Yao wouldn't have made the same impact in other areas though. The Magic wouldn't have had the opportunity to close the game there if Howard didn't absolutely dominate the glass and the entire Lakers frontcourt most of the game. 21 rebounds and 9 blocks. He was the Magic's MVP of that game despite missing those free throws.
It's a tough call, especially when they let everything go in OT. Lots of fouls went uncalled in OT. However, I really hate how Dwight gets so many offensive fouls on Pau flops. They need to clean that up.
The Magic have absolutely NO right to complain about officiating in this game. 18 free throws in the fourth and OT for Orlando, and zero for the Lakers until the game was already decided. Sure, Kobe should have been called for the offensive - but there were a huge amount of plays where the Magic didn't get called either. The Magic need to suck it up, especially since they would have won if Dwight Howard had hit a free throw.
They GOT PLENTY OF CALLS R U KIDDING ME. I SWEAR NELSON DESERVED TWO servings of Kobe elbow (not because of him personally but the ways the calls have been going).
Orlando lost the game, and they lose game 2...they should have won, free throws and defense down the stretch...at one point the Magic were 10-18 from the line in the 4th and OT combined while the Lakers were 0-0.. Chilcutt
I don't believe the refs had anything to do with the outcome of this game. The Magic went to the line 37 times to the Lakers' 20. The Magic had a chance to win this game but they didn't. The Lakers got second life and got it done.
yep, the Magic are done. No way they come back down 3-1 against LA. I still want to hear why VG didn't have Rafer in there for his defense, VG said it himself that Rafer was a better defender.
Fans questioning coaching decisions only staying with the rotation that got them there and not all of a sudden deviating toward a player, THIS is why they do that. I discredited Jameer for not being an offensive threat, but then he got credit for facilitating offense for others.... But then there's DEfense thats still a component of the game. Fisher's last 3 he was WAY far back, its a shot you can sometimes concede. Still...
How many times do coaches and teams need to get burned before FOULING when up by three on the last possession becomes standard practice? The Magic can go to sleep tonight knowing they lost an NBA Finals series due to their inability to make FT's and their refusal to FOUL in a situation where they had every reason in the world to do so. Two totally preventable and self-inflicted wounds. Good job.
You can't be the MVP when you're the goat. His missed FTs were critical especially the last one he missed.
I thought LA would have lost on Kobe's stand-still-one-on-one possessions, but Magic choked big time with all those missed FTs. I seriously don't understand why Stan put Rafer on the bench for almost the whole 4th quarter and the whole overtime. Yeah, he missed a few shots before he was subbed out. So what? Bad calls were plenty, on both ends. But one thing I have to say, if Dennis Rodman was officiated the same way as they are doing on Howard, Rodman would have been the most dominant center, if he could camp in the restrict area for 10 seconds at both ends, shifting feet to gather himself, hacking and elbowing before every move then getting sent to the FT line, on top of his incredible rebounding ability. The 2 years of non-stop playing has put a huge wear on Kobe. He's just a tough SOB. But he should have trusted his teammates more, especially get Gasol more involved in the offense, to put more pressure on Magic's interior defense. Overall a very exciting game.
and the power comes back on and i have air conditioning. i was reduced to reading! and apparently i missed a damn good game. watching the highlights when hedo hit the shot to put them up 5 i assumed the magic won but then they showed howard's free throws and i got the feeling the lakers pulled it out. fisher redeems himself for sucking all postseason with that game-tying 3. looks like kobe sucked from the field but is at least filling up the other stats these days. 3-1, lets hope they don't let down.
I completely agree. The game was lost by Stan Van Gundy at the end of the 4th quarter. It's really quite simple: Situation: you have the lead against the lakers with < 20 sec. left in the game. Lakers have the ball. Instructions to win: (1) Foul the ball handler before the shot. (2) if, for some really STUPID reason, you don't foul the ball handler before the shot, DO NOT PLAY OFF OF A 3-POINT SHOOTER. Play tight on him. If he passes inside, let them have the 2-point shot. Ugh. It's really nauseating that the Lakers will win the championship.
