On ESPN yesterday they were talking about how game 2 was more vital for the Lakers than the Nuggets in the WCF even with the Lakers up 1-0. So how vital is game 2 for Cleveland tonight? How bad of a death spin will they be in if they go down 0-2 and then have to go on the road to Orlando for games 3 and 4 where they were swept in the regular season? You can expect the best effort of LeBrons career tonight.
just over an hour till gametime. Could you imagine both the Lakers and the Magic in the Finals? Battle of Orange Counties.
Of coarse he ends up drilling a 3 after the non call should have given us a FT & possession. The ticky tack calls against Orlando are already flowing as well, its gonna be a long night. Meanwhile, they sling their arms wildly at Dwight, apparently making contact with him isn't a foul. We won despite the officiating in the last game, hopefully we can pull another one off. Edit- It's funny. When the refs are calling contact the crowd is livid. This isn't hockey lol.
hack-a-howard in full effect tonight. such a cheap tactic. its the equivent of not being able to stop the run in football and taking an encroachment penalty everytime. too bad in basketball penalties actually benefit the team committing them.
Cleveland defense: 1. Press the outside and wait for the inside pass 2. Swarm Howard to force a pass or foul him if he tries to shoot 3. Force a bad shot as the clock runs out. Magic's answer: 1. Stand around and watch it happen.
Keys to the 2nd half: -Step it up on Defense. -Attack the basket. -Follow up on shots. -REBOUNDS. -Let it rain 3's on the Cav's.
No doubt about that. I didn't mean to give that impression, but the calls do obviously hinder our ability to come back/win. Especially things like the no-call tech that ended up being 3 points for them. That is a potential 6 or 7 point swing if we had scored on the other end. I'm really frustrated at our inability to shoot free throws. It's unacceptable during this time of year especially having so many shooters on our team. If we just made our free throws this game would be looking much closer.
I have confidence in SVG to come up with adjustments for that. The Magic bench has to step it up just a little bit more. Aggressiveness is getting them in foul trouble, but I want to see them turn the tables on that and force the Cavs into some sort of foul trouble. Attack the basket, make them try to stop you. IF we can limit Mo Williams and Delonte West, let LeBron do his thing, we might be able to pull off the upset once again.
Not looking good. Not sure if we can sustain another CLE run and still have a shot. Magic need to step on this bug now.
I hated Hack-A-Shaq just as much when he was in Orlando, LA, or Miami. It's a cheesy tactic. I think Howard has been gaining a minor touch on his FT's though. He is able to get into rhythm which did not happen in previous years. If can somehow no longer be known for being a bad FT shooter, teams will be in trouble on deciding how to guard him. So it's on Howard to improve & the cheesy tactic won't be as viable.
its not just when my team is losing, its one of the things i hate most about the NBA. you shouldnt be able to abuse the penalty system to gain an advantage in any sport. i would say the solution is to give shots and possession, but then you're really opening the door for the refs to control the outcome of the game.
Even as a Heat fan I loved it... it's more strategy than anything. I've got no problem with it. Free throws are "free" right? Learn how to shoot 'em better or that's on you, IMO.
