Lakers push Magic to the brink

The Los Angeles Lakers got a big boost from an unlikely source as Derek Fisher hit the two biggest shots of the season to give the Lakers a 3-1 series lead with a 99-91 victory in Game 4 Thursday night. The cagey, veteran Fisher trails only Robert Horry & Michael Jordan in 3 pointers made in Finals history. In his postgame press conference, Phil Jackson agreed with my tweet I sent out in the 4th quarter that the rebound Kobe wrestled away from Dwight Howard and subsequent foul on DH would prove to be the turning point in the game. Mamba finished with 32 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds, while Trevor Ariza had another strong post-season performance with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Ariza is a free agent to be this summer whom I feel the Suns should pursue to fill the Marion void but that’s for a later article. The Lakers now have an opportunity to clinch their 15th championship in franchise history if they can close out the Magic on Sunday @ Amway Arena. I have a feeling they may wait to pop the Cristal until Game 6 though, back @ Staples, with the city, the fans, and Jack! AP photo courtesy of David J. Phillip

Game 2 Preview

The all important Game 2 for the Orlando Magic as they try to avoid going down 0-2 to the Lakers, before the series shifts to Amway Arena for games 3, 4 & 5 (if necessary). Dwight Howard also will try to avoid being held dunk-less two games straight for the first time in over a year and a half. Fouling him and forcing him to beat you at the free throw line reminds me of another previous young Magic center with a knack for foul shot ineptitude. It seems that free throw shooting still remains kryptonite to these self-proclaimed “Men of Steel.”

Disneyland vs. Disney World

Dwight Howard scored 40 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 103-90 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The win propelled Orlando to their 2^nd NBA Finals appearance in franchise history where they will square off with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James scored 25 points for the Cavs but received little support from anyone else, as the team with the league’s best regular season record was sent long “Gone Fishing” for the summer. Game 1 of the 2009 NBA Finals is set to begin Thursday in Los Angeles.

Still Holding Court.....Cavs take Game 5

King James lead the way with the fourth triple double of his 59 game postseason career: 37 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists to lead the LeBron’s past Orlando 112-102 at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland came out blazing from the start, as this battle was very one-sided early. Feeding off the energy and emotion of the hometown crowd, the Cavs raced to a 32-10 with 4 minutes left in the first quarter behind 4 three pointers from Mo “don’t call me Casper” Williams. Orlando was able to overcome the initial onslaught from Guarantee Ghost and end the half on quite a run. The Magic all but completely erased the Cavs big 22 point first quarter lead with Rashard Lewis’ three pointer pulling the Magic with in one at 56-55 as we hit intermission. While walking to the locker room, you could almost hear Mike Brown thinking; “do we realize this is an elimination game, and it lasts 4 quarters?”

(Note: While the Magic were making their run in the 2^nd quarter, I witnessed something that I’d yet to notice. This actually had nothing to do with LeBron. Dwight Howard actually posted up Zydrunas Ilgauskas, spun across the lane with power and finesse, ala Amar'e Stoudemire, and finished at the rim while drawing the foul on Big Z. If someone that young and raw can ever fully develop that aspect of his post game, he truly could be unstoppable down low. Not just LeBron James unstoppable, but Wilt Chamberlain “I will average 50 ppg in any decade” unstoppable. Obviously the self-proclaimed next “Superman” still needs a jump shot, or any shot for that matter, but that’s what the off-season is for. In a short time he will become much more than the best defensive center who can only dunk.)

The second half was much more tightly contested, back and forth, until the Cavs finally wrestled control around the five-minute mark of the fourth. Thus started the typical parade to the foul line, as is usually the case come playoff crunch time. In the end the LeBron’s were able to defend the King’s Court, and promptly send the series back to the Magic Kingdom for game 6 Saturday night at Amway Arena. Cleveland was able to cover the spread (-8) in Vegas tonight, with the over/under (191) hitting as well. One positive: the growing personal foul epidemic did find a temporary antibiotic this evening, with Orlando committing 27 to the Cavs 25. Although 75 free throws were attempted between the two teams, there were far less of the head scratching, jaw dropping, unbelievable displays of officiating ineptitude that have seemed to plague a few recent playoff matchups. Celebrities in attendance at the Q included rapper Jay-Z, quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Brady Quinn, as well as Yankees stars Alex Rodriquez, Mariano Rivera, and C.C. Sabathia who were in town for a 4 game series with the Tribe starting tomorrow evening.