Neither orlando nor cleveland are very impressive but ultimately some team has to come out of that conference. I don't see how orlando beats the lakers in a 7 game series should LA get past denver.
Rafer scored 26 points today on 10-17 FG, 6-12 threes. Second leading scorer on Orlando. Those are sick stats no matter how you look at it, granted its only one game. However, Rafer does seem to play better in the East.
man, this board will explode if the magic somehow win a title with rafer alston as their starting point guard and a van gundy as their head coach. i could really see dadakota hanging himself and clutch closing this board (or finally selling it to t-mac) if this happens.
I am shocked that Orlando was able to win this one, but at the same time I am damn happy. It would be a big dissapointment for the Cavaliers if they lost this series, especially after as great season as they had. Props to Rafer and Pietrus. They are playing beautiful basketball. And by the way LeBron is outstanding. What else can he do?
Nothing wrong at all with Orlando winning the title. Every team has an equal shot, and whoever pulls it out in the end deserves it. Good for Van Gundy, Alston, Lewis, and anyone else who has a direct or indirect connection with Houston and/or the Rockets. As a fan, I know what it's like to have to suffer through years and years of futility (until 1994), so I would definitely be happy with Denver, Orlando, or Cleveland winning the title, particularly the last two because it would be great for their fans. No offense against LA, and I know people like their dynasties and all, but if LA never won a title in the next 20 years, I'd be perfectly OK with that. I think Boston and LA have carved out a good enough legacy, and it'd be nice for some other teams and their cities to experience the 'ship.
LBJ is good, but Stern is their 2nd best player, until they found 3pt shot from Magic can't be whistled out.
Well this series has been very disappointing for me. I will give you MULTIPLE reasons for why you should be rooting for LBJ and the Cavs and not for the wretched Magic: 1) The Cavs have never WON anything and had only made 1 finals appearance before this season started. 2) Hell, the city of Cleveland has had a very star-crossed history with their professional sports teams - their last championship was in 1964 with the Browns beating the Colts in the NFL Championship Game (2 years before the Super Bowl started), so if a city ever deserved a title, it is Cleveland. 3) LeBron James is a LIKEABLE NBA superstar - I understand why some people may not like him because the league does market him non-stop but he is infinitely easier to like than Kobe Bryant. 4) If Cleveland does not win a title before LBJ becomes a free agent, he will probably be more likely to leave them and go to the Knicks. If people think they hear about LeBron all the time, just wait until he plays in NY. You will hear about him even more (if that is even possible). 5) Do we really want Rafer Alston to win an NBA title? Nothing personal against the guy but that would really suck to see a guy who was constantly derided on this board getting a ring. 6) If the Magic win the title then it will mean that the McGrady deal was won by them and not by us. People do realize that not only did they get rid of McGrady (which at the time looked like a terrible move on their part) but also Francis, et. al pretty quickly after they joined the Magic. So, they pretty much started over from scratch (and granted getting Dwight Howard in the lottery helped a lot) and they were still able to WIN a title before us who are still hitching our wagons to that *magical* T-Mac train. If the Magic win the NBA Finals, I will literally throw up in my mouth - seriously. God, I sure hope the finals are not the Magic against the Lakers because I will not be able to pull for either team.
Eh, I think if you believe Von Wafer can score 20 on any given night which I certainly believe then you'd have to believe both Pietrus and Lee can do likewise. Pietrus can shoot the three and drive the lane. Lee ran the pick and roll to perfection the other night, they literally could not stop him and he also shoots the three very well. They're both 6'5"+. When Orlando runs Hedo at the point with Lee, Pietrus, Lewis, and Howard they can put up a ton of points on anybody.
Well, I think I've been correct to defend Stan Van Gundy's abilities. But I've been very wrong in previous threads to give Dwight Howard so much grief for his post game. He's been close to automatic when he gets a deep post on those Cav big-man clowns.
