Why so silent.....

[smokymountainrain]

The Magic are freaking me out. They came to LA in the regular season and beat the Lakers fairly easily. I would not be shocked at all if they were to win it all this year. That series with the Celtics could have been the thing that taught them how to win in the playoffs. Scary thought.

That is a scary thought. However, they lose that game last night if Dwight Howard doesn't get 20 shots. I don't know that they are disciplined enough - especially with a frontcourt as strong as the Lakers and Nuggets have - to feed Dwight on a consistent basis to the tune of 20 FGAs.

[FN Phat]

PS how do you you figure that the Cavs are used to losing at home? They have only lost 3 times at home this entire season? 2 of those times to the Lakers and the Magic.....good teams.

Sorry for the misprint, it has been fixed. The last home lost really doesn't count in my book, as LeBron sat it out.

And I do think it is awesome to see LBJ get nasty. It is playoff basketball and it is the time to get gritty. You of all people should appreciate that, as it is one of Kobe's most appealing qualities. All dominate players know when to turn it on.

[TripletDaddy]

That is a scary thought. However, they lose that game last night if Dwight Howard doesn't get 20 shots. I don't know that they are disciplined enough - especially with a frontcourt as strong as the Lakers and Nuggets have - to feed Dwight on a consistent basis to the tune of 20 FGAs.

Dwight is coaching that team now, not Van Gundy. He will make sure he gets the ball....

One thing I noticed last night that was a contrast from the Celtic series....in the game vs the Celtics where the Magic choked away that huge lead in the 4th quarter (Game 5?).....the shooters seemed scared. Lots of passing up open shots, they went into clock management mode instead of attacking.

Last night, they didn't have the luxury of clock management mode, but there seemed to be a confidence about them that was not there before that Game 5 vs the Celtics. Their perimeter players were not afraid to shoot the ball with the game on the line. Howard fouls out and instead of crumbling....no problem....3 point shot to win the game, followed by lock-down D to seal the victory...all without their captain on the floor.

Like I said, I am not counting them out anymore. I am afraid they may have learned how to win it all.

[FN Phat]

Like I said, I am not counting them out anymore. I am afraid they may have learned how to win it all.

Imagine if Jameer Nelson wasn't hurt.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

LeBron had 49 points on 20-30 shooting? Not much more he can do to win that game.

[smokymountainrain]

LeBron had 49 points on 20-30 shooting? Not much more he can do to win that game.

Not to mention the 8 assists, 6 rebs, and 3 blks.

But he's probably kicking himself about the 4 missed FTs.

[FN Phat]

Not to mention the 8 assists, 6 rebs, and 3 blks.

But he's probably kicking himself about the 4 missed FTs.

This is true. He is a competitor. He probably is shooting free throws as I type this.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

No, because the Lakers were the prohibitive favorites to win it all. Then they entered the post-season and started looking very average.

This will be dismissed as a hiccup. But the Cavs should be very concerned. It took a near 50 point game from Lebron and the Cavs still lost. At home.

The Cavs came out on fire and then started playing like poo. The primary reason was LeBron started in the middle of the 3rd quarter to hold onto the ball until there were 6-7 seconds left on the shot clock and then would take on the entire Magic team. So, the Cavs look like they're reverting back to the good ol' LeBron offense where they hand him the ball, he takes on three defenders and either throws up an impossible shot or dishes off to whoever is standing in the corner to take a three point shot- sometimes it's Delonte West or Mo Williams (good), sometimes it's Ilgauskis or Joe Smith (bad). It works fine when the other players are hitting their 3 point shots with 1-2 seconds left on the shot clock, but they lose when the shots don't drop. When they play a very good defensive team like Orlando, the LeBron offense is not very effective.

I just looked at Orlando's regular season record against the Cavs, Lakers and Celtics. Surprisingly, they went 4-1 against the Cavs and Lakers and 6-3 total against the three teams total. The Cavs went 1-4 against Orlando and the Lakers and 3-6 total against all three teams.

