Game Two preview: Magic on the rebound?



Orlando at Los
Angeles Lakers, Game 2 (Los
Angeles leads series, 1-0)
We have to make two things very clear, right from the start.
First, the Lakers are playing their best basketball of the
season. They may have had stronger, more efficient runs on both ends during
stretches of the regular season, but considering the competition, the setting,
and the time of year (a little harder to execute with legs that are playing
their 101st game of the season), this has been the team's best week
and a half of the season.
And while we don't expect that to relent — the team is too
focused — the second part of this is very important. The Magic, made to look
silly in Game 1, will be better in Game 2.
Not because of their will or their toughness or their
resilience or something that Patrick Ewing said to them before breaking a
backboard during Saturday's shootaround. But because they won't shoot 30
percent again. And, more importantly, they won't shoot a horrid percentage on
all the open shots that they missed in Game 1.
Everything, save for injury, that could have gone wrong in
Game 1 went wrong for the Magic. I know they were competitive and even ahead
for the first 18 minutes of the game, but a combination of good offensive
execution finished with poor shooting on one end, and Kobe Bryant(notes) nailing tough
shot after tough shot on the other, really led to a dispirited second half in a
game that should have been a lot closer.
I know Bryant's makes weren't exactly of the
Shane-Battier-hand-in-yo'-face variety, but they were tough, tough shots. And
he constantly, repeatedly, made them. And yet, the Magic didn't foul the man
until the second half. 34 points to score 40 shots, in a loss, is right up
there with what we saw during the regular season from the Lakers and Bryant.
The difference here is that Kobe's domination of the ball in Game 1, as
opposed to the regular season, came with a purpose. And the spacing was much
better, even better than it was over Games 5 and 6 against Denver, because those games came against a
gimmick-styled trapping defense. This was something entirely, if not new, then
better. Even if the Lakers didn't pile on the points.
The Magic rebounding should improve, you would hope. Orlando's defense will improve, it has to, and the team's history
of poor defense in Game 1s should have Magic fans feeling better about the
team's chances about taking Game 2, and the home court advantage. Then again,
there are two problems with banking on that hope.
First, as we've mentioned so many times that you're surely
sick of it, the Laker offense is adaptable on the fly to any machinations or
adjustments that even the best defense in the NBA can toss its way.
Secondly, Phil Jackson has been warning his team ever since
the closing buzzer of Game 1 that the Magic came here to do one thing, and one
thing only. Steal a game. That's it. If he's telling it to the press, he's
telling it to his team.
So while I believe we have all the pieces in place for a
closer game, those banking on an (yeah, let's say it) Orlando-style turnaround
in Game 2 will just have to lower the expectations. Even if all the coin flips
that landed on tails on Thursday night suddenly land on heads on Sunday
evening.
Dismiss the Magic at your own peril; they could very well win
this game, and this series. But if the last week and a half is any indication,
the Lakers don't look prone to regress into the bad habits that dotted their
play in the Houston
series, or the early stages of the Conference finals.
A few notes ...
***
Los Angeles'
doubling of Dwight Howard(notes) reminds me of the way Phil Jackson and Jim Cleamons
used to call for double-teams on Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning(notes). Wait until
he puts the ball on the floor, commit hard, watch as things usually fall apart.
Howard passed well in Game 1, to these eyes, but poor recognition of
double-teaming was the first thing he brought up to an assembled media throng
(well, one guy named "Kelly") that wanted to hear about his other Game 1
missteps.
***
Be very careful what you wish for, Laker fans. Kobe's line, in a vacuum,
is exactly what the Magic were after. Lots of shots, and only eight free throws
(good for most, not all that hot for someone that shoots 34 times in 38
minutes). I mean,Adipower Predator TRX FG, 40 points, eight rebounds, eight assists ... have we heard that
line before? In late May, for instance?
The difference was the Laker D, which was sublime, Orlando missing open
shots, and the Laker spacing offensively. The Laker D, I'm guessing, will stay
about the same. Orlando
will hit more open shots. The continual x-factor with the Lakers? Will the
spacing be there? Will they run the offense properly, so that the Magic can't
force LeBron Kobe
to get his while everyone else stays dormant?
Then again, as was mentioned during the last series, the
Cavs aren't good enough to win with LeBron putting up big numbers and everyone
else falling by the wayside. The Lakers are good enough to win with Kobe going off, and
everyone else falling a little short of their averages. Not because Kobe isn't brilliant (he
is), but because everyone else's averages are that good.
***
I'm not being an obscurest or daft when I point out that the
Magic, for whatever reason, played much, much better with Courtney Lee(notes) on the
floor,Tiempo Flight AG, as opposed to Mickael Pietrus(notes).
I like Pietrus, he played good defense (with bad results) and ended up with a
so-so shooting night in a Game 1 that saw the rest of the Magic only hope at
getting to so-so, but I don't think the minutes should be tilted to Pietrus
over Lee as much as they were (32 to 22 for Lee) in Game 1.
***
Adjustments are wonderful little things, and you'd like to
see the Magic be able to slide their perimeter shooters into slots where they
could then see rotations after the rest of the Laker D collapses on Dwight
Howard. Howard then kicks it out to a Rashard Lewis(notes) or Hedo Turkoglu(notes), who then
finds J.J. Redick(notes) for the three-pointer. This would, of course, involve Redick
actually playing. If not, it would involve the Magic actually hitting their
wide-open shots.
The point being, the Lakers were able to double-team Howard
as he went into his move in Game 1 without consequence. Some of this was on Howard,
a lot of it was on Howard, but you have to make things obvious for your center
at times. Expect SVG to have all sorts off open passing lanes that either lead
to an assist for Howard,Wave Ignitus MD, or lead to another pass and assist for a potential
shooter soon after.
Unless the Lakers anticipate this, and don't double team as
much. Ooh, intrigue!
***
A few days off, a few more weeks removed from coming back
from injury ... we could see a big game out of Andrew
Bynum in Game 2 on offense. Has to stay on the floor, of course, but it's a
strong possibility. He just has to allow that confidence level to move up a
notch, and listen to his initial offensive instinct.
And it should be noted that Andrew's initial offensive
instinct is a often a sound one, for any age.