The Dye Has Been Cast

Well the Orlando Magic have made it the NBA’s showcase event,the NBA Finals. And based upon what we’ve all witnessed thus far. It’s hard to say how this team’ll really fare if it doesn’t regroup, play like a team that many believe that they’re capable of being.

Stan Van Gundy coach of the Orlando Magic addresses members of the convened press at the team’s training facilities in El Segundo , California. His team plays the Los Angeles Lakers in game two of the NBA Finals on Sunday . picture appears courtesy of nbae/getty images/ Stephen Dunn ……….

It was there for all to see in their magnificent efforts against both the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers in the previous rounds of the playoffs. Albeit that they’ve now ran into the a team , who in the Los Angeles Lakers ,looks as if they’ve got a predisposition with regards to a meeting with destiny.

Pau Gasol of the Lakers puts a shot up over the outstretched arm of the Magic’s Marcin Gortat. The Lakers would go on to defeat the Magic 100-75 in game one of the NBA Finals played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles , California. picture appears courtesy of nbae/getty images/ Noah D Bernstein ……

And though game one now but a distant memory for the Magic after their 100-75 demolition at the hands of their Western opponents. The fact of the matter is we don’t really know who this team really is after Friday night’s seemingly lackluster effort on the part of the Magic. Granted they were outplayed by the Lakers through much of the game. But one would’ve expected more from this team altogether. Albeit that there’s not a member on the team’s roster that has any Finals’ experience. Which may well have in large part played a great deal in what we’d witnessed.

Reports Of Our Imminent Death Were Vastly Exaggerated

So the  Cleveland  Cavaliers   live  to  fight another  day ?  And  not  a  moment  too  soon  for that  matter  !   Had they succumbed  to  defeat   at the hands  of the  Orlando  Magic.   Then  it’d  have   proven  to be   of  great  embarrassment to  the NBA  and  to  the   Cavaliers’   fans  and  their  organization  as  a  whole.

James center circle speaks to his teammates prior to last night's game against the Orlando Magic. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Gregory Shamus ............

Now  we  go  on  to  see  whether or  not  they  can  indeed  still  erase  the  deficit  (3-2)  in  the  series  and  win  it  outright.   There’s  a  burgeoning  belief  amongst their  fans that they’re  still  capable  of  doing  this.   And  quite   possibly  as  well   amongst   a  growing  number  of  fans  around the  NBA .  

James looking to make an offensive play as he shields the ball from the Magic's Rafer Alston during the game. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Gregory Shamus ................

 If nothing  else   it’s  more about  the  ever  growing  possibility  of  seeing  a   Lakers’   Cavaliers’  matchup   in the  NBA  Finals.    Most  certainly   it’s  the  desire  of the  NBA  hierarchy   more  than  anything  else.    David  Stern   and  his   hierarchy   haven’t  exactly  shied  away  from this  but  nor  have  they  openly discussed  it  in  public.  As it’d be viewed  as  being   discourteous  to  the  likes  of the  Orlando   Magic  and   Denver  Nuggets.  

Last  night’s   fifth  game in this  best  of  seven  series’  Eastern  Conference  Finals   has  proven  if  anything  that the  Cavaliers   still   has  some  fight left  within them.    Much  of  it  however comes  from   the  fact that  the  team’s  All  Star  and  league  MVP  LeBron  James  is  unwillingly  to  give  up without  a  fight  and  shedding   every   last  drop  of blood  within  his   athletic   frame.   And  once  again  he’s proving  why  this  team  is  but a  shell   of  itself  without  him  on the floor at  all  times.

James looks to make the layup while evading the defensive presence of the Magic's Dwight Howard. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Gregory Shamus .....................

In defeating   the  Magic  112-102   to bring the  team from the  brink  of defeat  in  the  series.    James   willed  himself   and  the  team  on .   But  most   of  all   not to   allow  the   Orlando  Magic  to  grab  a  victory   from  the  jaws of   defeat.   James  led all  scorers   on the  Cavaliers’   team  and  he  was  ably   supported  by a  trio  of  teammates  in Delonte’  West,  Mo  Williams  and  Zydrunas  Ilgauskas   who  scored  a combined 53  points   in  addition  to  the  37   scored   by  James ,  himself.  However once  again the  bench  of  the   Cavaliers   offered  little  or   no support  in  terms  of  real  productivity  with a  mere  15  points in  total.    If  ever  there  was a  category   where   the  team   has been  a  letdown  altogether  in  this  series.  Then  it  has   most   definitely   been  the  Cavaliers’  bench  and   its  productivity on the  offensive   side of  things.

Music mogul , rapper and producer Jay Z in attendance watches the drama unfold during the game. The rapper and LeBron James are close personal friends. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Elsa ...............

