KEYS TO AVOIDING A LAKERS SWEEP
June 9, 2009 by Andy
The Orlando Magic traveled a rough road back to Amway Arena, now staring at a two-game deficit after a heartbreaking overtime loss in Game 2. Coach Stan Van Gundy needs to make some key adjustments if he wants the Magic to win their first Finals game and make this series a bit more interesting.
Kobe Bryant really wants to win this year in the Finals and has a new trademark scowl to go with his title ambitions. The Lakers are more experienced from last year and look hungrier than ever. Here are some keys for the Magic if they wish to bring the series back to Los Angeles.
Will the Real Point Guard Please Stand Up?
Jameer Nelson is clearly not himself having just come back from a four-month hiatus from a shoulder injury. He missed two clutch free throws in the fourth quarter of Game 2 and his overall productivity has been limited. Having Nelson back has hurt the Magic even more so by devastating Rafer Alston’s confidence. Alston came into the Finals confident and expecting to run the show for the Magic, but now with Nelson back in the fold, Skip to My Lou doesn’t know his role anymore. In the Finals, Alston is averaging five points a game and is shooting 17%. During the Cleveland series, Alston averaged 12.5 points a game on 37% shooting. He is clearly shaken up by the new lineup changes, blaming not enough time to “get into rhythm.” The best thing would be for Van Gundy to make it clear that Alston will be playing more minutes as point guard and that Nelson will have an even smaller role in this series. Van Gundy needs to instill some confidence in Alston who has led the Magic thus far without the help of Nelson. Players play better when they have a clear understanding of their role and know they will get their minutes no matter what.
Hedo Turkoglu did a great defensive job on Bryant in the fourth quarter, making a key block with 0.6 seconds left that gave the Magic an opportunity to win the game. The 6′10″ forward is slower than Bryant but did a good job channeling him to the right and into Dwight Howard and the Magic defense. His height and length also posed issues for the smaller Bryant. The key will to be use Turkoglu at key instances of the game when Kobe usually looks for his points which would be in the second half and in late stretches of the fourth quarter.
Howard has not been able to score effectively in this series with the Lakers throwing multiple defenders at him as soon as he touches the ball. He has limited offensive moves and has not been able to just dunk over the Laker players. Howard has only been able to dunk the ball once this whole series, which shows how the Laker defense has been suffocating him. Rather than let him get an easy bucket, they are forcing him to earn his points at the charity stripe. Howard has only made a total of six fields goals in the past two games. To offset this issue, the Magic need to use him more on a high pick and roll with Howard moving towards the basket. This would make it tougher for Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum to guard him because it will force the Lakers to use one-on-one coverage as opposed to him posting up and the Lakers double teaming. Howard can catch the ball near the basket and utilize his hook shot before the defense is set up.
Capitalize on Home Court
Howard and Co. Will need to take advantage of being at home, and feed off the vibe of the crowd. The city is already amped up about it, with the Magic logo found everywhere. The city is still waiting for its first NBA championship, and its fans will provide fuel to the fire.
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