LATE Magic Wands: June 26, 2009

-The Magic may not have won a title, but they still got a parade. Or stood at City Hall and thanked the fans and community.

-This Magic fan is taking the Finals loss a little too hard if you ask me. It was bad, but not this bad. Some teams have more resources than others and are better run. And have one of the best players on the planet.

-Nike and the Hall of Fame are getting sued by a Massachusetts company that claims to have exclusive rights to Hall of Fame logos and merchandise.

-Now Orlando gets to embarrass Shaquille O'Neal at least three times a year... or at least hear Shaq try to desperately hold onto the spotlight for one more year.

-According to EA Sports, Orlando would still beat Cleveland even with Shaq in Wine and Gold. The simulation was run before the Vince Carter trade.

-The Wall Street Journal slowly peels back the mysterious cloak of the AAU. It is partly to blame for the lack of fundamentals young American players have.

-Could the impossible happen? Could Rasheed Wallace really be wearing Magic blue next year?

Let the Vincesanity Begin

I did not want to post on Vince Carter last night. I needed the night to sleep on the deal and figure out what I really thought. Because once the deal happened, I thought the worst.

Those feelings have subsided somewhat. But still linger.

Orlando, after years of flirting and tempting, acquired Daytona Beach's -- and Orlando resident -- Vince Carter from the New Jersey for Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee and Tony Battie. The pieces the Magic gave up in this deal can be addresses in a moment. But what does Carter bring the Magic?

Carter is a guy who can still score 20 points a night on any given night. He scored 20.8 points per game last year and played in 80 games. He's not a bad rebounder, averaging around six a game, and not a bad passer, averaging around five a game.

I try to think of it as a step-up replacement for Hedo Turkoglu.

He can shoot the ball, score on his own and drive the ball. Orlando has not had a scorer like him since his cousin Tracy McGrady was playing at the Amway Arena. He may not be able to work the pick and roll like Turkoglu could, but he is an incredible option to add to this team.

Here are the things that have always unsettled me about Carter.

He is a high-shot guy. He shot the ball 16.8 times last season and 16.9 the year before. For his career he is averaging 19.2 shots per game. A lot of that is a product of having to carry a lot of bad teams in Toronto and New Jersey. But like McGrady, he is a guy who is likely to take the ball down the court, pull up and shoot a three. When they go in, great. When they don't... ugh.

He is not a high percentage guy either. He has rarely shot better than 45 percent in his career. Again, that is part of him having to carry some bad teams.

The other thing is you have to question his defensive effort sometimes. According to 82games.com, the effective field goal percentage when he is on the court is 51.3 percent. Not very good. Hedo Turkoglu was playing at a 46.2 percent clip.

Some of that might be a product of Orlando being a better defensive team. But the difference is pretty stark. The Magic traded offense for defense in this trade.

And that is what concerns me most of all. Carter has had his effort questioned before -- remember how he exited Toronto? I think coming home will inspire him to play the best ball he can ply. But he is also on the downside of his career.

A lot of different things have to happen now for the Magic to reach the Finals.

First, they need to find a new starting small forward. I like Mickael Pietrus coming off the bench, so the Magic need a good defender to take the first turns at LeBron James, Kobe Bryante, etc. Pietrus likes to get injured and the Magic cannot rely on a Carter-JJ Redick defensive combo.

This is why I don't like this deal. Orlando gave up young and promising Courtney Lee. Lee did everything right this season. He was the best defender on the team for much of the season, hit the 3-pointers when he got them and looked to attack. He never played outside himself and played his role masterfully.

Lee will be missed more than anything. And I think the Magic will regret this part of the deal.

Second, they need to re-sign Marcin Gortat. Ryan Anderson is a nice player, but as his stat line show -- 7.4 points per game, 39.3 FG%, 36.5 3FG% -- he is not the greatest fit at small forward. With Battie gone, it appears the Magic are committed to re-upping with Gortat.

Turkoglu is gone, so forget about re-signing him. The Magic need Gortat and a small forward who can start this summer. Still some work to do.

This deal is good in the fact it does provide Orlando with a great scorer. I think Carter will find offensive success in the Stan Van Gundy system. But the Magic will still need a healthy Jameer Nelson and a more aggressive Rashard Lewis to make all this work. Not to mention an improved Dwight Howard.

The defense is still what worries me about this deal. I think Carter will play inspired ball to win a title for his hometown team. But will that be enough? Even in his prime, he was not a great defender.

The Magic won last year on defense. The defense took a big hit yesterday.

This move seemed very reactionary to me. It seemed like Orlando felt like it needed to ensure the team could replace Turkoglu after San Antonio and Cleveland made its trades to gear up for a title run.

It might work out, it might not. I still need to be sold with what happens on the court.

2009 Mock Draft

They said it couldn't be done. And it was. This will change 20 million times before the actual Draft takes place. But here is my hat thrown into the ring. Seeing as the Magic don't have a pick, I'll just throw the picks out there and let you digest and comment on them.

Everyone and their mom has a mock draft these days. So I will analyze the drafts with my mock draft competition next Friday. Happy Drafting.

1. Los Angeles Clippers: Blake Griffin - no explanation needed

2. Memphis Grizzlies: Hasheem Thabeet - rare a 7-3 guy like this comes around, makes up for losing Pau Gasol maybe

3. Oklahoma City Thunder: James Harden - good scorer and shooter who should complement their talent well

4. Sacramento Kings: Ricky Rubio - flashy point guard, exactly what Sacramento needs

5. Minnesota Timberwolves: Tyreke Evans - need a point guard now that Foye is gone... wait a sec... the 6-5 guy who can play the point and score

6. Minnesota Timberwolves: Stephen Curry - need a point guard now that Foye is gone

7. Golden State Warriors: DeMar DeRozan - would fit well into this system, he is a freaky athlete

8. New York Knicks: Jonny Flynn - strong point guard who can manage a team... plus he has an explosive first step and is fearless... would be D'Antoni's New York Nash

9. Toronto Raptors: Jordan Hill - athletic power forward who could complement Bosh... for now

10. Milwaukee Buck: Brandon Jennings - so glad you could finally make it to the Draft, was that year in Rome worth it? Still questions about whether he can run a team

11. New Jersey Nets: DeJuan Blair - I love this guy, he works hard and does the dirty work... shouldn't be starting, but he will find a place on the court

12. Charlotte Bobcats: Gerald Henderson - not sold on him, but he is an intangible guy with some talent

13. Indiana Pacers: Ty Lawson - has winner written all over him

14. Phoenix Suns: Jrue Holiday - not sold on him, but he is an athletic combo guard who can run the show and score

15. Detroit Pistons: Earl Clark - another guy who is a pure tweener, but he has the athleticism to succeed at the NBA level

16. Chicago Bulls: B.J. Mullens - really could have use another year

17. Philadelphia 76ers: Terrence Williams - this guy will stick, he is a good defender and very athletic... he will find his place

18. Minnesota Timberwolves: Tyler Hansbrough - works hard and if he can put on some muscle, could be a good option off the bench

19. Atlanta Hawks: Eric Maynor - remember this guy beat Duke? He is a smart player who can manage a game

20. Utah Jazz: James Johnson - I honestly don't know much about this guy, but he has got to go somewhere

21. New Orleans Hornets: Jeff Teague - solid point guard who can run the break

22. Portland Trail Blazers: Omri Casspi - freaky athlete from Israel, Portland traded up to get him

23. Sacramento Kings: Chase Budinger - dead-eye shooter

24. Dallas Mavericks: Sam Young - another sleeper... I really like him, he is an intangible guy who plays really tough

25. Oklahoma City Thunder: Wayne Ellington - the forgotten piece of the Carolina championship team... he can shoot it

26. Chicago Bulls: Marcus Thornton - another one of those tweeners

27. Memphis Grizzlies: Austin Daye - the most interesting prospect in the Draft, he is 6-10 and rail thin, but freakishly athletic

28. Minnesota Timberwolves: Jonas Jerebko - awesome name, he will do awesome stashed overseas

29. New York Knicks: Taj Gibson - good athlete for a four, would fit in well with 7 seconds or less scheme

30. Cleveland Cavaliers: Nick Calathes - solid point guard... never lived up to expectations at Florida

So Shaq is a Cavalier

The Draft has taken up a lot of my attention, but the headline late Draft Eve (Wednesday) was that the Cavaliers and Suns have agreed to a deal that would put Shaquille O'Neal in wine and gold (those are their colors, right?).

