Thursday, May 28, 2009

What They're Saying: Magic vs. Cavaliers Game Five

-Henry Abbott of TrueHoop breaks down Dwight Howard's technical fouls this postseason. Luckily his tech from last night's game was rescinded, so he is two away from a mandatory one-game suspension.

-The return of "Skip 2 my Lou"

-Whit Watson of Sun Sports/FSFlorida fame says the NBA must address its officiating issue after some bad calls or perceived bad calls in the Orlando-Cleveland series.

-The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Brian Windhorst and Mary Schmitt Boyer break down Game Four and make some good points about the series so far.

-Superstars can get away with "taunting" or emotional outbursts after big plays. Even Michael Jordan.

-Bethlehem Shoals of the Baseline blog explains why LeBron James is so difficult to officiate -- he is the perfect mix of speed and power never before seen in the NBA.

-Stan Van Gundy is winning the coaching battle by a mile with Mike Brown according to Mike Freeman of CBS Sportsline.

-Cleveland is searching for answers with its back against the wall entering Game Five, Kyle Hightower of The Orlando Sentinel writes.

-Orlando's wild Playoff ride might be getting bumpier. Getting one more game to get to the finals will not be easy, according to Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. The team, though seems up to the challenge.

-Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel says the Magic should feel confident heading into Quicken Loans Arena with a chance to close out the series.

-Bradford Doolittle of Basketball Prospectus explains why statistically Orlando is a bad matchup for Cleveland. The Cavaliers just cannot solve the Magic puzzle.

-Zach McCann of Orlando Magic Daily breaks down the poor performance of Cleveland's bench. Interestingly enough, the Cavaliers are 0-5 when no one besides LeBron James scores more than 18 points. They are 2-0 when someone does.

-David S. Glasier of the The News-Herald in southern Ohio says coach Mike Brown and his Cavaliers are keeping the faith. Each game (except Game Three) has been within Cleveland's grasp and this series could have easily swung the other way. Having said that, he is still having trouble solving Orlando.

-Chris Perkins of the Palm Beach Post writes about Rafer Alston's unlikely journey to becoming a starting point guard for a conference finalist.

-Bill Simmons laments a change in the NBA. And demands better officiating. This should be a golden age for the NBA.

-Jay Mariotti tries to figure out what is in LeBron James' future as it appears Cleveland failed once again to surround their transcendent superstar with enough pieces to win a title.

-How the pick and roll has made Dwight Howard better, according to Kevin Peltonen (Insider only)

-David Thorpe of Scouts Inc. breaks down Game Four and says Stan Van Gundy did a good job adjusting to Mike Brown. Thrope says to expect another close game.

-Rob Peterson of NBA.com breaks down the keys for Game Five.

-Perhaps some mind games at Quicken Loans Arena before Game Five.

-Sometimes it is as simple as making shots.

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