 Through  the  first  three quarters  of last  night’s  game the two   teams were  evenly  matched   in terms of their  offensive   output.  Wherein  coming  into  the  final  quarter  the  Magic merely   held  a   one   point  lead  79-78.  But over the  course of the  final quarter  the   Cavaliers   took their  opponent  to  task  outscoring  them  34-23   down  those final  twelve   minutes  to  eke  out a  10  point win.  The   fight  if  anything  was  that  for much  of  the game  with  it  at  times  becoming   very  physical and  the  officials  in  Bill  Spooner  , Dan  Crawford and   Marc  Davis   keeping a  watchful   eye on the  events  as  they  unfold. 

Hedo Turkoglu of the Orlando Magic on the sidelines after the loss to the Cavaliers 112-102 in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals played at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland , Ohio. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Gregory Shamus ......

 The Orlando   Magic   for themselves   killed  their  chances  of  winning  this  game   by  merely  turning  the  ball  over  far  too often  when  they  were   in  transition  on  the  offensive   side of things.   And   having  shot less  than  50%  in  their   field   goal  attempts and   an  even  more   putrid  32%  from  beyond  the  arc.   Which   the  latter is  often   thought  of  as  their   bread  and  butter  when   not  attacking  the   basket.

Ben Wallace of the Cavaliers looks to make the layup over the Magic's Marcin Gortat while his teammate LeBron James looks on. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Russell Thompson ...............

 All  in  all  one  could   sum  up  the  Magic’s  night as  being   a   game  where  they  didn’t   care of the chances  when   given  to them .  And that’s  despite the   fact  that  Hedo  Turkoglu  and   Dwight   Howard  played  well.   With   the  two  of them   combining  to  score  53 of  the  Magic’s  102  points in the game.  And with  only   Mickael  Pietrius  and  Rashard  Lewis  on  the  team  getting  into  double figures   in  terms  of scoring.  Again   something  else  also  that  was  indicative   as to  a  reason  why  the  Magic  lost the  game.  One  can  allude  to  the  fact  that   the  Cavaliers  took care of  business as they  needed    to.   

 

Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic reacts after having fouled out in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Gregory Shamus ................

 And   if  nothing  else  this  series  one  might  now  surmise  is  far   from  over.   Much   like a  lioness   is willing  to  protect   her  cubs  in the  face of danger .   So  too   are  the  Cavaliers   as they  seek to  protect  their  presence  in  the  postseason.   And  as of   now they’re willing   to fight  and   state the   obvious that   reports  of  their  imminent  demise  was  vastly  exaggerated as  they’ve  lived  to fight another  day. 

With   two  games left   in  this  series.  It’s  not  beyond  the   realms   of possibility  that  the Cavaliers could  come back  from the  brink  of defeat and  win the  series outright.   But  that’d  be  predicated  also   on  whether  or  not  the  Magic  can  rebound  from this  loss.  They’re   but    one  win  away   from a  second  appearance  in the NBA  Finals.  And that’s something   that  as  of  now  is  most  definitely  worth  fighting   for.

 

 

Is it   possible  that either  LeBron   or  Dwight  can  prove to  us  that  they’re  indeed  superstars    by  leading  their  team  to  an  NBA championship ?

 

Karl’s Yellow Streak Underlines The Fact That He Has No Guts

After last night’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.  There’s no denying that the Denver  Nuggets’ coach George Karl really is the liability for the team as a whole.  Instead of trying to accentuate what needs to be done by his team in trying to win this series. 

Carmelo Anthony of the Nuggets and the Lakers' Lamar Odom contest a loose ball during the game . picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Tom Scott

What has been uttered from the lips of Karl has been nothing but platitudes and a list of complaints that stretch for miles.  And in no way will change the outcome of what has transpired already.

If anything this clearly shows Karl for what he really is.  And that’s a coach who appears to be way in over his head when it comes to coaching a team in the postseason.  Albeit that he’d had measured success in previous stops.  Most notably in his stay with the Milwaukee Bucks and Seattle Supersonics.  And as we know what has since befallen that franchise.  As they’ve since become the Oklahoma  City Thunder.

Shannon Brown of the Los Angeles Lakers takes the ball downcourt against the Denver Nuggets during game 5 of the Western Conference Finals played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles , Calfornia . picture appears courtesy of nbae/ getty images/ Andrew D Bernstein

 For three quarters the Nuggets were able to remain competitive with the Lakers before succumbing to a 103-94 loss in a pivotal game 5.  But if anything showed that the team’s heart may no longer be in this series.  Then the actions of Karl and his addressing of the press in the postgame conference was clearly indicative of this.

