The NBA Finals is here.
So to help preview the 7-game series (2-3-2 format) between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic beginning tonight at 9 p.m. on ABC in Los Angeles, I talked with Erie BayHawks coach Ben McDonald about it. Check it McDonald’s series prediction and more. It was fun.
Kobe Bryant is ready to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a world title.
1-for-2
That’s how I fared in predicting the Eastern Conference and Western Conference finals.
Darn Cleveland.
Like most people, I figured NBA MVP LeBron James and the Cavaliers would face the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals, but Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic defeated Cleveland in six games to come out of the East.
Denver gave the Lakers a tough series, but L.A. has too much talent, skill and Kobe Bryant is just too good to let his team fall to the Nuggets.
So here we are.
Lakers vs. Magic. Superman vs. the Black Mamba.
Not Kobe vs. LeBron, but it’s not chump change either.
Orlando has versatile big men Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu that can shoot the 3 while L.A. has a Hall of Fame coach in Phil Jackson and the best closer in Bryant.
In the end, Kobe will finally win a title without Shaquille O’Neal against the franchise that drafted O’Neal when he came out of college in 1992.
Rashard Lewis, here with teammate Hedo Turkoglu (left), is selling his Washington state home for $4.9 mil.
Orlando star Rashard Lewis is selling his 8,000 square-foot home equipped with five bedrooms, 5 1/2 baths, swimming pool and more in the state of Washington for $4.9 million.
State of Washington?
Yeah, Lewis used to play for the Seattle Supersonics.
Wonder if he ‘s keeping tabs with the bidders as he tries to help Orlando win tonight’s Game 6 at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers and advance to the NBA Finals.
Better not because the Magic are going to need Lewis on his ‘A’ game if they’re going to defeat the Cavaliers tonight.
Lewis, who hit the game-winning shot in Game 1 and a big 3 in a Game 4 win for the Magic, had just 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting in Orlando’s Game 5 loss at Cleveland. Lewis was just 1-of-5 from 3-point range.
One thing I did notice in Game 5 is Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy had Lewis checking 7-foot-3 Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Although Z shoots mostly Js, he does lean on you and that may have sapped the legs of Lewis, who stands 6-10. He’s a jump shooter so having fresh legs is imperative for him.
The Cleveland Cavaliers do.
Shannon Brown has never lacked the ability to play the game. He's just found a home in Los Angeles.
They drafted Shannon Brown in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft out of Michigan State.
He was supposed to be the big, off guard to complement LeBron James. I really thought Brown had star potential in the NBA because he’s athletic, can shoot the three and came from a college program that stresses defense.
Cleveland ended up trading him to Chicago last season. After the Bulls released Brown, he signed with Charlotte, which traded him to Los Angeles where he has become key reserve.
His second-half dunk over Chris “Birdman” Andersen gave the Lakers an emotional jolt in their Game 5 win Wednesday night.
I look at Brown’s size (6-foot-4, 211 pounds) and wonder how much he could help Cleveland against Orlando. Brown could guard Mickael Pietrus and would do a better job in defending Hedo Turkoglu than Delonte West is doing.
Just food for thought.
Mo Williams and the Cleveland Cavaliers are in deep, deep trouble.
Check out what LeBron James, Mo Williams and Cleveland coach Mike Brown said after the Cavaliers lost Game 4 at Orlando in OT, 116-114, to fall down 3-1 in this best-of-7 Eastern Conference finals series.
Also hear what Orlando’s Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Rafer Alston had to say about the Magic victory Tuesday night.
The big thing to look at in regards to this series is the Magic struggled through their first two rounds of the playoffs. In doing so, they found a toughness within they may never have gained otherwise.
On the other hand, the Cavaliers breezed by Detroit and Atlanta and although they got guys who have been through the playoff wars, they might have gotten too relaxed. Now they have to turn it on somehow and that’s easier said than done.
Final score: Orlando Magic 116, Cleveland Cavaliers 114 (OT)
All-Star center Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic are one victory away from advancing to the NBA Finals.
Analysis: Take away the miracle shot by LeBron James to win Game 2 and Orlando would already have punched its ticket for the NBA Finals. In Tuesday’s win, the Magic got the inside-outside balance and have figured out the best way to beat the Cavs, but it’s not a new formula: Make James work, wear him down and nullify everyone else.
The go-getter: Once again, Dwight Howard delivered for the Magic. He scored 10 of his 27 points in overtime and finished the game with 14 rebounds and three blocks. Howard was also 7-of-9 from the free throw line.
The brick-layer: All-Star guard Mo Williams guaranteed Cleveland would win Game 4, but didn’t fully hold up his end of the bargain to help the Cavs fend off the Magic. Yes he scored 18 points, but Williams shot 5-of-15 from the field, missing all three of his 3-point shot attempts.
The stunning stats: James came up with his third 40-point game in this series Tuesday (44 points) and Cleveland has lost each game. For all James has done, his eight turnovers Tuesday proved costly for the Cavaliers.
The play: With Orlando down one, Rashard Lewis hit a 3-pointer to put the Magic up, 100-98, with 4.1 seconds left. Although James forced overtime by making two free throws with .5 seconds left, if Lewis misses that shot, Cleveland likely wins the game to even the series.
