| 04 June 2009
I have no idea why I'm such a glutton for punishment... but another one of the guy's who have helped out with the odd piece (and I do mean 'odd') around here is the erstwhile '46'. Now, LA's last opponent was the Nuggets, and Usher did a piece... so only fair that 46 gets a chance with his Magic. Sigh... yes, he's a Magic fan. So, with much ado about nothing... here he is:1.The Pick N Roll.
The Lakers still cant decide how they want to play this. Aaron Brooks took them to school (YES AARON FREAKING BROOKS), watch for Hedo ‘Super Supreme Boy' Turkoglu to do the same. The Magic farted in the general direction of the Cavs so-called Defensive Juggernaut, what might happen to the much more maligned defense of the Lakers. 2. The 3 Point Shooting.
"But the Magic Live and Die by the 3 point shot. They shoot too many, That's the only reason why they win! Why do I sound like such a whiny little bitch blah blah blah " But the thing is, the reason they can shoot so many is that there is ball movement and spacing on the floor which more often then not results in a decent look for the shooter. Note: Rafer Alston does not classify as a shooter. If the Magic do indeed die by the 3 point shot, you would have thought that sooner or later it would catch up with them, but wait, the Magic are into the NBA Finals! Gee, that's some awfully good karma from their shooters...
3. The Magic relish this underdog tag. The Magic weren't supposed to get past the Celtics especially after trailing 3-2. 32-1 now Celtic Fans. They most definitely weren't supposed to get past ‘The Best Team in Basketball' in the Eastern Conference Finals. Now people are already giving them little chance of upsetting the Lakers. "The Lakers are too talented, no one can stop Kobe, Phil Jackson has won 9 rings, Stan Van Jeremy hasn't even made the Finals before." People forget that the Magic won both games in the regular season even with 41 from the Black Mamba. Sure, Jameer came up big in those games but if the Magic have proved anything, it is that they win as a team and not just 1 guy. *cough* Lebron *cough* Also winning a Game 7 in Boston, that's pretty damn Mantastic! The Magic are also a fantastic road team and have been for the past 2 years. Whilst other more fancied teams seem to kill it at home but then look like some sort of bizarro version of themselves on the road. The Magic don't seem to suffer from that. Hell, Super Supreme Boy shoots better away from home??
4. Dwight Howard.
Even if ‘God wants him to win', Dwight has been an absolute beast at times. The Game 5 OT game against the Cavs showed how dominant ‘Superman' can be when he gets the ball on a regular basis. Lately, the guy is also making his Free Throws. Now that is scary. Whatever that song is, keep humming it baby!
Also Phil Jackson isn't a proponent for the Hack-A-Dwight that so many other coaches are prone to. That seems to be the only way to stop Dwight. And if Bynum gets in foul trouble, uh oh spaghetti-o! Just remember, Howard got 25/20 with Bynum IN the lineup.
Also Phil Jackson isn't a proponent for the Hack-A-Dwight that so many other coaches are prone to. That seems to be the only way to stop Dwight. And if Bynum gets in foul trouble, uh oh spaghetti-o! Just remember, Howard got 25/20 with Bynum IN the lineup.
5. Defense.
Now there isn't stopping Kobe. That is certain. But Lee/Pietrus are much better than a lot of other people give them credit for. Utterly biased opinion here, but I think they are much better defenders than the Nuggets defensive specialist of ‘Trippy Longstockings' and ‘Smitty'. Given some of the blocking/charging calls that LeBadsportsman was getting, they couldn't have done much more. 
The Magic are on of the best teams in defensive efficiency which is often overlooked when compared to the so-called better defensive teams. No, they wont gamble on turnovers or hold your opponents to under 80 points. But they will at least, fight against the screens, block out and rebound and try and force you into bad shots. I also will eat my own head if in a Magic time-out, Stan Van Jeremy won't be focusing on defense.
On the other end, Pietrus can make Kobe work on the defensive end, that is if he continues this hot streak from the 3 Point Line. Lebron chickened out and stuck with Alston but I do not expect Kobe to do a similar thing.
The Magic are on of the best teams in defensive efficiency which is often overlooked when compared to the so-called better defensive teams. No, they wont gamble on turnovers or hold your opponents to under 80 points. But they will at least, fight against the screens, block out and rebound and try and force you into bad shots. I also will eat my own head if in a Magic time-out, Stan Van Jeremy won't be focusing on defense.On the other end, Pietrus can make Kobe work on the defensive end, that is if he continues this hot streak from the 3 Point Line. Lebron chickened out and stuck with Alston but I do not expect Kobe to do a similar thing.
Anytime Kobe is working on the defensive end is a good thing.
I hope.