Rather than suggesting where he felt the team went wrong in terms of their overall play.  He was more concerned with the fact of the officiating and the fact that his team wasn’t getting their fair share of the calls.  The question I would ask of Karl is, since when did he expect there to be any semblance of consistency when to comes to the officiating in the NBA postseason?  We’ve continuously see the inconsistencies not only in the postseason, but also in the regular season itself.  And it’s not about to change anytime soon.  The vagaries of the game being what they are.  And the mere fact that even NBA Commissioner Stern feels that his officials are above reproach.

We’re All Vulnerable, But Some Are More Than Others

Over the  Memorial   Day   weekend    my   buddies  and   I  got   together.    The girlfriend  saw  fit to  return  to  Orlando  to  check  on  her  apartment   there  as  she  resides   in that   city.   I   only  make  the  city   the  place of my  work.   Which  is  soon   to change  as  I’ve  just been   offered a   position within a  noted  law firm  to work  within  their  corporate  business   division,  in terms  of   mergers  and   acquisition.  

And  being  the  sport’s  oriented testosterone  driven  males   that  we  are    the  subject  of  sports   arose.   And  in  particular the    NBA   and  the  plight  of the  Detroit   Pistons.

We  didn’t  feel  in the  mood  to  be   discussing  the  wars  in Afghanistan  or  Iraq , given the  fact that each  of   us   in  our   own  way  have   seen  and  been  in the  service  of  our contry  in one  form  or  another.  

I’d  spent   6  1/2  years  myself  as   a  Marine  in  the  British  military  .  And  I  saw   active   service   serving in  Ireland  during  the   early to mid   eighties.  And  whilst  there  I   lost   several  comrades   there.    Furthermore   I’d   also  served   in  various  parts   of Europe  and   North  Africa  with  the British military  as part  of  a   UN  peackekeeping  force. 

 

Darko Milicic on draft day in 2003 . Milicic was the Pistons' #1 draft pick on the day. The franchise had the chance to take Carmelo Anthony at the time but they forsook the choice. picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Richard Curtis ................

But  the   crux  of  this  piece  really   gathers  and  is   about  the  fortunes  and  shall  we  say   the  demise  of the  Detroit  Pistons  as  a  franchise.   For  six   straigth  years  the  franchise  had  ridden  on the  crest  of a  wave   having  been  part of   six   straight   appearances   in the  Eastern  Conference   Finals. 

However  somewhere along  the  way   things  started  to  fray  around  the edges  for the  franchise  under the  custodianship of  GM Joe  Dumars.   My  colleagues  and  I as  we  discussed   this   came  at the  topic   in  differing   directions.   

I  took  the  stance that  the  malaise started  when   Dumars  chose   to  take   as his   number  one   pick   Darko  Milicic    and  second  overall    in  the    NBA  draft of 2003 .  When  he  could’ve  at the  time  taken  then   star  of  the   NCAA  Tournament   that   year ,  Carmelo  Anthony.  Carmelo if  one  remembers   led the Syracuse  Orange men to   the  national  title  that  year as a sophomore.      The  others who  were   part  of the  discussion   felt   it  was  just     the  mere  fact   it  was  a  misguided choice.  Milicic  for  his  part  never   truly   fitted  in what   it  was  perceived   Dumars   required   from  him  as  a player.

 

Joe Dumars GM of the Detroit Pistons seen here with Allen Iverson recently after the player's trade to the team from the Nuggets in exchange for Chauncey Billups. picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Richard Crouch .........

 

And  when  choices  such  as this are  made   and  they  don’t  eventually  pan  out  to  something   tangible.   They  can   and    do  tend   to set  a  franchise  back   a  number of  years.  Especially  when    the  player  is  or  has  been  viewed  as   a  franchise  player  and  the  linch   pin  of  the  organization  for   the  forseeable   future.  That being  said   if  the   error  isn’t  immediately   rectified    you often  see  a  player   who’s   not  contributing  much  that team.    And  then  comes  the  lack  of  confidence  on  both  fronts   from  the  player  and  that  of  the  coaching  staff.   For  Milicic   it  didn’t take    long   for  him   to  prove  that   Dumars’   faith  in  him   wasn’t  justified at  all.  

 

Iverson seen here who at the time seemed in a much happier place. picture appears courtesy of nbae/getty images/ Terry Shaw .............

 

And  though  some  might  say   that  it  hasn’t  been  until  this  year that we’ve   seen  Carmelo Anthony  produce  some of the  best  play  of  his  career  thus  far.   We  all   knew  that  there  had to  have been   something   special about the  player. Otherwise   why  would   they  have   voted   him    player of the  tournament   during   the  Final  Four  of  the  NCAA Tournament  when  Syracuse won  it all  ? 

Lakers Make It All Seem So Easy With An Assist From K-Mart and ‘Melo

Did I miss something here?  But how the hell can a team like the Denver Nuggets let a game like this slip away, even if it is to the Los Angeles Lakers, especially in the way they did?