What’s next: Game 5 Thursday in Cleveland, 8:30 p.m.
What to expect: It’s not about how the Cavaliers start the game because they blew huge leads in Game 1 and Game 2 at home against the Magic. What’s key is when it’s late in the game, will James trust his teammates or revert back to carrying the offense, thus leaving himself bare to making key mistakes down the stretch because he’s trying to do too much? Orlando isn’t changing its style. If the Cavaliers don’t stick to what works for them, their historic season will abruptly end Thursday.
LeBron James' only 3-point basket won the game for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Wow.
That was the word LeBron James used in describing his buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Cleveland a dramatic 96-95 win against the Orlando Magic in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
James said more than that, though.
On how the fans reaction to the shot…
“Wow. I mean, the reaction from the fans and my teammates. It was; the loudest it has ever been in this building was the first time I made the playoffs my third year and we faced Washington (in the first round). When we won that game, the towels was out. It was unbelievable. I lost my wind soon as I ran out on the court. Tonight surpassed that by 10 times. It was unbelievable. You couldn’t hear anything except the roar of those 20,000-plus fans, man. They deserved it. They deserved it.”
On the final shot…
“Well, the first option was for me to fake up and go for the lob. Two things happened. We had 6-10 Rashard Lewis on Mo so it was going to be a difficult pass. When I went to go for the lob, Hedo (Turkoglu) never bit on it. I told Mo, whatever it was going to take from me, I was going to get the ball. No matter what happened. If the first, third, second, all the options run out, I’m coming to get the ball. I knocked down the shot. Biggest shot I’ve made in my career.”
LeBron James got the shot off, but should he have even gotten that good of a look?
When looking at LeBron James’ game-winning 3-point shot at the buzzer, there are three things we must consider on the play that began with one second left.
1. Rashard Lewis is 6-foot-10. Mo Williams is 6-foot-1. Williams was inbounding the ball from the left sideline in Cleveland’s end of the floor. Why didn’t Lewis make it difficult for Williams to throw the ball inbound. On top of that, it seemed like Mickael Pietrus ran up towards Williams and Lewis backed off.
2. Hedo Turkoglu was guarding James. Now James made a move to the basket first for a potential lob, but then backed out to the 3-point line. Don’t understand why Hedo didn’t stick with James. The only thing that can beat you is a 3-pointer. Force them to throw the lob pass.
3. If you’re Orlando, you make someone else other than LeBron take the shot, at all costs. Got to give Stan Van Gundy credit. He took the blame for how the Magic defended . For all his whining and moaning during the game, he takes the blame every time it’s warranted and sometimes even when it’s not warranted.
Final score: Orlando Magic 107, Cleveland Cavaliers 106
Two of game's best - LeBron James and Dwight Howard - went head to head in Orlando's Game 1 win Wednsday night.
Analysis: Orlando came back from a 15-point halftime deficit to hand the Cavs their first playoff loss. Rashard Lewis’ 3-pointer with 14.7 seconds left won it for the Magic, who won despite LeBron James scoring a career playoff high 49 points. Orlando hit clutch shots while Cleveland leaned too much on James, who battled fatigued and cramped up after the game.
The go-getter: Got to go with Lewis (Orlando). He scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half including the game winner. Dwight Howard, who broke the shot clock with a two-handed power dunk in the first quarter, was also spectacular in scoring 30 points and grabbing 13 rebounds before fouling out.
The brick-layer: Delonte West (Cleveland) shot 4-of-13 from the field for 11 points. Now he hit a big 3-pointer late to put Cleveland ahead, 103-102, with 40.8 seconds left, but missed a 3-pointer that would have given the Cavs the lead with 4.9 seconds left.
The stunning stats: James and Anderson Varejao shot a combined 26-of-38 from the field. The rest of the team shot 17-of-50.
The play: Called the X factor by James, Lewis rose up over Varejao to hit the game-winning shot.
What’s next: Game 2 Friday at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m.
What to expect: Many have asked how would Cleveland respond to adversity. After losing Wednesday, we will find out just how tough the Cavaliers are. Another thing to look for is to see if Cleveland plays with more offensive efficiency and if Orlando can maintain the inside-outside balance it had in Game 1.
The Orlando Magic made us all take notice tonight.
Hedo Turkoglu and the Orlando Magic stunned the Cleveland Cavaliers in tonight's Game 1.
Rashard Lewis hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 14.7 seconds left to give the Magic a stunning 107-106 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena despite LeBron James scoring a career playoff-high 49 points.
The Cavaliers led by as many as 16 points, but were unable to close out the game against the Magic in losing their first playoff game this season.
Oh my.
The big thing that happened in Game 1 is that Cleveland reverted back to the way it played two to three years ago on offense. Instead of moving the ball the way they’ve done all season, they went back to having four guys stand and watch James make things happen.
Now James is great enough to score 49 points under those circumstances, but the Cavaliers are at their best when they move the ball and share the ball.
It’s how they built the 15-point halftime lead. Guys were cutting to the basket, driving to the rim and making the Orlando defense move and adjust.
When James just tries to create by himself, the rest of the teammates stand around and watch. If Cleveland continues to play that way, it will have a tough time beating the Magic.
