28th June 2009
Laughs (at poor Luke Walton's expense) courtesy of The Onion:
"While coach Phil Jackson said losing to the Celtics by 39 points in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals motivated Bryant to succeed, he acknowledged that Kobe could not overcome Walton's utter lack of talent alone.
'Kobe certainly put up big numbers, but he also rallied this young group of players and took their play to another level with him,' Jackson said. 'Winning in the Luke Walton era took a total team effort. They should be proud of what they accomplished. You have to be at the very pinnacle of your game to rise above a player of Walton's caliber.'"
Posted in 2009 Playoffs, Just For Fun, Layups | No Comments »
16th June 2009
Apropos of our little Kobe debate in the comments of another post, ESPN.com's own Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, has written a piece that I think perfectly sums up my feelings on Kobe, the Lakers, and the entire experience that the media gave us in these playoffs (especially during the Finals):
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Posted in 2009 Playoffs, Layups | 46 Comments »
15th June 2009
And so it came to pass that Game 5 of the NBA Finals, at home in Orlando, would be the site where the weary Magic would make their last stand. Having allowed two games to slip through their fingers in the series already, Orlando now faced the sobering reality of needing to win 3 consecutive games against the Lakers, a team that did not suffer a 3-game skein all season long, to capture the prize. The odds were heavily against a comeback, but then again, the odds had been against the Magic all season. Did they have one last epic surge left, or would the Lake Show permanently crush their collective will in Game 5 on Sunday night?
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Posted in 2009 Playoffs, Analysis, Boxscore Breakdown, Rant | 97 Comments »
12th June 2009
As we noted several days ago, Game 4 was essentially the second straight "must-win" game for the Orlando Magic -- their estimated probability of winning the series was already just 20% even after capturing Game 3 at home (a game which required a record-breaking shooting performance for them to narrowly defeat L.A.). Game 4 on Thursday night would be the most important of the series yet, then: Win, and you've given yourself a fighting chance again with things at 2 games apiece; lose, and face the unpleasant reality of requiring 3 straight wins (including 2 on the road) against the NBA's most talented team. In other words, it was make or break time Thursday night...
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Posted in 2009 Playoffs, Analysis, Boxscore Breakdown | 1 Comment »
10th June 2009
With the series shifting to their own building for Game 3, the Orlando Magic knew they absolutely had to get a win by whatever means necessary if they wanted to have any shot at the NBA title. The Lakers' defense had ruled Games 1 and 2, holding the Magic below 100 points/possession in each of the matchups at Staples. While Rashard Lewis had still managed to play well, getting Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Rafer Alston, and Mickael Pietrus going offensively would be a must for Orlando in Game 3. So did they get the job done at home, or did L.A. take a commanding 3-0 series lead?
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Posted in 2009 Playoffs, Analysis, Boxscore Breakdown | 6 Comments »
8th June 2009
Another game, another crushing loss for the Magic. This one wasn't crushing because it was a blowout, mind you, but for the exact opposite reason: Orlando had the game in their grasp at various points in the 4th quarter (a buzzer-beating, game-winning alley-oop attempt by Courtney Lee literally missed by inches) and overtime, yet in the end they could not stave off the Lakers when it came down to making a key stop in the closing sequences. First, here's the advanced box score:
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Posted in 2009 Playoffs, Analysis, Boxscore Breakdown | 5 Comments »
5th June 2009
Well, Game 1 is officially in the books, and it was a surprisingly one-sided affair:
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Posted in 2009 Playoffs, Analysis, Boxscore Breakdown | 7 Comments »
4th June 2009
Sometimes I mark the passage of time in my life by the sporting events that happened in a given year. Is that weird? Maybe so. But still, I'm prone to associating particular years with certain happenings from the world of sports -- for instance, I hear 1997, I think of Tiger Woods' historic victory at Augusta. 1998? Michael Jordan's "last shot". 1985? The start of the Celtics' dominating run to championship #16. Oh, and I was also born that year, can't forget that. But mostly I think of the Celtics.
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Posted in 2009 Playoffs, History, Just For Fun, No Math Required | 7 Comments »
