- I could open this by lauding myself as one of the few people to pick the Magic in this series. But instead, I think I’ll open up with something I was wrong about.
- In conversations with people, including the aforelinked roundcast, I kept asking where the Cavs were going to get an advantage in this series beyond LeBron James. People’s answer? LEBRON JAMES! I asked people what would make this Cavs team better than this Magic team. The answer? LEBRON JAMES! And before Game 5, as I desperately tried to defend the fact that the Magic had taken control of this series with defense and precision, and not just a Cavs cold streak and a “significantly higher 3pt % than the regular season”, I made the comment, “LeBron James is just one guy.” He went and played terrific, the Cavs hit some shots, he dominated late, and the Cavs won Game 5. You can imagine the grief I took. So I was wrong. Sometimes it just takes one guy.
- And guess what. Dwight Howard (HOWARD SMASH!) is just one guy.
- I don’t like it when pundits try and simplify series like this. Denver-LA? Yeah, that one’s pretty simple. The Lakers were taller, more talented, and Denver relies on turnovers which LA doesn’t give up. But this series was a brilliant chess match, with terrific individual performances and great team play (from Orlando). That’s why I hated the “the Cavs are just cold/ the Magic are just hot” analysis. It disregards the fantastic Orlando defense that worked hard to force LeBron into having to be a one-man show, and the Orlando offense that forced Cleveland to run around like a chicken with its head cut off. It disregards the horrible Cavaliers bench which was outscored something along the lines of eleventy billion to the square root of Wally Szczerbiak (which is actually pi, it turns out. Where pi=the ratio of airballs to the circumference of terrible defense). This series was won in the trenches, and on the fringe. It was won in penetration and denial. It was won everywhere except the spotlight. That’s where James shined for five games. And in the sixth game? Dwight Howard (HOWARD SMASH!) shoved Jmaes out of the spotlight and won that, too.
- In the first quarter, the Cavs came out as a team that expected Orlando to fold. You may have seen this sequence before in such spring blockbusters as “The Philadelphia Series Game 6″ and “The Boston Series Game 7.” Here’s a hint, kids. Do not anticipate the Magic failing to arrive at the moment of their ascension.
- The Cavs also came out sloppy. Passes sailed out of bounds. LeBron would drive baseline, be forcd to jump to avoid going out of bounds, and have to improvise a pass. Plays had no clear objective. The Magic on the other hand, came out focused, precise, and efficient, and they kept that approach the whole game through, ending with a 117 eff. They were focused from the arc, inside, and at the stripe. The fact that Cleveland shot 50% from the arc (A STATISTICAL ANOMALY!) I think says a lot about where their heads were at.
- Cleveland did what it has done all season. Come out and play their game. When it doesn’t work, hope James saves them. How you respond when your opponent blocks your first punch and socks you in the mouth becuase of what you left open is what makes good teams great.
- Okay, I’ve delayed it enough. Let’s talk about Dwight Howard (HOWARD SMASH!). Big Beastly Jesus. D-Ho. The Thunder Boy Wonder. Superman (and yes, he is Superman. If you compare the attributes of the character, from demeanor to values, to approach, to physique, to style, Howard is a million times a better fit from “The Big I Have Too Many Nicknames” -or, alternately “The Big I Say A Coach Who’s In The Finals Is A Panic Artist”. ).
- One of the reasons I realy started to like this Magic team was how they remind me of the 94-95 Rockets. What was missing was a center that could hurt you with more than dunks. Howard needed to finally get his jump hook going. To have some touch. And um, yeah. Kind of did that. Three point dagger men, best center in the league working over the opponent? He ain’t The Shake, but there’s defintely a similar mojo going.
- Howard’s patience is really impressive. How many times do you see an athletic big catch the ball deep or gather an offensive rebound, and then immediately try and pogo up for a quick basket. They’re terrififed that moment of opportunity will get eaten up by the threat of a block.
- But how often are you going to be succesful in trying to block Dwight Howard?
- So you turn to fouling him. There. That’ll work.