This is something I thought I would only see in my Dynasty on NBA Live 2005 -- where O'Neal signed as a free agent with Cleveland before the 2007-08 season to team up with Vince Carter (on a side note: New York drafted LeBron James in the fantasy draft to start my dynasty).

The Cavaliers were looking for revenge after the Magic ousted them from the Eastern Conference Finals. And they knew they would need front court help. Someone, anyone who could contain Dwight Howard.

Cleveland hopes they got that in Shaquille O'Neal. That's right, this blog's namesake will be playing for Orlando's biggest rival in the Eastern Conference.

O'Neal does give Cleveland the front court depth the team needs to attempt to guard Howard. But this move reeks of desperation. O'Neal is not the Shaq of old. He had a good season in Phoenix last year, but was hardly the dominating Big Diesel.

His offense is much slower and methodical. He is more of a liability on defense than he has ever been. His girth and the memory of his greatness are probably his biggest assets at the moment.

I wonder what this does to LeBron James' ability to drive to the basket. As mentioned above, O'Neal takes up a lot of space in the paint. Space James needs to get to the basket.

Kobe Bryant and Penny Hardaway got away with it because they could shoot jumpers. Dwyane Wade did it by recklessly driving to the hoop without care for his body. He won the title, but paid the price. Is James willing to do that before his big summer? I doubt it, James likes thinking he can shoot jumpers.

I think this move makes Cleveland easier to defend. Centers can stay in the paint and help out on James more with O'Neal anchored to the inside. With Howard now in the paint, maybe focusing more on O'Neal, maybe not, James has less room to drive -- especially if James tries his middle of the court drive that worked so well in Game Five.

This move reeks of desperation, again. O'Neal cannot guard Orlando's pick and roll whether it is going to be Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkgolu or someone else running it.

It will be interesting to see what this deal does to Cleveland and their team dynamic -- Shaq can be a poison in the locker room and, oh by the way, good bye Mike Brown. It is still James' show, and I think they go as far as he will carry them.

But the Cavaliers needed to do something to show they were not satisfied with losing the title, let alone missing the Finals. So here is their big move.

I don't think it will pan out for them.

The changing forward

You probably cannot tell it from Orlando's reaction -- what with the Finals going on last week and the lack of workouts at RDV Sportsplex -- but the NBA Draft is this week. I, too, am admittedly behind on my Draft preparations as it usually preoccupies my NBA mind from the end of the beginning of May until the end of June.

A playoff run certainly does a good job distracting all Magic fans. Orlando's lack of a pick also does a pretty good job at it too. So excuse the lack of Draft coverage. And frankly, this Draft is not very deep. There are not going to be a whole lot of superstars and maybe not even a whole lot of average players.

Orlando did a good job getting out, in other words. Especially with Hedo Turkoglu and Marcin Gortat heading into free agency, there is really no need to take on any unnecessary spending.

A point does deserve being examined entering this Draft.

There is no doubt Blake Griffin of Oklahoma is the top pick. No one disputes the Clippers will be taking Griffin. He is a versatile and explosive 6-foot-10 forward who has freakish athleticism and can finish around the rim in a variety of ways. I do not think he has the post game to be a great power forward, but he does not have the jumper of a small forward.

Ah, the tweener. Griffin to me is a more disciplined Josh Smith. Others can certainly disagree with this assessment. But one thing is more than clear.

The definition of a power forward has completely changed.

It started with Phoenix's experiment with Shawn Marion at the four. Marion, a six-foot-eight athletic freak who could mix it up with bigger power forwards, rebound and shoot the 3-pointer. He fit Mike D'Antoni's system perfectly and found a niche for himself -- granted one that his ego thought was too small for him.

NBA is a league of imitation and it was not long until others were employing the small power forward.

Most critics believed, because the Suns' experiment failed, that no team could win without a traditional power forward. So it was a curious move when Orlando signed Rashard Lewis.

At 6-foot-10, Lewis had the size of a power forward, but not the build. He preferred to be on the perimeter and shoot 3-pointers rather than work on the block or hit the short jumper that would give the center enough space.

I have been arguing for the last few summers that the Magic have needed to add that rugged power forward to ultimately man the four spot in the future. That thought went right out the window after Lewis torched traditional four-men Glen Davis and Anderson Varejao. The ones he had problems with? Thaddeus Young, an athletic power forward for the 76ers, and Lamar Odom.

No coincidence. The power forward is getting smaller.

Griffin certainly fits into this pantheon. But where will be the question he will have to answer. The consensus for him to be the top pick, however, is a sign the power forward might be changing for good (or at least the moment).


-REMEMBER CONVERSATION WITH IAN ABOUT BLAKE GRIFFING PLAYING THE 3 WITH SACRAMENTO

Magic Wands: June 19, 2009

-Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse reports the Magic will go into the luxury tax to keep Hedo Turkoglu. The good news is, it is at least a sign the team knows how close to a title it is.

-Adonal Foyle is usually all smiles. But in his final playoff diary with Henry Abbott, Foyle expresses regret that the Magic could not finish their goal.

-Rashard Lewis and Rihanna?! I thought he was married.

-40 things The Puns Are Starting To Bore Me learned in 40 nights.

-All things considered, the Sports Illustrated cover does the Magic a few favors.

-Keys to Tuesday's Game Six. Looking forward to the Game Seven preview. Why did Universal dump Back to the Future?

-The Orlando Sentinel editorial team thanks the Magic for doing so much for the community in such a difficult economic time.

-The Magic are running at 7-1 in Vegas to win the title next year, behind Los Angeles, Boston and Cleveland.

-At least Dwight Howard's puppet is in a good mood.

-Marc Stein's Winners & Losers in the NBA Playoffs.

-Want some Magic bling? Get your 24KT Eastern Conference Champion gold coins and other fun goodies.

-With the economy in the tanks, owners keeping money in their pockets and every general manager prepping for the big summer of 2010, could Hedo Turkoglu be heading overseas? Orlando certainly could take advantage of all this if Turk's options were limited to NBA teams. But adding Olympiakos to the mix, would certainly change negotiations.

-Apparently the Larry O'Brien Trophy is not worth as much as you think. Or Cash4Gold is a huge rip off.

-The big difference between the NBA & WNBA.

Instances of The Curse: The Free Throws that Haunt Sir Nick

n 1997 the history of professional basketball was changed inexplicably.

It was that summer when Shaquille O'Neal left the Magic Kingdom in Orlando and leaped across the nation to the Magic Kingdom of Disneyland. It was that summer that the Los Angeles Lakers became a championship contender while the Orlando Magic were left to pick up the pieces.

It was that summer that the Curse of the Big Aristotle was born.

Ever since Orlando won that fateful Draft Lottery in 1992, the team's history would forever be tied with O'Neal's. He led the Magic to their first and only NBA Finals three years later (where they were swept by the defending champion Rockets).

His departure left a gaping 7-foot-1, 300-plus pound hole in Orlando's front line. The Magic were forced to watch from the sidelines as the Lakers won title after title while they slipped into mediocrity and irrelevancy.

It was at this moment the Curse of the Big Aristotle began. This is an instance of the Curse at work:

Nick Anderson stepped to the line in the late stages of Game One of the 1995 NBA Finals. It was the dream season for a young franchise.

It was Year Six of the grand Orlando basketball experiment -- the team's second postseason appearance -- and the team had reached the pinnacle of the NBA. These young guns had no clue what they were getting themselves into.

Shaquille O'Neal was the next big thing. Penny Hardaway was probably still better known for the Chris Rock puppet he walked around with. Horace Grant was all about the goggles. Brian Hill was still a venerable young coach. Dennis Scott was (Dennis Scott, among other things) O'Neal's one-man rapping posse.

And Nick Anderson was, well, he was the link to the franchise's young past. The first draft pick in team history. He was the role player every great team needed. He defended. He hit 3-pointers.

But under the bright lights, the team faced adversity. Orlando lost a 12-point lead and led by three as time ran down in Game One.

Anderson toed the line. He was a 70.4 percent shooter from the foul line. Not great, but not horrible either. It would be impossible to think he could miss two foul shots in a row. Right?

He missed the two shots. For reference after missing the first two free throws, to get back to his average Anderson would make his next five (that would be 71 percent from the line). There is no way he could miss four in a row.

