Foreword by – J.C. Carnahan
In the most recent episode of the NBA Finals on Thursday night the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers overcome a parade of whistles by an eager officiating crew at Amway Arena to actually make a game out of Game 4.
The 99-91 win for L.A. gives the Lakers a firm 3-1 series lead and inches the franchise closer to its 15th title. Orlando on the other hand is feeling about as good as Cleveland is right now after blowing their second shot at a win in these Finals. If such a thing as a sports curse actually does exist, then be assured Magic fans will be talking about the “greatest free throw misses” in franchise history for years to come. Nick Anderson, you are no longer alone.
The Magic finished the night with 15 misses from the charity stripe with Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu combining for 13 between the two of them. Just as bad were Orlando’s 17 turnovers.
The same small-market team that two days earlier torched the nets in a record setting shooting performance got it done on defense early on but couldn’t finish the job. In the first half the Magic carried the momentum by holding Hollywood to just 37 points. They then pulled a Cavalier-like card out of their hats (after being up 12 at the break) and muddled their way through the third quarter for just 14 points, compared to L.A.’s 30. But even that wasn’t the death of them. Somehow the Magic weathered the Laker storm and found themselves up five with a minute-and-half to go. The Lakers kept coming though, and the Magic backed down.
From that moment on it was Pau Gasol scoring in the paint. It was Howard missing two straight free throws. It was Jameer Nelson getting an up-close view of Derek Fisher’s resurrected jump shot from behind the arc with only four seconds left. Tie game, 87-87. On to the second overtime of the series. Fast-forward to a 91-91 game with 31 seconds remaining and imagine the dagger piercing the hearts of Orlando fans as Fisher drains another one from downtown. The Magic no longer could answer. We’ll find out if they can keep this thing alive though in Game 5 on Sunday night at 8 p.m.
Quote of the Night – “I don’t know what the referees are seeing out there in this first quarter. There are some bogus calls out there,” said Phil Jackson before the start of the second quarter after being asked “what positions” are putting his players in foul trouble.
Best Advertisement – A commercial for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 10th Anniversary featured the question “Who was the youngest player to win in the Finals?” The multiple-choice answers were A.) Moses Malone, B.) Michael Jordan, C.) David Goodman, D.) Shaquille O’Neal – and can you believe I was actually sitting there asking myself “Who the hell is Goodman?” Yeah, they got me.
Makes Me Wonder – If the NBA actually thinks the officiating in the Finals and/or overall playoffs has been up to par. They should at least make a public announcement explaining what is considered a foul nowadays.
For Stats Sake – Bryant racked up 32 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line while Gasol (10 rebounds) and Trevor Ariza (9 rebounds, 3 trey’s) each went for 16 points. Howard led Orlando with 16 points, 21 rebounds, an NBA Finals record 9 blocks and 7 turnovers while Hedo Turkoglu had 25 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
–– Further Analysis from the Joint Contrast Crew ––
== Says J.C. – No more talk about the seven-game road losing streak for the Lakers in the NBA Finals. Give it a few days and there may be no more talk about the Magic either. The storyline from Game 4 will be of Derek Fisher missing the first five three-point attempts he took before earning yet another spot on an NBA Finals highlight reel, while teammate Kobe Bryant was just 2-of-6 from long-range and 11-of-31 from the field in nearly 50 minutes of work. Guess it turned out to be the worst possible time for Howard and Turkoglu to get cold feet at the foul line. And no matter how hard they tried in overtime they could get no closer to making up for it. The same can be said about the deep-ball efforts of Rashard Lewis, Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston, who combined for a dismal 4-of-14 effort from beyond the arc. And they did no better the closer they got to the basket, either. What’s surprising though is that it took this long for Trevor Ariza to have a real impact, and his best game of the series, against his former team on Thursday night. At 3-1, shouldn’t be long before they’re scheduling calling hours on behalf of the deceased.
== Says Ray-Ray – Hot damn! What a game. There’s a lot to talk about. Missed free throws, turnovers, the decision making, refereeing. I’m actually still confused on who won the game. The one thing I do know is that the ref’s helped determine the outcome, which is sad. But here’s my thought on that, whether it’s boxing, MMA, or basketball, no matter what it is, it’s up to you or your team to do what it takes to knock out the opponent. Otherwise you put the outcome into the hands of an outsider. Yeah, there where a ton of shitty calls. There where probably even more missed calls. But when you turn the ball over and miss free throws it’s nobodies fault but your own. Isn’t it amazing though at this skill level, and 60 years into the league, that we are still letting free throws determine if we win or lose a game? The easiest shot in the game and yet players still consistently miss them, causing their team games.
== Says Steve P. – Before Dwight Howard gagged on the line like he swallowed the hook, I could have sworn this game was over. The Magic just couldn’t nail down the coffin and Derek Fisher leaped right out with two three’s to save Kobe and the Lakers… But man, the refs are blowing whistles like porn stars. They should have a referee penalty box that they have to sit in after bad calls so maybe we can watch the boys play hard playoff ball for a few. (They should have to sit in it between Bill Laimbeer and Ron Artest.) And where was Rashard? One field goal in regulation? Weak… I heard the question asked whether the Lakers should re-sign Lamar Odom or Trevor Ariza in the offseason and I’d say if Kobe’s absolute distrust of Odom’s game (which he showed by not even passing to a wide open Odom late in the game) is any indication, then Ariza should deservingly remain a Laker… You know what, if I had a vote Fisher would get my nod for the Basketball Hall of Fame. He may not get a lot of votes when the time comes but he’s as rock solid a point guard as you could ask for. And I bet his career winning percentage is one of the best you’ll find. How many of those shots has he made?
6 Comments
hey that Goodman shit got me too tho!..i was like yea he s the answer cuz he doesnt fit but i dont know who the hell he is!…..lil dez rap was nice too!…is anybody as stoked for this Public Enemies movie as me?! Johnny Depp playing a famous bank robber from the OH10!…hey Ray we gotta scoop amc and go see this one!…i drank too much coffee this morning, excuse my excessive use of the !!!!!!.
Ray how you feel about the Odom/Ariza debate as a laker fan?….how bout D fish HOF?
lamar odom in wine and gole sounds pretty nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
gole obviously is a new color-it’s a combination of gold and lebron’s hatred for d.howard and it equals nba championship 2010-hollaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
odoms only the player u think you re getting 25 games a year man..the other days he s soft as butter and uninterested
That Lil Dez freestylin’ commercial was hilarious!
Looks like it’ll be a long offseason for TimS though. How you been liking those new Vitamin Water spots without #23 in them? That’s pretty funny. Not that I was rooting against the Cavs. But if this would have happened to Jordan in the 90′s I wouldn’t have been able to stop laughing my ass off about it.
About the John Dillinger movie… flix based on true stories are my kind of movies, so I’ll definitely want to catch it. I think dude though was from Indiana though.
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