- 14-21. That’ll do, Dwight. People act like a foul is only about the resulting foul shots. But you know what it also means? It means their guy has to sit down. Which means someone less capable is now guarding him. Which means someone less capable is guarding Lewis. And so forth.
- What do you do against that? Your best option is to flop, and hope the refs help you out. That’s honestly the best option.
- Earlier I talked about how good defense filters the ball to the shot you want the opponent to take. The Magic wnated Anderson Varejao to shoot 12 times. And the fact that he hit 7 of them just shows you that this thing was closer than it should have been.
- I picked this up on a few Cavs blogs this week and it bears repeating. This team was built to beat Boston. Look at it top down, and the Cavs would have had matchup advantages all over the place. The Orlando Magic just ruined the plan.
- Mike Brown’s gotta be saying to himself, “I worked a roster to defend Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo. I can battle Pau Gasol and Kendrick Perkins. My team can dominate Rasheed Wallace and neutralize Josh Smith. We’ve got Kevin Garnett in a series of uncomfortable situations. And what do I get? Rashard freaking Lewis.”
- Good news, Magic detractors! That crazy Rafer Alston regressed back to the mean! He only shot 5 of 16 from the field! Of course, Courtney Lee stepped in and shot 57% fom the field, but hey. Those Magic are going to cool down any second now.
- In the third quarter, Mo Williams decided to cheat over because Hedo was killing them on the pick and roll. Hedo kicked it to Pietrus. Mo Williams with his veteran defense and savvy went to run off the three. Pietrus pump faked, and gave him the Top Gun treatment (I’m gonna hit the breaks and he’ll fly right by), and knocked down the three. Mo looked simultaneously lost and desperate. Not as lost and desperate as he’s been this series on offense against Rafer freaking Alston and a rookie, but still, lost and desperate.
- Things that amuse me. How people think Orlando’s ability to knock down clutch shots with defenders in their face is a liability. “You can’t depend on those shots.” Really? Because they just did to win the freaking Eastern Conference. At one point are they not going to be there? Oh, yeah, that’s right. They weren’t there in the first round against Philly. This team’s had its cold streak. It’s ready to go.
- For a team so built around defense, shouldn’t the Cavs have better actual defenders than Wally Szczerbiak and Daniel Gibson? Just a thought. Because Orlando brought Pietrus, Anthony Johnson, and Gortat, without even having to turn to Redick.
- For those of you who aren’t Lakers or Wizards fans, take this season from James and cherish it. It didn’t work out in the end, but that can’t be put on him. He was transcendent this year. His jumper actually improved as the year went on. He was defensively dominant, offensively explosive and refined at the same time, and worked in all phases of the game. Fantastic season, LeBron. Standing O, friend.
- While Mike Brown was pretty abused on both ends of the floor in this series, tonight wasn’t on him. What was he going to do? Double Howard? He kicked it out for the rotation three. Don’t double? Howard killed whoever was on him. Foul him? He hit free throws. There wasn’t much Brown could do tonight. The Magic weren’t hot, they were just playing to their fullest potential. Which is kind of what you want to do in the Conference Finals in a home elimination game.
- We’ll talk more about the Finals more, obviously. But tonight, let’s take a moment and congratulate an Orlando team that’s been disrespected all season, all postseason, and will be heavy dogs to a Lakers team they swept in the regular season. The Magic had several opportunities to quit, and responded each time.
- Up the Magic.
HOWARD SMASH!Cavs at Orlando HOWARD SMASH, Game HOWARD SMASH
Charles, I'm sure you would rather have Kobe and Pau rather than Dwight and Hedo. Of course, Kobe by himself makes more than Dwight and Hedo combined. Kobe and Pau combined make almost as much as Dwight, Hedo, and Rashard Lewis combined (the difference is about $700,000). As good as Kobe is, I'd rather have Dwight, Hedo, and Rashard over Kobe and Pau.
True sometimes it takes one guy and the Magic have Dwight, however, I would rather have Kobe and Pau then Dwight and Hedo.
http://therookiecontract.com/
Cavs fan here. Great post all-around; especially thought the note about who this Cavs team was built to succeed vs.