After grabbing the rebound on his second miss, Anderson was fouled and went back to the line. Anderson clanked the next two. Again for reference, to get back to 70 percent he would have to hit his next ten free throws. Pretty impossible to miss four in a row.

He did and it left the door open. A door Kenny Smith made sure he led the Houston Rockets through. The rest, as they say, is history.

Hakeem Olajuwon tipped in the go-ahead bucket in overtime with 0.2 seconds left and gave the Rockets the Game One win. The Magic never recovered and were easily swept out of the NBA Finals.

It was widely assumed Orlando would return to the Finals soon. O'Neal was the next big thing. Hardaway was the next medium thing. And the team had a bright future.

Then Michael Jordan happened. And Orlando never got its chance. Soon O'Neal left for Los Angeles (where he won three titles). And so the Curse began to be cast.

Anderson was never the same. He never shot above 70 percent from the foul line the rest of his career and shot a paltry 40.4 percent in 1996-97. He never was the same.

Despite this, Anderson is -- and should be -- remembered for the great things he did as Orlando's first player. His steal on Michael Jordan in the Conference Semifinals is the greatest play in team history.

Time to reflect and enjoy the moment

This is going to be one of those columns. Everyone in the Magic blogosphere is doing it. It is the post-mortem to the season. And it is the only way to cope with losing in the NBA Finals.

But I guess I have to throw my hat into the ring. This season was the season I became a fan again.

I mentioned this in an earlier post, but it bears repeating. Since I have become serious about journalism, the fan in me has slowly withered. I was always still passionate about my team. I stood up and cheered, pointed to the Fat Guy at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and cheered my ass off when I went to games.

But it was very different.

I started playing more seriously and actually learned the game. I looked at the game differently. And it changed my relationship to the Magic.

Going to college did not help. Not being able to watch the team on a consistent basis gave me an odd feeling of detachment. My first game after leaving for Northwestern was admittedly odd.

So I became more a journalist -- objective, analyzing and less optimistic -- when I watched the Magic. At the beginning of this season, I believed the goal was to get to the conference finals (or lose by seven in the second round). At the beginning of the playoffs, this would have made me happy.

As the Magic advanced, I stopped believing what my brain was telling me. I started believing my heart. I believed Orlando could give me the world.

My fandom was restored when I went to my first playoff game. Game Four against Boston. I was home for my cousin's Bar Mitzvah. Sure the Magic lost in the most crushing manner possible (although I was illogically upbeat about it), but the atmosphere reminded me why it was so great to be a Magic fan. I forgot how loud the building could get when it was full of crazed Magic fans.

Enjoying this season for me can be summed up in one crazed early morning.

After coming home from work after Game Five, I jokingly e-mailed my Mom telling her tickets were too expensive for me to fly home for Game Six. I received an e-mail from her the next morning asking me if I wanted to do it, she was willing to arrange it.

It took hours of weighing the pros and cons. And then I said, "When is the next time we will be here. I'm doing it." An 8 a.m. flight later (and half a paper), I was in the O-Rena for the Magic's Eastern Conference Championship-clinching game. It is a moment I will never forget.

This was the year I became a fan again. It was the season I believed my team could do anything. It was the year I drank the Kool-Aid and enjoyed it.

I truly believe the Magic could win the title. My brain told me the Lakers would win it. My heart told me Orlando could bring it home. And for the first time in a long time, I went with my heart.

And I do not regret it.

This was a fantastic ride. And I am happy to be along with it. I am happy the city jumped on. You never know when you can get back to the Finals again (it took the franchise 14 years to make its return). That makes it hard to swallow a championship loss.

But it made this season so much sweeter. It made this the most memorable team in Magic hisotry, maybe its best. It reawakened the basketball craze. And more than anything, that is what Orlando should remember about this team.

Game 5: Los Angeles Lakers 99, Orlando Magic 86

It has been an incredible ride. The Orlando Magic proved their critics wrong and reached the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history.

Dwight Howard proved to be Superman throughout the postseason. Rashard Lewis earned his paycheck on numerous occasions. Hedo Turkoglu was, Hedo Turkoglu.

No one thought this team would make it this far. Orlando dethroned the champs. Dethroned the King. And did it through adversity and resolve.

All these accomplishments do not make it any easier to see the Los Angeles Lakers walking away with the title on the Amway Arena court (do not know if it would have been any easier to see them do it at the Staples Center). Los Angeles was the better team this series and deserve their trophy. A congratulations is certainly in order.

When push came to shove Sunday night in Game Five, Orlando did not have enough fight left in them to extend the series. The Magic came out on fire and took an early nine point lead.

In the middle of the third quarter, Los Angeles used a 16-0 run to take the lead at the half and never really never looked back. The Magic never got close and watched the Lakers maintain the lead.

Orlando started pressing and trying to force things, succumbing to frustration in taking bad shots. Los Angeles, on the other hand, could not miss. Lamar Odom was draining 3-pointers as was Trevor Ariza. And Kobe Bryant was, finally, efficient Kobe Bryant.

It is not worht going into the stats in this game. The Magic were outplayed tonight. They got down and tried to force their way back. Their 3-pointers were not falling tonight for the Magic. For the Lakers, they were. The bounces were heading Los Angeles' way tonight.

And Los Angeles was the better team in this series. Orlando could not adjust itself to what Los Angeles wanted to do defensively. The Magic did not execute in crunch time (see Games Two and Four) and could not find a way like they had throughout the season.

This was ultimately not Orlando's year. It was Los Angeles'.

This game tonight is all about emotion for both teams. I am sure it is somber in the Magic locker room. I hope the players look on at the trophy presentation on their home court tonight and remember this feeling.

Like Los Angeles, it can only drive them to get back to this point and lift the trophy themselves.

I said all season that Orlando needed to continue to improve and advance in the playoffs -- cache playoff experience. They did that.

I also said all season they needed to do this to gear up for a title run in 2010.

Nothing less should be expected from this team after their fantastic season. The 2009-2010 season starts now. That title needs to be the only thing on the players' minds right now.

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

-IF Phil Jackson wins his 10th NBA title, Henry Abbott wonders if he might be willing to hand the reigns to superstar Kobe Bryant much like Red Auerbach handed the reigns to Bill Russell.

-A reflective mood at Saturday practices as Jackson approaches breaking Auerbach's title mark. The Magic? Hedo Tukoglu looks at the 3-1 deficit as a chance to show Orlando's character once again.

-Sunday might be the last time Orlando sees Hedo Turkoglu or Marcin Gortat in a Magic uniform. It is simply an issue of dollars and cents. For Turkoglu, it is going to take some interesting cap maneuvering and maybe some back breaking. Apparently, Orlando is willing to pay the luxury tax to keep him.

-Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times is very convinced Kobe Bryant will be a Laker for a long, long time.

-Orlando can rain on Los Angeles' parade in more than one way. Even if the Lakers win, they may not get their victory lap around Staples Center.

-Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse writes sitting on the bench has been the toughest thing for Anthony Johnson to do. The journeyman has earned his way to the Finals, but has not seen a minute of action so far.

-It has been a wild ride for Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher since they both entered the league together in 1996. They were both at the top earlier this decade and have had to claw their way back.

-Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel also does not want this ride to end. The Magic's success has meant a lot to the city and legitimated the large investment the area put into the team with the new arena.

-George Diaz of The Orlando Sentinel guarantees a Game Five victory for the Magic. Why? The loosey-goosey, jovial mood at practices. This team has played well under adversity this postseason.

-Orlando is confident there will be a ring ceremony at Amway Arena next season, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. That is certainly the attitude the Magic will need to complete the improbable 3-1 comeback.

-Mark Jackson tells the Orlando Sentinel that the Magic did not lose Game Four because of experience. The Lakers executed and made the plays they needed to do win -- a very proactive analysis of the game. Los Angeles' cast of characters seem to have that destiny feeling around them. But then again, so did Cleveland.

-Otis Smith said dealing Trevor Ariza was a very difficult decision. He simply did not fit in with Orlando's new makeup and, as Kyle Hightower of The Orlando Sentinel reports, has fit in perfectly for Los Angeles after the team's failure to beat Boston last year.

-David Thorpe of Scouts Inc. says experience helped the Lakers stay calm in the closing moments of Game Four (not hampered Orlando). He says the Magic did a lot of things right, but their attitude is the most important heading into Game Five.

-Anthony Johnson continues to work hard, knowing full well he probably will not play in Game Five, writes Andrea Adelson of The Orlando Sentinel.

