There seems to be quite a bit of LakerLoving going on in these parts lately, and one repeated notion is that the Magic gave the game away on Sunday. That simply doesn't make any sense. The Magic played poorly by their standards. The Lakers scored 28 points off of 20 Magic turnovers. The guards shot 26 percent. Van Gundy continued to take a machete to the confidence of Rafer Alston and left it to Turkish Delight to ball handle for the last 5 minutes of the game and left this guy on the floor for over 20. By the way, have you ever seen a lazier person on the floor during Game 2 of the finals? In OT he threw away a pass and then sauntered after the ball until he realized "Crap, people are watching", and then threw in some arm pumping and head dipping for added effect and no added extra speed. If I'm Van Gundy (and, thankfully, I'm not):
- Leave Rafer in. You've been Magical (yeah, I said it) with him in the rotation. He got you here. Nelson is an excellent basketball player, but the basketball you were playing 6 months ago isn't the same kind you played against Cleveland. He earned the right to play, and he's the best point guard for you in this series.
- Make sure Dwight Howard knows that these next two games are a potential turning point for his career. If he steps up and takes over, that's what people will remember in time, not his habit of disappearing in the first two games.
- The Gortat/Howard line up worked. Domination of the boards gave you a chance to rack up an insane amount of 3's in the last two series. Outworking the Lakers on the boards is essential.
- Continue to double and triple Black Mamba. As evidenced by his horrendous shot with time expiring in game 2, he's not a fan of "passing". Let everyone else beat you. It's not like you need to be concerned with guarding Luke Walton, anyway.
The Magic have bounced back repeatedly after crushing losses. Expect a win.
nice use of Turkish Delight
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