Immediate Postgame Comment Thread: Los Angeles Lakers 101, Orlando Magic 96 (OT)

wow gud game all magic fans..yall had my heart beating out my chest

I was very, very impressed with Turk’s defense on Kobe. I was a skeptic, doubtful of his foot speed, but he played some tenacious defense. Great timing, not just with the block but also stripping Kobe in OT.

Both teams had better defensive schemes against the superstars. The Lakers defensive schemes on Dwight have been impressive, flustering him with help but generally still chasing most of the shooters down. They also send the double from an angle to cut off an easy kickout pass from Dwight. But the Magic also played much better D on Kobe. He’s going to get his, but they made him work tonight. Both players had a high # of TOs.

Nothing to do with this game, but Roger Federer is the GOAT. King!

1 – I haven’t said this all post-season, but I’m saying it tonight. We really needed Jameer Nelson tonight. I said this before the playoffs started that the Nelson to Alston drop-off wouldn’t hurt us until we got deep into the playoffs. Well it really showed up tonight. No one to run the point in the fourth quarter because Alston is garbage and is something like 0-7 on three pointers where there is no one withing 5 feet of him. Turnovers and sloppy play killed us down the stretch, and since I haven’t said it before, I’ll say it for the first time tonight: if we had Jameer at 100%, we win this game.

2 – Bouncing off of that last point – I have no idea why SVG was not playing Lee, Pietrus, Hedo, Lewis, Dwight in the fourth. This is THE PERFECT opponent to play that against. The Lakers are incredibly long and Lee has struggled to slow down taller opponents. If you aren’t going to play Jameer in the 4th (which I understand b/c he’s not 100%) then why don’t you play Lee at the point. Go long to match the Lakers length and give Lee more than 7 freakin minutes in the first three and a half quarters!!! For the most part I’ve given SVG some slack but in my opinion not playing that lineup for 15-20 minutes tonight is inexcusable and a poor job coaching on his part.

3 – Both teams played much better defense tonight than they did in Game 1. I would find it hard to believe someone watched both games and didn’t reach that conclusion. The Lakers did a much better job of contesting shots and disrupting passing lanes (although part of it was poor decision making by Orlando). Orlando’s team D was a lot better, but Kobe just missed some shots that he made in Game 1. I say we keep single-teaming him, force him to take 18-20 footers and hope he misses enough.

This was a really tough loss to swallow. This game really could have gone either way. Turk hit a ridic shot to put us up two in regulation. We got a bad bounce where the deflection fell right into Gasol’s lap to tie it. SVG drew up a good play at the end, but Lee couldn’t finish. To me, the make or break play in OT was JJ missing that wide open three from up top when we were up 91-90. That goes back to Point 2 of why is he even in the game down the stretch, but that’s a shot Redick should make.

Tough loss tonight, but we are in no way done. It’s going to be incredibly difficult to take four out of five from LA, but I’m not throwing in the towel either.

Tough, tough loss for you guys. Too many TOs and Dwight wasn’t managing the pressure as well as he did the previous series. That Lee missed bunny at the end of regulation and that Hedo shot that went in and out in OT were crushing.

I would have thought JJ’s performance in the Celtics series would have cut him a little more slack with Orlando fans, but I’m amused by just how much hate he’s getting after this game. (Then again, I know it’s the story of his life) I’m guessing he won’t play much the rest of the series unless Pietrus gets into more foul trouble and Jameer isn’t recovering well — but the misconception among so many that all he’s good for is 3 pointers overlooks how well he moves the ball and how committed he is to playing defense (even if he’s not the best on ball defender out there).

But a part of me, as a Knick fan, hope he keeps getting hated and forces Otis to give him away to the Knicks. D’Antoni would gladly take him (cue lame jokes about D’Antoni not caring about D), not just because he’s a shooter, but because he works extremely hard, is an underrated passer and defender, and is committed to improving every part of his game. Can’t say that about guys like Nate Robinson.