-Turnovers have been key for the Magic all series long. Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel says Orlando's turnovers are up to 15.0 per game this series.

Game Five Adjustments: Lakers-Magic

1) Don't let this end: If you have been following me on Twitter, you probably noticed that I said the feeling after the Game Four loss was like the five stages of mourning. Just thinking about the game, it is difficult just to imagine this ride ending.

This team has done something amazing to this town. It has gotten people on the bandwagon. Rocked the O-Rena for one (second to) last time. Brought together a community during a very dificult time. They have defied the odds.

It has been fun. I have been proud to be Magic fan and I know many others have been too.

For a long time now, I have slowly moved away from fan to analyst as I have become more serious about journalism. A team that needed constant adjustment helped. So did my increased knowledge of the game from actually playing at a decently high level (JV high school basketball!).

This postseason, I have become a fan again. I have lived and died on every shot, every rebound, every possession. I have watched this team exceed my wildest expectations and come on the doorstep of the NBA championship -- something I never thought I would see... no matter how good the team became it, was always something unattainable.

Now with Orlando here in the Finals, there would only be emptiness to come so close but still be so far from the trophy.

I am sure the team feels this way too. So my only plea to them is to not let this end.

This spot is typically for strategic changes the team needs to consider to pull out a win, but I truly believe the Magic have all the tools to win this series. They have shown it in three of the four games of this series. They just have to do it.

So please do not let this ride end.

2) Remain confident: there is a lot of gloom and doom in the wake of Game Four. Like the Lakers after Game Three, Orlando should remain confident. In two of the team's three losses this series, the game needed overtime to be decided. That literally means there was a tie.

Yes, Orlando needs to finish these games. That means making free throws. That means executing on offense -- getting the ball to its playmakers like Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu. Those two did not come through in the clutch on Thursday. They must do so the rest of the way.

There probably has not been a 3-1 series that was as close as this one. If there was a time to believe a team could erase a 3-1 deficit, this might be the time. And that might be the fan in me speaking. But it is the belief the Magic must have.

The closeout win is always the hardest. It will be made more difficult by being in Orlando. That crowd will be behind the Magic win or lose Sunday night. I would expect a great effort and a confident team to take the floor, even after a crushing loss.

There is no reason to think this series is over until one of these teams is lifting the trophy.

3) Take care of what you can do: the biggest thing the Magic can do going from Game Four going to Game Five is to take care of the things they control. That is free throws and turnovers.

Those are the two things they failed to do Thursday. Those are things they themselves can fix Sunday night.

Bottom line: if Orlando plays its game, it will force a Game Six on Tuesday night.

Magic Wands: June 12, 2009

-Why Dwight Howard is such a nice change of pace from the tyrannical reign of Shaquille O'Neal.

-Interesting compilation of NBA Finals coverage on ESPN. I am still working my way through everything, but it seems like there are a lot of nice factoids inside here.

-Once again, vote for your all-time favorite Magic player. And don't just pick someone on this year's team because you have only been following the Magic for the last three months.

-Something will have to change in this rule in the near future. Ricky Rubio is suing his team in Spain to allow him out of his contract -- or to reduce his buyout -- so he can play in the NBA. NBA teams are only allowed to contribute $500,000 to buyouts. Rubio's buyout is expected to be $4-5 million.

-Want to live next to Dwight Howard and golfer Chris DiMarco? Here's your chance.

-The other 28 teams are in offseason mode. And it looks like the New York Knicks will zero in on Marcin Gortat.

-The Magic are winning the tug-of-war battle with the Heat for the state's affection right now, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says.

-Irsraeli league champion Carlos Arroyo is cheering on his former team.

-Apparently Reebok is all of a sudden unhappy that their client Marcin Gortat has a Michael Jordan tattoo on his right leg. He has had that ink for a while now. Don't know how they didn't notice.

-The NBA scores high marks for gender diversity in a new study.

-Deconstructing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's historic sky-hook.

-Marcin Gortat has the fastest car in the NBA. Or at least the loudest.

-The Magic have officially hit the big time. Dwight Howard will become the second Magic player to grace the cover of a video game box and the first to do so for the wildly popular NBA Live series. Howard will be the cover boy for NBA Live '10 (wanted to write 010, but that is just wrong). Looks like I will need to buy the newest version of NBA Live.

-John Hollinger uses his fancy stats to rank the NBA franchises. The Magic come in 15th (Insider Only) and Lakers are No. 1.

Game 4: Los Angeles Lakers 99, Orlando Magic 91

Dwight Howard toed the line with about 20 seconds remaining in the game. The old reliable is not the best free throw shooter in the world, but in this series he had come through. And in this game he had come through in a big way defensively, turning in one of the great defensive performances in the NBA Finals' history.

Howard, just announced as the cover boy for NBA Live '10, needed only one foul shot to go in to give Orlando the four-point cushion it needed to survive any Lakers' late-game heroics. Hedo Turkoglu ensured that, scoring five straight points in the minute and 30 seconds before then.

His first free throw... no good. His second, same result. Lakers ball with 11 seconds left.

That deep sinking feeling every Magic fan had in the Amway Arena started to develop. Orlando did a good job keeping Kobe Bryant from handling the ball, but Derek Fisher caught the inbounds on the run stopped at the 3-point line and with a Jameer Nelson hand in his face, buried it to tie the game and force overtime.

Once there, Fisher took advantage of some space given by an inadvertant elbow from Bryant to Nelson to bury a second three that gave Los Angeles a 94-91 edge with 30 seconds to play. Turkoglu's semi-desperation 3-point heave was no good. And unlike the Magic, the Lakers hit their free throws down the stretch for a 99-91 win in overtime.

As Turkoglu said, this one slipped out of Orlando's fingers and simply was no good. What could have and should have been a 2-2 series is now 3-1, with the Magic needing a desperation win on their home court to force a Game Six and two desperation wins at the Staples Center to win the title.

A tall order, even for a resilient team like Orlando.

It is easy to point at the culprits in this game. The Magic killed themselves throughout the second half. Turnovers and missed free throws helped turn a 12-point halftime lead into a tight game throughout the second half.

Fifteen missed free throws (22 of 37, that's good for 59.5 percent) and 17 turnovers do more than an adequate job telling the story of this game late.

Orlando did everything right in the first half.

The team was closing out on shooters and cutting off driving lanes. The Magic were getting to the basket and not settling for jumpers. It helped the Lakers were shooting below 40 percent and missing some good looks.

Orlando had to know Los Angeles would throw its best punch to begin the second half. That is often when the Magic themselves likes to make their comebacks.

So with the Lakers making a more concerted effort to attack the basket and Trevor Ariza hitting some nice jumpers, they were on the comeback trail. Hedo Turkoglu picked up his fourth foul early and the paint became Laker land. Nothing went in unless it was deflected or knocked around.

Howard, who turned in one of the best defensive performances in NBA Finals history with 16 points, 21 rebounds and an NBA Finals record nine blocks, was as frustrated as he was in the first two games of this series in the second half.

When Los Angeles made its run in the third quarter, I knew Orlando was in trouble. But to the team's credit, it stayed with it and made the comeback when it needed to make it a game in the fourth quarter. The Magic could have closed down again. But they did not.

They just could not finish in the end.

I do not know how to describe this game any other way. It was frustrating to watch Orlando struggle to execute and finish this game. It was clear Orlando can beat this team and win games. The Magic just lack something to finish these games.

They will have to figure out something soon. Sunday could be the last game of the year.

What They're Saying: Lakers vs. Magic Game Four

-Henry Abbott of TrueHoop was astonished by Dwight Howard's maturity with his team facing a 2-0 deficit. He certainly does not seem satisfied with just showing up and getting one win.

-The difference for Rafer Alston? Being at home in the Amway Arena or off in some far off land wearing a blue jersey, writes Zach McCann of Orlando Magic Daily.

-Terrence Moord of NBA FanHouse thinks the Lakers need a superhuman Kobe Bryant to win. The one we saw at the end of Game Three, will not make Los Angeles a champion.

-David Whitley of NBA FanHouse believes there were a lot of quirky elements from Game Three, but that certainly does not mean Orlando has played its best game yet and that they need a similar type of game to defeat the Lakers.

-Andrea Adelson of The Orlando Sentinel expresses some of the worry pointed out by the pundits after Orlando's close win despite shooting a Finals record in Game Three.

