Re: NBA 2008-09 Regular Season Discussion Thread
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Originally Posted by Mark Leiter
As a Magic fan I am in heaven right now. Nothing will be able to take the shine off my day today. But, as a NBA fan I know this series is far from over. If Orlando is gonna win this series I think they need to do it in six. I just don't like thier chances for a game seven in Clevland.
I have always said, one of the most under-rated aspects of the NBA game is how teams match-up to one another. You saw this this year by Otrlando getting swept by an inferier Detroit team, and you're seeing now now as Orlando plays Cleveland. Cleveland just dosen't match up well against Orlando. That is why they are 3 and 9 in the LBJ era against them.
IMO the reason why is that while the Cavs have quality bigs, none of them can score. Which means that Howard never has to play 1 on 1 defense against Cleveland. He's free to roam the paint playing back-up D for everybody else on the Magic squad. With the paint clogged up like that it turns the cavs into a jump shooting team and that plays right into the hands of the Magic.
Of course Cleveland have LBJ and Mo Williams, but after that the talent on their team drops off big time. The cavs bench got dominated last night. If Orlando can hold onto Home court they'll close it out in six. If it goes back to Cleveland for game seven, I think LBJ will be enough to get the Cavs into the finals.
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Mark,
That was a spot-on analysis IMO. Very well said. Secondly, congratulations on winning game one.
Matchups? Definitely. Back when the Boston Celtics won three championships in the 1980s (1981, 1984, and 1986), I was
very thankful that they never had to face (in the Finals) the Jack Sikma / Gus Williams Seattle Supersonics. The Sonics 'had their number,' so to speak, on many occasions. I know full well about how matchups can make or break a team, and I agree that Cleveland has their hands full with the matchups presented in this series. Did you happen to see Ilgauskas? He's 7'3", strong, and a fairly decent outside shooter. Still, he looked very tentative last night -- almost as if he were being 'out physicalled' under the boards.
When the Magic defeated the Lakers 106-103 in Orlando in their first head-to head this season, I was mildly impressed (Los Angeles went 0 for Florida that week). But when the Magic defeated the Lakers 109-103 in Los Angeles in their second head-to-head matchup, I knew that they had arrived. That was the first time that Orlando had swept the Lakers in a season series. I was convinced at that time that this Magic team was a team that was to be reckoned with.
For a refresher, posted by me on December 23, 2008 and on January 17, 2009:
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Originally Posted by Ockeghem
Well, the Lakers are 1-2 on their current road trip, having lost to the Heat and the Magic thus far. I figured that they would defeat the Grizzlies. I'm hoping for a Hornets win tonight (they are hosting the Lakers), and I'd love to see the Rockets defeat the Cavaliers in Cleveland.
Orlando is looking very, very good, especially at the defensive end. I had them at number four the other day, but they are quickly moving up in the ranks, and in my estimation are in a dead heat with the Lakers at this point, tied for the third best team in the NBA. I could see them being the number two seed in the East come playoff time. And you read it here first: if the Cavaliers and Magic meet, Orlando will defeat Cleveland in a seven game series.
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Originally Posted by Ockeghem
Well, the Orlando Magic have arrived. Their win over the Lakers last night was one of their biggest wins in franchise history. They swept the Lakers for the first time in team history, and in sweeping the Spurs as well, this team has shown many that they can play very well on the road.
Bryant had a triple-double last night, but Howard outplayed Bynum, and Nelson's three-pointers (and Turkoglu's) came at the right time. I think it is safe to say that the Magic are at least as physical as the Celtics and Cavaliers, and all three are, generally speaking, more physical than the Lakers. I believe that this will spell the difference come playoff time. For me, it's a bit unfortunate that some pairing of the Cavaliers, Celtics, and Magic will very likely have to play each other to get to the finals.
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BTW, my comments regarding the Lakers in post #246 above was before I was convinced that Cleveland would not make the NBA Finals.
There are only two teams in the NBA that Los Angeles did not defeat this year, and Orlando is one of them. Much like Mark's comments regarding matchups being underrated, I feel that regular-season results are underrated. The Lakers lost to the Celtics four straight times last year before finally defeating them (by six) in Game 3 of the Finals. Having swept a team during the regular season that one may eventually meet in the playoffs is IMO psychologically invaluable to a team, and will give the Magic all the confidence it would need should they meet the Lakers in the Finals. Last year, almost all of the experts were picking the Lakers to defeat the Celtics in the Finals. (Thank you, Tim Legler.
) Knowing that Boston was 2-0 against Los Angeles during the regular season, I was very confident that Boston would defeat them and win their 17th championship.