The Magic obviously had some problems putting away the Sixers and Celtics in games in the first and second rounds, but that series win against the Celtics and winning a road game 7 convincingly may have given them some needed confidence.

I'm not sure who the Lakers would rather face in the Finals. On one hand, they get home court if Orlando takes out Cleveland. On the other hand, I really think the Cavs would be the easier opponent for the Lakers. The Lakers don't have anyone that can handle Howard inside and Orlando is loaded with guys that can hit outside shots. They also have some decent guys coming off the bench. How much better would Orlando be if Jameer Nelson was playing? Isn't he a 16 point 6 assist guy? He's probably their third best player.

[MartyFunkhouser]

On a side note. I don't know if Lingo was watching, but I nearly had to turn it off when Bron started screaming "Mother f*ckers lets go!" Started staring down opponents. Hanging his right hand in the air for 5 minutes after his long bombs. And snarling, curling his upper lip, and wrinkling his nose like he smelled his own BO. It was disgusting. I'd hate to play with that guy.

In short, BronBron acted the same way he does in every game he plays. You forgot the constant pounding of his chest though and the crab dribbles, never forget the crab dribbles.

[MartyFunkhouser]

It is awesome to see him be a self-centered jerk and show up his opponent?

I actually was surprised because LBJ clearly has an appealing personality. I wonder how much of his humility is an act for marketing purposes.

I would say is "humility" is 100% an act for marketing purposes. He has learned from Bryant's mistakes, but you occasionally see the real Bron Bron pop out here and there. This is why I hate Bron Bron, he is a complete phony. At least Bryant is honest about being an asshole and at least I can respect that.

[FN Phat]

How much better would Orlando be if Jameer Nelson was playing? Isn't he a 16 point 6 assist guy? He's probably their third best player.

Exactly. Skip is maybe the 6th best on that team. With Nelson, Orlando would be the over whelming favorite

[TripletDaddy]

The Cavs are in massive trouble. They are basically down 0-3 in this series.

Fortunately for the Magic, Selfish Lebron showed up again tonight, jacking up shots from all over the place.

11-28 shooting (1-8 from the 3.....hey, keep shooting them, I guess). Horrible clutch FT shooting (misses back to back FTs twice in the 4th quarter?), airballs a 3 point attempt.

Can tha Cavs pull this one out? Or did they get fat this season off a really anemic Eastern Conference? They have played one good team in these playoffs and are getting their arses handed to them in crunch time.

Lebron apologists, what is going on with this team?

ps there is a good argument to be made that the Magic should be favored to win the championship at this point.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

So one of the basketball threads had a thing about second bananas. Who is the second banana in Orlando? They might be the best team in the NBA right now. Howard is the star, is it Turkeyglue or Lewis or And1 Mix Tape?

[TripletDaddy]

So one of the basketball threads had a thing about second bananas. Who is the second banana in Orlando? They might be the best team in the NBA right now. Howard is the star, is it Turkeyglue or Lewis or And1 Mix Tape?

They would be another aberration, I would guess.

It seems that they go to the Turk a lot in the 4th quarter because he can shoot the ball.

Dwight Howard got jobbed on that 6th foul. That was CLEAN.

My guess is that Lebron comes out on Tuesday and shoots the ball 35+ times.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

So one of the basketball threads had a thing about second bananas. Who is the second banana in Orlando? They might be the best team in the NBA right now. Howard is the star, is it Turkeyglue or Lewis or And1 Mix Tape?

Turkoglu and Lewis are both very good third bananas. Howard is a very good defensive and rebounding first banana, but offensively is a second banana. I think Orlando's success on offense seems to be having a bunch of guys that can hit threes while Howard crashes the boards and picks up five offensive rebounds and put-backs a game. He'll get another 10-12 points by dunking the ball or getting a simple layup. Orlando is also pretty deep. Pietrus, Courtney Lee and Gortat aren't slouches coming off the bench. Gortat is probably the best backup center in the NBA, that guy's not bad.