-"As far as me hitting a wall, so what if I did?" Kobe Bryant said. "I didn't, but so what if I did? ... I'll run straight through it." So Bryant is not getting tired?

-Shaquille O'Neal has criticized Dwight Howard plenty. But finally an all-time great adds some constructive criticism. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did call Howard's current moves "predictable" but he certainly feels Howard has room for improvement. And Howard agrees with Abdul-Jabbar's assessment.

-Gina Marie Incandela has become part of the Magic's pre-game ritual, writes Andrea Adelson of The Orlando Sentinel. She will be singing the national anthem at tonight's game for the eighth time this season. Orlando is 7-0 when she sings. If you have not listened to her sing, it is really incredible.

-I would think it is safe to say Pau Gasol will get the ball more tonight. As Kelly Dwyer writes, Gasol getting the ball in the post changes how the Lakers' offense operates.

-Mickael Pietrus has made a name for himself as top-notch defender this postseason. Zach McCann of Orlando Magic Daily breaks down the numbers... and they are quite impressive.

-The Los Angeles Times reports the Jameer Nelson experiment may be ending soon.

-Ben Q Rock of Third Quarter Collapse wonders whether Orlando can say hot. Kobe Bryant seems to think the Magic can keep hitting shots for "weeks."

-Jason Whitlock of FOX Sports believes Orlando's Game Three win was more Los Angeles getting lucky. He believes if Dwight Howard focuses on his rebounding and defense, the Magic have too many weapons for the Lakers to handle.

-Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel is done trying to figure out this Magic team. Welcome to the ride.

-Bobby Ryan Jr. of Bleacher/Report says Rashard Lewis has spent his whole career proving people wrong. A Magic title would be another group of naysayers to disprove.

-Henry Abbott tries to figure out if Dwight Howard is not good at post moves. The answer is not so simple. He is double-teamed a lot and has to think about who is defending him. Adonal Foyle adds more insight on Howard's offensive game.

Game 4 Adjustments: Lakers-Magic

1) Control the glass: in Game Two, Orlando dominated the glass and it allowed the team to stay in the game despite poor shooting. In Game Three, Los Angeles got to the offensive glass and it allowed the team to stay in the game despite poor(er) shooting.

It is clear winning the rebounding battle is a key to winning this series. It has been the great equalizer so far in this series.

Orlando is not a team that commits itself to rebounding. It relies on Dwight Howard to do a lot of dirty work and he is often left alone in the pain on the offensive glass. With the Magic trying to pick up the pace in this series, they are committing less players to the defensive glass.

Granted, much of the Lakers' offensive rebounds came from fortunate bounces. But it is still difficult to justify the shooter getting his own rebound time and time again.

Orlando has to put in a much more concerted effort to get to the glass and secure rebounds. The Magic cannot expect to shoot above 60 percent the rest of this series -- a nice dream, sure. And the best way to ensure the Lakers do not get extra possessions is to eliminate those extra possessions on the glass.

Los Angeles was in this game in the end because the team got some timely boards and converted second chance opportunities. There were not a lot of rebounds to be had for the Lakers, but they converted off the missed shots and made the Magic pay for this mistake.

2) Continue attacking off pick and roll and work inside-out: it is the basis for the Magic's offense, but be sure the Lakers will find a new way to defend the pick and roll and make some adjustments.

Whatever Los Angeles throws at Orlando in Game Four, Orlando must continue to attack off the dribble in pick and roll and look to get into the paint. The great thing the Magic did in Game Three was not to settle for 3-pointers and drive to the basket.

Orlando shot only 14 three point shots, far below the 20 the team seems to take every game. This was not by accident. The Magic had plenty of looks from beyond the arc -- and plenty of open shots that rimmed out -- but instead looked to get to the basket and keep moving the ball.

The Magic must keep this mentality. Three-pointers have to come from drives and dishes while the defense is trying to reset. It cannot be an in-out action. It has to be in-out-back in-back out. And that should really only be when defenders are packing the paint because they have stopped the first and second drive.

This is especially off the pick and rolls. For much of Game One and Game Two, the Magic were passive coming off pick and rolls. In Game Three, Rafer Alston was looking to attack and get to the rim. Hedo Turkoglu was looking to attack and get to the rim. And the team, in general, was looking to get Dwight Howard the ball moving across the lane when he had deep position.

This is the type of game Orlando will need to replicate to win Game Four.

3) Be physical: this was a key to the series, but it bears repeating. Orlando needs to be physical with Los Angeles.

The Magic did a great job forcing Bryant to the perimeter. He was looking to attack through jumpers and not by getting to the basket. That makes things easier for Orlando. Mickael Pietrus and Courtney Lee did a great job in Game Three. Expect Bryant to look to attack more Thursday.

Now the rest of the team must muscle up -- especially Rashard Lewis. It is tough for Lewis to try and outmuscle Pau Gasol. But he has to find a way to push Gasol out of the paint on post ups. Gasol might be too tall an order to do this.

But Lamar Odom certainly is not. Lewis needs to continue to match Odom's physicality for Orlando to have success in this series (it is clear Andrew Bynum will be on the bench at the end of games).

Game 3: Orlando Magic 108, Los Angeles Lakers 104

Knowing Orlando's history, it figured the celebration would be delayed by something. The buzzer rang, the confetti fell to the ground. But the game was not over. Far from it. 0.2 seconds from it.

Rashard Lewis hit two comfortable-looking free throws and the Magic had their first Finals win. Savor it for a few hours. Because after a raucous and wild offensive showing in Game Three, there is plenty of work to do for Thursday's Game Four.

But to revel in tonight's game.

It was an offensive clinic. The Magic shot an NBA Finals high 62.5 percent for the game. The aggression off the dribble was a lot higher and Orlando looked to get to the rim rather than standing around the 3-point line. The Magic did a great job balancing their 3-point shooting and attacking the basket and getting the ball to Dwight Howard.

It was about as perfect an offensive game that could have been played.

It started with Rafer Alston. Alston attacked the basket and looked to score -- a major change from the first two games. He had 20 points and shot eight of 12 from the floor. He was especially damaging in the third quarter as Orlando expanded its lead.

The fourth quarter then became a showing of Hedo Turkoglu and Dwight Howard's playmaking ability. The two exploited Los Angeles' poor pick and roll defense. Turkoglu got where he wanted on the floor and hit some difficult shots.

When he was not, he fed the ball to Howard. Howard once again hit his free throws as Los Angeles did a good job keeping him from scoring field goals. He hit 11 of 16 free throws on his way to 21 points.

As Orlando's pick and roll was more successful and Howard continued to hit his free throws, he started getting more shots.

As good as the offense was, the defense was just as mediocre.

It is hard to call the defensive effort horrible.

The Magic did a good job keeping Kobe Bryant from going to the rim and he took plenty of difficult shots. He also took his fair share of shots that were lightly contested.

Bryant had 31 points on 11 of 25 shooting. His biggest misstep was a poor five for 10 from the line, including two big free throws in the fourth quarter that would have tied the game with about two minutes to play.

Plenty went the right way in Orlando's first game back in the Amway Arena. Bryant's free throw struggles were one. The 62 percent shooting might have been another one. But you take the hand you're dealt.

Los Angeles shot well too, hitting 51.8 percent of its shots. How did the Lakers stay in the game? They attacked the offensive glass. Los Angeles grabbed 11 offensive boards and converted on most of those second-chance opportunities.

It was a night when most shots were falling for both teams. The Magic were not quite as lock down defensively as they had been in Game Two. Orlando held a nine point lead with six minutes left and saw it disappear by the time the two minute mark came around. With Bryant on the court, it is tough to win when that happens.

Orlando, to its credit, closed this one out on the defensive end. Offensive execution was assumed on this night. But Howard knocked away a Bryant drive and Mickael Pietrus grabbed it and was fouled before getting the chance to run the other way.

This was another game that came down to who could execute in the clutch. In this game, Orlando made the stops when it needed to, hit free throws and executed its gameplan to perfection.

It was tough to say the Lakers put in their best effort and, defensively, it was tough to say the Magic did so too.

There is still plenty of things to work on to win this series, so the celebration in the Finals can afford to be delayed another week.

What They're Saying: Lakers vs. Magic Game Three

-Gregg Doyel of CBS Sportsline is not rushing to any conclusions after the Lakers took the first two games. There is still a long way to go and Orlando still has some home games to play.