Manny, I see how you feel, but don't agree with some of the points you made: Neither has Orlando. That poor franchise got to the Finals once and got swept by us. They were also held hostage by Grant Hill's injury for years. Who care about the city of Cleveland? Fair enough. That is just a speculation. I don't think winning or not winning a championship has anything to do with whether LeBron will leave. This season has shown LeBron that he has a contending team in Cleveland. And even if he leaves, it is not a lock that the Knicks will get him. What is he going to get with the Knicks other than his buddy? I have no grudges with Rafer. In fact, I am kinda (just kinda) pulling for him. Rafer is a likable guy. Yes, I hated his bricks. But he also played some amazing games that saved us. That's exactly what he is doing for the Magic. This is the logic I don't get from so many people here. The Magic got lucky getting Howard, which has nothing to do with us getting McGrady. Magic winning a championship before us does NOT prove that we lost in the McGrady trade. Here's the logic: Trade A sucks. You make some good moves using pieces from Trade A. Trade A was good? WRONG!! Trade B is good. You are not able to get enough talent to win after Trade B. Trade B is bad? WRONG!!
2 things 1...We all know in the back of our minds that CLE is coming back from down 3-1 to at least tie it 3-3. 2...if the magic do hold on, the are going to destroy the LA/DEN winner.
1. Possibly- but Magic in 6 is a very real possibility. 2. Absolutely not- are you seriously thinking Orlando can "destroy" the Lakers? Please- first of all, the Lakers would have home court, they have bigs who can match up with Howard, and it's not like the Magic is destroying teams like the Celtics and Cavs. As a matter of fact, I would definitely pick the Lakers if both are matched in the Finals. With Denver, Orlando would have home court, but Denver has just as much if not more firepower than Orlando. Maybe Orlando beats them, but destroys them? No. I could easily see that going to 7 games. At this point, I don't see any team getting soundly defeated in the Finals. Whichever 2 teams make it are going to go 6, possibly 7 games.
Orlando should end this in 6 games. A seventh game would almost be a Cavs victory. Winning 2 straight would give them the momentum. Getting a win in game 5 is not really a must for the Magic, however ending it as soon as possible is the best case, I see the best chance for the Magic to end it, is in game 6.
I'd be surprised to see the Cavs rally back beyond a game 6 (LOL - game 5 officiated by Joey Crawford and Dick Bavetta). The supporting cast for Cleveland is unraveling. All season they developed an uber-chemistry and swagger. 2 rounds of laughers and they keep that swagger. But the Magic stun them in Ohio, rip them good in Orlando...and half the Cleveland players look dazed. It's not that they're choking, so much as they were playing beyond themselves and are coming back to reality. Mo Williams is their second best player, and he's honestly not an All Star. He's good, but he's at best the 8th best PG in the league. Most of the rest of that cast are top notch bench players. If you look at who the best players are in this series, Lebron starts the list, and then the Magic get the next 3. A lot of people are ragging on SVG, but honestly, what has Mike Brown ever done as a coach to impress anyone anywhere?
I think the winner of Game 5 takes the series. Which is, to say, I think Orlando either wins it now on the road or blows the series
No offense, but LA has absolutely no one that would be able to defend DHoward if he plays the way he has been against Cleveland; LA's bigs were worked over by 6'9" Luis Scola - can you imagine them trying to defend the beast that is Dwight Howard? Watching Gasol/'Laz-E-Boy' Bynum trying to match up w/ Howard would be outrageously funny in its futility, provided that Dwight stays out of foul trouble in the early goings; although I would be a bit concerned for the Magic considering they would have to concede home court advantage to LA (but that really hasn't mattered so far in the playoffs, since they've played so well on the road and haven't had home court since the first round - also, Orlando did sweep the season series against the Lakers, which hints at the matchup problems that LA faces against Orlando). I agree with you that no one is going to have an easy road to the championship, regardless of how the Finals matchup shakes out.
