The Magic shot their way back into the series today. They shot 75% in the first half and 63% for the entire game and won by 2 points. Thats crazier than some of the Suns stats during the Mike D'Antoni era. But the Magic got one back today. They shot the ball like crazy, but Kobe kept the Lakers close in the first half. The Magic slowed down just a bit in the second half, but Kobe slowed down significantly and the Magic won at the end. I see a huge difference between the two teams when it comes to experience and limiting mistakes. Talking heads on TV always talk about young teams laking experience and maturity, but it's usually not that obvious. You just see talented players ball on both sides. But in this series, you can clearly see that the Magic are inexperienced and a lot more mistake-prone. They play with a cavalier attitude at times and that shows when they don't closeout on a shooter or not secure a rebound. The Lakers seem a lot more thorough and on-point with those kinda things. Of course, today the Lakers couldn't stop the Magic shooting and Kobe was way off in the second half. If not, you wonder if the Magic would have lost this game despite the great shooting.
Some of this is coaching too. Stan Van Gundy is a great coach. His play-call at the end of game 2 when Courtney Lee missed a potential game-winner was genius. Unfortunately for Stan, it didn't work out. With all that said, Phil Jackson is a coach who operates at a whole different level. He has been there, done that and there is a lot of method to his madness. It's amazing how well the Lakers have shut down Dwight Howard in this series so far. So the inexperience extends to the coaches as well and sometimes you wonder what is Van Gundy doing. He went from splitting time between 2 point guards to playing none in game 2. While I love the fact that Van Gundy is not afraid to roll the dice - whether it's playing J.J.Reddick for long durations or drawing up a buzzer-beater for Courtney Lee, he doesn't seem to have a cohesive game-plan at times quite like Phillip. Of course Phillip has Kobe and he can make up a huge part of any game plan all by himself. If I am a Magic fan, that would be my concern. Do they have the experience, maturity and consistency to beat the Lakers 3 times out of the next 4 games?
It's amazing how one game (and a few baskets) can change the perception of a series. I am sure some experts may say the Magic were a few centimeters away in game 2 from being up 2-1 in this series. Of course you can also say the Lakers could have won today's game and gone up 3-0 and shut the door on everything. Game 4 will tell us which of the two argument is more believable. Based on game 2 and 3, it's obvious the Magic have the talent, but it's the rest of the intangibles that would be the concern. Of course Kobe is the other major concern. He looked mediocre in the second half of today's game and that only means he is going to be extra motivated on Thursday. He has also been consistent in getting his teammates involved - 8 assists in all 3 games so far. Pau and Lamar have played well too whenever they have had an opportunity. The Magic better be focussed. Or just shoot 75% like they did today. Today was also their first ever win in the Finals. They were swept the last time they were in the Finals against the Houston Rockets back in 1995. Speaking of that series, it was supposed to be Shaq and the Magic against Barkley and the Suns that year. Of course Magic made it, but Hakeem and the Rockets bounced my Suns off in the playoffs.
Paul Westphal, who was the coach of that Suns team that year made it back to the NBA today after a loooong break. He was hired as the head coach of the Sacramento Kings today. Good hire.
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