-Dwight Howard is good. But not as good as he will be one day, writes Matt Steinmetz of NBA FanHouse.

-Pau Gasol and the Lakers are proving that finesse players and soft players are not interchangeable terms.

-Sean Devenney of Baseline blog believes Orlando's point guard switch has failed. Really, Rafer Alston and Jameer Nelson are not making shots. Alston is a streaky shooter who is very cold right now. And Nelson is playing his first games since February. No reason to believe Anthony Johnson would be playing any better.

-The city of Orlando is getting ready for the party that is the NBA Finals. From tonight until Sunday (hopefully), downtown Orlando will be full of people, tourists, NBA officials, celebrities and generally good times. Helps if the Magic win.

-The party atmosphere in Amway Arena tonight is more like desperation for the Magic. Stan Van Gundy is willing to try anything to avoid a 3-0 hold, Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel reports.

-Henry Abbott of TrueHoop explains Stan Van Gundy is suffering the problem of too much talent. And that it was not crazy for him to insert Nelson into the lineup. The only problem has been the inconsistent playing time for all three point guards. He is experimenting and needs to find the answer soon.

-Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel argues Courtney Lee's missed alley-oop in Game Two was NOT A CHOKE. I have to agree. I was yelling at him to use his left hand, but with that little time there is no way he could have made that switch especially going out of bounds. If he couldn't do that, I am yelling at him to dunk the ball. Again, little time. He went on instinct and got the best shot he could. Great play call from Stan Van Gundy. Too bad no one will give him and Lee credit for the perfect execution.

-George Diaz of The Orlando Sentinel wonders where Orlando's offense has been?

-Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register says owner Jerry Buss did not make the trip to Orlando. But with a 2-0 lead, the Lakers know how much it would mean for the individuals on the team to continue their road success and take home the trophy at the Amway Arena.

-Andrea Adelson sits down with the Larry O'Brien Trophy for an - ahem - "interview." I thought Bianchi was the one who did the hokey columns for the Sentinel.

-Bruce Arthur of the National Press still thinks Orlando can win the series. But one thing the team must do better is simply make shots. Adjustments do not get easier than that.

-It is Kobe Bryant's supporting cast, Kyle Hightower of The Orlando Sentinel writes, that has the Lakers up 2-0.

-Zach McCann of Orlando Magic Daily looks at the value of Mickael Pietrus. He has done a pretty good job bothering Kobe Bryant and, despite shooting poorly in the first two games of this series, has blossomed into a consistent threat both inside and out.

-Ben Q Rock of 3rd Quarter Collapse analyzes the pairing of Dwight Howard and Marcin Gortat when on the floor together.

-Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don't Lie explains Orlando returned to their roots on defense in Game Two. Can they keep it going in Game Three. Both teams have had their Jekyll and Hyde moments so it is quite uncertain.

Game 3 Adjustments: Lakers-Magic

1) Keep the offense moving: the big thing Orlando has struggled with offensively this season is getting into the paint. Even when Dwight Howard gets the ball in the post, he is having trouble getting into the paint.

The Magic are getting the ball knocked away and poked out. Orlando's success this postseason has come because of the team's ability to get Howard going inside or the ability to drive the ball inside and kick out. That has been largely stopped in the first two games.

Orlando started doing something the team has not done. Moving without the ball. It widely worked, but it is a new wrinkle to the offense Orlando will have to continue integrate.

Los Angeles is covering the pick an droll extremely tightly and the defender's length is giving the team difficulties in penetrating. Add the Lakers' very good rotation to cover Dwight Howard as he rolls to the basket, and it is a perplexing problem for Stan Van Gundy to solve.

Orlando did find some success with three-man action with Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis and Howard working the pick and roll together (with Lewis typically setting up in the corner). But this depends on the team hitting jumpers. And we have learned in this series, that might not happen.

The Magic must work to get to the basket more. This means when they drive through the lane, they have to belooking to score. Numerous times, the team was looking to pass first rather than score. That kind of mentality will not win games in the Finals.

By moving off the ball, the team can make the defense work a little more and create space for Dwight Howard. That means getting Lewis moving toward the perimeter on flare screens or Turkoglu working across the lane on curl screens.

Orlando must find new, unpredictable ways to score. Los Angeles has simply figured out how best to defend Orlando's pick and roll.

2) Keep playing physical defense: it hurt the Magic for Mickael Pietrus to be on the bench for the end of the game. And those last two fouls were very "iffy" at best -- I suspect superstar calls for Kobe Bryant. Despite Pietrus fouling out, he did a very good job defensively in staying physical with Bryant.

That, I believe, is the key to the Magic's defensive effort. They must try to be more physical than the Lakers. Los Angeles is not a physical team, Orlando can be.

Howard was a bully on the boards and began to assert himself on defense more, repelling Lakers from the paint. Pietrus was also physical with Bryant and kept him from going to the paint as much as he could (also helpful to note, Bryant deferred to his teammates throughout the night).

Orlando has to continue to frustrated Los Angeles' defense this way and play physical. It threw off the Lakers' timing a little bit and allowed the Magic to stay in the game.

3) Control the ball and the pace: two things Orlando did horribly wrong in Game Two -- turnovers and failing to take advantage of a plus-nine advantage on the boards.

Part of the Magic's problems offensively were the 20 turnovers they committed. Hard to win any game with that many miscues, forced or unforced. Orlando has to limit these turnovers.

The team can do it in the way I described above, but it really comes down to just taking care of the ball. It is all about not forcing offense and not dribbling into traffic. Passes were generally on target throughout the game and Orlando got much better looks than in Game One.

But turnovers kept the team from finishing off this game. Give credit to Los Angeles for being extremely active. But as 3rd Quarter Collapse likes to always say, execution matters.

The pace also was slowed to a crawl at times and that does not favor Orlando. When the team gets a huge rebounding advantage, it must look to run. The Lakers shot the ball pretty well, but the Magic were reluctant to run.

I think ugly games like Game Two favor Orlando, but the team must look to push the pace and beat Los Angeles down the court. The Magic will find success if they can get into their offense before the Lakers set their defense. That will be key to getting their first victory in this series.

Game 2: Los Angeles Lakers 101, Orlando Magic 96

Hedo Turkoglu lobbed the ball toward the rim, like he did two years ago in a regular season game against the Spurs. Rashard Lewis set the pick and Courtney Lee came off.

He caught the ball and tried to lay it off the backboard, only to see it fall off the front rim. Lee shook his head after missing his second potentially game-winning basket in Game Two.

Recovering from a horrid effort in Game One, Orlando had the right moves to get the franchise's first Finals victory but fell off the front rim.

The Magic failed to execute in the overtime period as Kobe Bryant slashed his way to the rim and caused havoc offensively. Bryant finished with 29 points to lead Los Angeles to a 101-96 win and a 2-0 series lead.

Orlando had a much better effort in this game, especially on the defensive end. The two teams combined for 30 points in the first quarter, the lowest for any first quarter in Finals history. The physical play favored the Magic as they bided their time waiting for their shooting to come around.

As Stan Van Gundy noted to sideline reporter Dorris Burke in the first quarter, Orlando's effort on offense did not change. It got better as the game went on, but the team still struggled. The Magic went to the locker room down five points thanks to 20 first half points from Rashard Lewis.

Lewis scored 34 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had seven assists, putting in one of his best games in an Orlando uniform. In the third quarter, Hedo Turkoglu woke up. Turkoglu carried the team to the fourth quarter as he often does and finished with 22 points.

It was good to see the shots start to fall (although there were still a few that went halfway down and then back out, Orlando will need to solve those LA rims to win this series). But the offense was far from perfect.

Orlando had eight turnovers in the first quarter and finished with 20 in the game. It was still hard for the team to find good looks. Dwight Howard was used as a decoy for much of the game as he struggled to work his way in the post against the Lakers' double teams.

Howard generally passed the ball well, but Los Angeles' length continued to bother him. And it continued to bother the perimeter players. It was difficult throughout the night for the Magic to catch the ball in positions to shoot and driving lanes were cut off.

The Magic attacked it a lot more and did not look as scared about going after the Lakers as they did in Game One. Orlando started to match Los Angeles' physicality. But the team did not do it enough of the game.

At times, the Magic still looked to pass and still struggled. The turnover numbers say it all as Los Angeles poked the ball away and still interrupted Orlando's offense.