Kobe Bryant shoots over the head of the Nuggets' J.R. Smith during game 3 of the Western Conference Finals played at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The Lakers would go on to defeat their conference foes, 103-97 and take a 2-1 lead in the best of 7 series. Picture appears courtesy of nbae/getty images/ Andrew D. Bernstein

 

But pardom me for saything this, but if the Nuggets have any intentions of derailing the Lakers title hopes, then they will have to be more disciplined and have the tenacity to play for an entire 48 minutes.  With both Kenyon Martin and Carmelo Anthonyfouling out.  Game three and perhaps the series has now been handed tot he Lakers and become theirs’ for the taking.

 

A win at Denver now places the Lakers up 2-1 in the series.  And with another commanding performance by Kobe Bryantto lead the team.  One now has to ask what mush the Nuggets do in order to reassert themselves back into this series?  If nothing else a win of game 4 in Denver would go a long way in reaffirming that and no doubt calm the nerves of the Nuggets’ fans en masse’.  However much of that’d be predicted upon the Nuggets playing with some emotion and above all, discipline.

 

Bryant speaks with coach Phil Jackson and his assistant Kurt Rambis during an interval of game 3 played at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Picture appears courtesy of nbae/ getty images/ Andrew D Bernstein

A 103-97 winfor the Lakers and a solid 41 pointcontribution by Bryant has all but made this series on appearance seem a one way traffic scene, as Bryant goes so do the Lakers.  But what has even become more apparent is that the Lakers’ bench once again became a none factor in this game.  And once again Andrew Bynumhas been about as relevant as a fly on an elephants’ rear end.  And as we know an insect such as a fly tends to like the smell of something rather rancid.  Shall we allude to that very fact concerning Bynum’s game during the postseason?  Someone’s got to say it!

 

A Healthy Respect For An Opponent Is Always Better Than Disdain!

Well low and behold the superhuman efforts of LeBron James were all for nought on Wednesday night.  As the Cleveland Cavaliers  succumbed to the Orlando Magic in something of an upset in a 107-106 loss to their Eastern Conference foe.  The loss itself now places the #1 seed in the East in something of an unenviable postion.  A second consecutive loss on their homecourt at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.  It would send shock waves that’d be far reaching not only within their organization but also amongst their very own fans and across the whole NBA as well.

A soldout venue at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Scene of game one of the Eastern Conference Finals played between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic. picture appears courtesy of nbae/ getty images/ Jesse D. Garrabant................

The Cavaliers are viewed as the presumptive favorites in the East and the prohibitive favorites to win the NBA title outright.  However a loss of this series may well not only put a severe damper on the aspirations of the team.  But it’d most certainly diminish the spectacle of what is hoped would be a showcase finals being played between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers.  Afterall that’s indeed the finals that everyone is hoping to see!  And with the games two brightest stars being on show in the guise of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.  What better advertisement could David Stern, the hierarchy of the game and the fans possibly wish for?  It’d be a marketer’s paradise and a boon for ABC television who would be broadcasting the finals themselves.

Into The West

Well it’s finally here!  And the Los Angeles Lakers have yet again made it to the conference finals.  However they’ll now be meeting their conference rivals and #2 seed the Denver Nuggets.  That being said this particular matchup may not prove to be as enviable as first thought.

Bryant leaves the court at the Staples Center in Los Angeles after the team's defeat of the Houston Rockets in the decisive game 7 played. picture appears courtesy of nbae/getty images/ Scott Padgett ..............

The Nuggets for their part have proven to be a formidable team during these playoffs, accounting for and dispatching their opponents with some ease. And now come the point where they will have to prove themselves as a worthy foe for the Lakers. Of whom it can be said this postseason we haven’t yet seen the very best of the franchise in terms of a well meaning performance. So much so that if anything it has caused their fans a great deal of trepidation. Despite what some have said to the contrary. But then again these aren’t your average Lakers. They’ve either played above themselves or more often than not just played down to the level of their opponents . Never have they actually maintained a high consistency level when it has come to their play throughout much of the playoffs . And thereby giving a meaningful performance that their fans could feel proud of.

And when that performance has been raised at best it had been a passing aberration for the players and their fans. Coach Phil Jackson would appear seems unperturbed by this all as he just continues to coach in his normal perfunctory manner . Never really admitting that there’s a problem within his coaching staff’s midst. If it’s one thing that we know about Jackson …..it’s that he never lets his emotions get the better of him of as a coach. He’s the consummate professional when he’s on the sidelines during a game. Albeit that he’s been known to run afoul of the officials when he voices his displeasure over a call. But then again what coach in the NBA hasn’t been known to call out an official during a game?