MISSED WINNING GAME 2 BY A LAY UP , and we also missed a bunch of FTs in that game. Why does Kobe missing FTs matter, yet it is meaningless on Orlando's end?

So your Star player choked on the free throw line at the end, thats his own problem. Orlando had their own issues and came out with the win, just as the Lakers pulled off the game beforehand.

Stop using our 62% shooting as a crutch. Orlando is a 3pt shooting team and we didn't beat you with our 3s. It would be one thing if we were draining them all over and you made these kind of statements, but the fact is our win came from getting good mid-range looks after penetration.

If your going to use that logic, then just as easily as "this could be 3-0", it "could also be 2-1 Orlando". Accept it.

 

never.

 

well, since this is orlando's 20th season, EVER was implied.

Funny how you can say Orlando needs to play better D to win, then discredit their win by saying Kobe didnt have a good 2nd half. Do you think the defense had anything to do with that?

Just as easily as you can say it could be 3-0, I can say it could be 2-1 for Orlando. The phantom calls on Kobe late in the 4th in game 2 kept them in the game. I saw one where Kobe rolled his ankle and fell down and got to shoot 2 foul shots because of it. No contact. Even with the poor calls, Orlando was inches from winning it in the final second on an alley oop layup to Lee. That game could have easily gone to Orlando and the series would be 2-1 the other way around right now.

So far its looking like game 1 was an aboration, like everyone knew at the time. Orlando is not a team that will lay down for anyone just because they are behind. After the Magic win tomorrow night, all the pressure is back on LA. And if the Magic continue to use dribble penetration to create points in the paint and open shots around the perimeter (just like they did last night, and to Boston), then they will win this series. The one thing Ive seen with the Magic that impresses me the most this postseason, is their ability to adjust their game plan to match how their opponent is defending Dwight Howard. If they swarm Howard and refuse to give him any looks, then Alston, Hedo, and Jameer are going to take it to the rim. If they commit to defending the 3 point line, then Dwight will score 30+ and singlehandedly ruin your day.

 

Wow, maybe I have misjudged you Magic fans. Anyone fanbase that can get E to defend the Lakers might just be okay.

The magic won the game. They deserved to win. Period. I think the point people are making is that, The Magic most likely will not shoot 62% from the field too often. Yes, L.A. shot 51%, but in the previous two games, they shot 46%, meaning that the swing really wasn't too far from the "norm." In other words, they have been more consistant in these finals than Orlanndo.

Orlando, on the other had has shot, 30%, 41%, and then an eye popping 62% in game three. That is a HUGE jump up in production, and one that most likely will not last. I imagine that they will drop down into the 50's or 40's in terms of shooting percentage.

If they do that, they will lose.

Of course, if you subscribe to the theory that Orlando will continue to improve their shooting in each game by an increase of 10% over the gain from the game before, they will shoot roughly 95% from the field in game four.

 

Every game is its own entity of course, but if Orlando shot 55% last night, they lose that game.

The three games so far prove that if Orlando does shoot in the forties, they lose. Until they prove otherwise, that is a fact.

I give them credit though, they played great last night. Any team that shoots 62% deserves to win. Period.

 

That's the thing, there is no way the Magic shoot 62% from the field again. I can't imagine them doing it even one more time, which means that they may be in for some hard times, even in Orlando.

Kobe looked wiped in the second half and Orlando has been doing a good job pursuing him. The problem is, Kobe FEEDS off of criticism. I get a feeling that he is going to go nuts in game 4. Now whether him going nuts translates to effective basketball for L.A., is to be determined, but I highly doubt that you will see Kobe Bryant held to 10 points in a half on a regular basis going forward.

 

Just kidding. The point is, they have been inconsistant and they are most likely to settle in between their game 2 performance and their game three performance for the rest of the series (just my guess, of course), which means that the Lakers will have an excellent chance of taking at least one game in Orlando.

Like I said, 62% is lights out and deserves a victory. But to only win by four with Kobe Bryant uncharacteristically missing free throws, says to me that Orlando is not playing great defense. Game 3 should have been a blowout, period.

Much like how game one was for L.A.

edit: Nice edit. You also have to remember that the fourth quarter was pretty much garbage time for L.A. If Orlando had been playing better in that game, do you really think the likes of DJ Mbenga, Josh Powell and the other L.A. Scrubs are playing in the fourth? Had L.A. played ther normal rotation in the fourth, Orlando would have lost by 35, if not more, so no, Orlando would not have won.

ts a silly argument anyway. L.A. leads 2-1 and is still my pick to win this series. Although, had anyone else from the west made it to the finals, I would be a very active and avid Magic fan right now.

 

And the crying begins...
Paul Flopsol gives his take on Howard.

The Lakers' Pau Gasol believes that Magic star Dwight Howard gets away with more physical play in Orlando.

"What specifically is he doing? He's just playing hard and using his body, that's it," Gasol said of Howard. "You just have to play through it."



http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wi...10/gasol_howard_gets_away_with_physical_play/

 

How is that crying?

 

85% he would of made 8.5 shots but you round up so he would of made 9/10. Tie game. Take away those easy traveling calls which the refs didnt call by Orlando -4pts. Everyone in the building saw that he travel. Lakers win by 4. But who cares game 3 is over, game 4 on Thursday which Lakers will win.