Defensively things looked a lot better. Orlando did a good job keeping Bryant out of the lane -- for the most part -- and forced others to beat them. They did with Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol getting some good bounces and hitting their shots.

The Magic were much grittier and scrappier on defense. They won the rebounding battle 44-35 and gave up only four offensive rebounds. This was much improved from Game One and something Orlando should look to keep.

In the end, this game was a missed opportunity. The Magic played much better and should have won this game. Los Angeles continued to frustrate Orlando offensively, but the team still had a chance to win. I expect things to change greatly at Amway Arena.

But home court alone will not change things. The Magic will need to find a way to keep their offensive flowing and execute to win Game Three. It will not be easy.

What They're Saying: Magic vs. Lakers Game Two

-Zach McCann of Orlando Magic Daily talks with Kurt Helin of Lakers blog Forum Gold and Blue in advance of Game Two.

-Hoops4Life of Bleacher Report says Rashard Lewis has earned his paycheck. With the clutch performances he has given this postseason and Orlando's presence in the Finals, it is hard to argue.

-A Lakers fan's suggestions on how the Magic can improve in Game Two.

-Mike Freeman of CBS Sportsline talks with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar about the state of the 7-foot center in today's NBA.

-Oh how the mighty, or in this case JJ Redick and Adam Morrison, have fallen as Mike Freeman opines.

-Sean Deveney of the Baseline says Game Two is all about adjustments and offers his changes in strategy for the Magic for tonight's game.

-George Diaz of The Orlando Sentinel writes about the journey of Brian Shaw and how everyone wants to see him continue his success.

-Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel believe Orlando should go all in and start Jameer Nelson in Game Two.

-Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel says momentum could swing to Orlando if the team can get a Game Two win. It would also set history as the Magic's first Finals victory.

-Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times is confident the Lakers will win the series, but remembers a time earlier this postseason when they blew out a team one night and then got beat the next. It has been a roller coaster ride to the Finals for Los Angeles.

-Mark Jackson, writing for The Orlando Sentinel, writes the Magic must get one of their perimeter weapons to produce to open up lanes for Dwight Howard.

-Lakers.com previews Game Two with assistant coach Brian Shaw.

-Forum Blue & Gold previews Game Two and makes some good points about Orlando's decision to attack the wings rather than hitting the Lakers right up the middle.

-Henry Abbott of TrueHoop gets Adonal Foyle to talk about Orlando's resiliency.

Game 2 Adjustments: Magic-Lakers

1) Look to score and attack the basket: The thing that amazes me about this Orlando team time and time again is its ability to make the extra pass to find the open shooter and typically the better shot.

The Magic simply were passive on both sides of the court. As SportsCenter put it on its Twitter feed: "Josh E:The Magic looked happy to be there.The Lakers looked like they wanted to win 4 games in 1 night. And Kobe looked better than them all"

That is all that needs to be said. The effort was sort of there. The aggression was not.

Dwight Howard got the ball in the post and did not look to tear down the basket. Rashard Lewis settled for mid-range jumpers instead of going for the rim. Hedo Turkoglu hit his first couple shots and stayed on the perimeter.

Orlando is a better team when it attacks the basket and everyone looks to score. The 3-point shots are not just opened by Howard's presence in the middle. They are opened by everyone driving to the hole and causing the defense to collapse into the paint.

The Magic looked nervous on the big stage after Kobe Bryant offered his knockout punch in the second quarter. Things were rushed and the team was out of control. But for Orlando to have success in this series, it must look to score and play a fluid offense.

Kobe Bryant had that killer instinct and it was clear he wanted tot ake over the game. Howard needs to do the same and be a leader for his team.

2) Be more physical on defense, especially with Bryant: everyone in the Playoffs has pointed out that the Lakers are not the most physical of teams. Orlando is not seen as a physical team, but it is.

The Magic were scared this game (read above). They did not match the Lakers' aggression level. Sometimes jumpers do not fall... but not like this.

I remember Orlando's first game against Los Angeles. Bryant went off for 41 points, but I came away impressed with the job Keith Bogans did. Bogans was tough and physical with Bryant. I cannot recall Bryant driving to the hoop and getting easy shots at the basket. It was a tough 41 points (and it was on bad shooting).

The Magic are going to be fine with Bryant getting his points (barring 81-point outbursts) as long as others do not get involved -- notice how Phil Jackson pointed this out discretely during the game. But Orlando has to keep Bryant on the perimeter and, like defenders against Howard, us the team's fouls against him.

On the inside, it is OK to take a couple fouls to push people out of the paint. Orlando needs to win the physical battle and that means limiting offensive rebounds. Los Angeles simply outworked Orlando on this end of the court.

3) Bounce back: Orlando has been real good at bouncing back this entire season. This is one game. A 25-point blowout still counts as one win in the series. So this series is still competitive. The Magic cannot forget that.

They must bounce back strong in Game Two. That means a good start. An aggressive effort on both offense and defense. And a quick memory.

Who knows if Orlando is going to win Game Two. But the Magic will give a better effort for sure.

LATE Magic Wands: June 5, 2009

-Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated discusses the art of flopping.

-Former Magic center Ben Wallace may retire after Cleveland ousting from the postseason.

-Dennis Rodman now on Twitter.

-The Puns are Starting to Bore Me update the latest LeBron James and Kobe Bryant puppet commercials in light of Saturday's Game Six win.

-The WNBA's Phoenix Mercury will have an advertisement prominently displayed on their jerseys this year. Could it open the door for the NBA to have ads emblazoned on their jerseys?

-Going to the Finals will pay big dividends for the Magic.

-As long as the fans want him, Dwight Howard wants to be in Orlando. This article provides an interesting look into the motivations of a star player as he weighs whether to leave the city that drafted them or stay.

-It's OK Gators fans, Tim Tebow paid for his very expensive courtside seat to Game Six against Cleveland last Saturday.

-Former Magic coach Brian Hill compares Dwight Howard to Shaquille O'Neal. Let the fun ensue.

-Maybe now Dwight Howard is out of LeBron James' shadow.

-This trip to the Finals is clearly for the fans.

-There is an economic windfall from Orlando's advancing to the Finals. Translation: more money for Orlando businesses thanks to the city pride in its team.

-ESPN broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy talks to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman about the upcoming NBA Finals.

-Funny movie posters for the NBA Finals!

-Sweet wallpaper from The Orlando Sentinel for the NBA Finals.

-Kobe & LeBron: you will take this VitaminWater commercial and you will like it!

-Be sure to join the Twitter game against the Lakers. Put the hash tag (those happy "#" that underline the following word) before BeatLA on all Tweets tonight and for the rest of the series. Or copy and paste this: #BeatLA. Go Magic!

-NBATV is expanding its reach and Bethlehem Shoals of the Baseline blog hopes they find a way to take advantage of it.

-John Paulsen of The Scores Report says Otis Smith is the real Executive of the Year and defends his move to trade a much-improved Trevor Ariza last year.

-Lakers fans apparently REALLY hate LeBron James.

Game One: Los Angeles Lakers 100, Orlando Magic 75

At the beginning of the second quarter, Jameer Nelson checked into the game for the first time since injuring his shoulder in the first week of February. After four months, the Magic were finally complete and had their leader on the court.

And Nelson quickly made an impact. He scored four points and had four assists very quickly as the Magic took a five-point lead in the early second quarter.

But something was off. Nelson lacked the aggression he had the rest of the season. He was not looking to score and deferred to teammates. Maybe it was the glorification of his play from the beginning of the season, but something seemed off.

For his first game back, Nelson played pretty well. He scored six points and had four assists in 23 minutes. But like the rest of the team, something was missing despite getting some good looks offensively.

Orlando shot 29.9 percent (read that again, please because you will never see that again in an NBA game) and got beat by a more aggressive and determined Los Angeles team, dropping Game One 100-75 at the Staples Center last night.

There is not much that needs to be said offensively. The Magic stuck to the perimeter and, as was pointed out in the broadcast, were clearly bothered by the Lakers' length on the perimeter in the post.

But the looks Orlando was getting were not bad. The team missed all, and I mean ALL, its open shots and settled for jumpers with Dwight Howard struggling on the inside.

It was clear in Game One that this series will rest on Howard's play. Howard scored 12 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. He shot just one of six from the floor but mad 10 of his 16 free throws. Howard clearly became passive in the second half after getting frustrated in the post by Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

Howard's passes out to the perimeter garnered empty shots and the team could not close the gap.

It was a gap built by Kobe Bryant and pretty much Kobe Bryant alone. Bryant scored 40 points, 18 in the third quarter, and despite pretty decent defense took it to the Magic and got whatever he wanted.

The Lakers outscored the Magic 29-15 in the third quarter, expanding a 10-point halftime lead. Los Angeles' defense started shutting down Orlando's drives and continued to chase the shooters off the arc and back into the traps in the middle.

That is really all that needs to be said about this game.

What They're Saying: Magic vs. Lakers Game One

-Jerry Crowe of the Los Angeles Times talks about how Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant were nearly teammates... on the Clippers.

-As far as coaching is concerned, Stan Van Gundy and Phil Jackson could not be more different, Mike Bianchi writes for The Orlando Sentinel.

-The Lakers and the Magic are still escaping the shadow of Shaquille O'Neal.

-Bethlehem Shoals of the Baseline blog says versatility is the key to the success of the Magic and Lakers. and it might be a sign for the future in the NBA.

-Mike Freeman of CBS Sportsline compares the 2009 Magic to the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants of two years ago. Both are equally tough and both are huge underdogs despite their successes so far.

-Third Quarter Collapse sits down with various NBA experts and bloggers to answer some questions about the series.

-Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated says the role players will be key to winning the NBA Finals.

-Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes Orlando is making the three the new two.

-Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times says the Lakers remember their defeat last year against the Boston Celtics and want some redemption from it in a title this year.

-Marc J. Spears of the Boston Globe reports former Magic assistant coach Clifford Ray feels like a proud papa after seeing his student, Dwight Howard, reach the NBA Finals. Ray was an assistant coach during Howard's rookie season and grew very close with him during his one season working with him.

-John Denton writing for ESPN talks about Dwight Howard's maturation in this postseason.

-Andrea Adelson of The Orlando Sentinel profiles the man, Otis Smith, who built the Magic.

-Jon Nichols writing for Hardwood Paroxysm graphs the correlation between regular season series victories and postseason series victories.

-Rashard Lewis in an interview with Sporting News says the Kobe-LeBron commercials did inspire the Magic and what happened when he met Magic/Lakers fan Tiger Woods.

-Are the Magic just hot? Maybe not. According to some stats from Tom Ziller of NBA FanHouse the current stretch by Orlando is not just a flash in the pan.

-Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says a Kobe championship is very much about showing up Shaquille O'Neal (who won the title with the Heat as a supporting character).

-erivera7 of Third Quarter Collapse runs some projection numbers on Jameer Nelson and finds out that his return (statistically speaking) might be just a slight improvement over Anthony Johnson. Either way, it is looking less likely Nelson will play.

-Marc Berman of the New York Post writes a championship ring as a coach for Patrick Ewing would be as satisfying as a championship as a player.

-Otis Smith bought a 1989 Corvette Convertible for the parade he hopes the Magic will get in a few weeks. It certainly will be bigger than the last parade they got -- when they first became a team.

-Chris Erskine of Los Angeles Times asks the nation: Why does everyone want to beat LA? Los Angelinos are quite nice. And in honor of that I will say, "BEAT THE LAKERS!"

-The Ghost of Finals Past still follows Nick Anderson. A Magic win would do a lot to vindicate the now-front office ambassador.

-The Disney bet is on. And between Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer and Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

-Kobe Bryant is racing against Father Time to get his title, writes Mike Bresnehan of the Los Angeles Times. And not only is his legacy at stake, but also maybe Pau Gasol's.

The Jameer Nelson question

Last week when Jameer Nelson told NBATV that he might return if the Magic reached the finals, my thoughts were: good to see he is still being competitive and that his rehab is going well. Let's get there first.

Well, we are here. And so apparently is Nelson.

After tearing his labrum in his shoulder in early February, the prognosis was for his return in August. No chance of making the court for the playoffs.

But Nelson has proven once again to be the determined little warrior that steals the Magic Dancers' hearts. The fifth-year point guard went through a full-contact practice Tuesday with the second team before the team left for Game One of the NBA Finals in Los Angeles.

Supposedly, he was put through some difficult drills -- like running shoulder first through screens set by Adonal Foyle (he may love everyone, but that is a big dude to run into). It is unclear whether he will actually be able to play and can be, at best, listed as day-to-day.

The Orlando Sentinel reported Thursday that Nelson will not play in Game One tonight and his return for the Finals is slim. But there still might be a chance the six-foot spark plug could suit up for the Magic (can anyone say misdirection?)

That leaves the question for Otis Smith and Stan Van Gundy: should you play Jameer Nelson in the NBA Finals?

Undoubtedly, you would want one of your best players available for the biggest series in the franchise's history. Nelson, before his injury, was undoubtedly an NBA All Star and having his best season.

But, while you do not want to assume the window to win a title will be open for multiple seasons, Nelson is a key component of the team. It would be difficult for the team to repeat last year's success if Nelson is continually out of the lineup with constant injuries.

It is a difficult question to answer. When Nelson seriously began discussing playing in this series, I wanted to protect him for the future. There was no reason to mess up the good thing Orlando had going with Rafer Alston and Anthony Johnson manning the point.

Having said that, now it appears Nelson is closer to full strength then everyone thought. It might be beneifical for Orlando to have their speedy all-star point guard to run around Derek Fisher and the Lakers for 10-15 minutes per game (don't expect anyone to keep track of his minutes, there is no reason to hold him back if he can produce... injury or not).

In all the previews I have read the caveat mentioned in the Magic's season sweep was the presence of Nelson. Having him back in the lineup could be a key factor to a victory.

It would be tough for the team to have Nelson in and out of the lineup. Whatever decision is made has to be made and stuck to. There can be no waffling.

In this new era of Magic basketball where the fans don't cling to the past and live for the now. I think Nelson should play. I flew home from school in Chicago for Game Six saying "when are we going to get back here?" And that is a real question the Magic should be asking themselves in this evaluation.

Nelson gives Orlando a chance to win this series, even in limited minutes. If he can prove himself up to game speed and contribute even a little, it is worth the risk. If Nelson plays Game One and wakes up the next morning with a tight shoulder, perhaps Orlando shuts him down for the rest of the series. If he comes out in Game One and scored 12 points with three or four assists in 15 minutes, then Nelson has done his job and has made the risk well worth it.

It is much better than asking what might have been.

Keys to the Series: Orlando Magic vs. Los Angeles Lakers

1) Impose your style: the big matchup everyone is talking about in advance of the NBA Finals is how Orlando is going to contain Pau Gasol with Rashard Lewis in the post and conversely how Gasol is going to keep track of Lewis on the perimeter. It is a very interesting matchup between two all stars and one that will likely determine each individual game.

The simple answer is that whichever team makes the other adjust will win.

Dwight Howard has done a great job against the Lakers this season. Why? Both times he got Andrew Bynum in foul trouble in the first quarter and more or less knocked him out of the game. Bynum's stat line against Orlando says it all: 8.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 22.5 minutes per game in the two meetings this year. Plus he shot seven of 17 from the floor.

Bynum is not having the greatest postseason either. So if Howard can knock him out of the game because of foul trouble, it forces Gasol (who is a better post defender than Bynum and a much smarter and more seasoned player) to cover Howard and forces Lamar Odom into the game.

This could be good or bad, depending on the type of game Odom is having. But Lewis will have a difficult time shooting over Gasol on offense -- luckily he has taken to driving to the hoop more -- and defending him in the post. Gasol is quicker and smarter than Glen Davis or Anderson Varejao and will not be as easy to take advantage of as those two.

Thus it is even more important to get a more favorable matchup for him and force the Lakers to play the Magic's style. If Orlando lets Los Angeles keep two posts in the game, it makes it easier for them to double Howard, to pack the paint against drives and to force Orlando into becoming a jump shooting team.

2) Use the LeBron defense as the Kobe defense: easier said then done and LeBron James did have an incredible series until he ran out of gas in Game Six. But the same principal applies.

Orlando must make Kobe Bryant a scorer. He is not going to get to the hole as much as James and he is a much better shooter. Orlando survived two big Bryant games this season and earned the sweep. Bryant averaged 34.5 points and 7.0 assists per game in the two meetings. More importantly, the Magic forced him to take 27.0 shots per game to get those points. He has to become a volume shooter in this series for the Magic to win.

Don't think Kobe will make it easy for the Magic to do. He now has plenty of video of the team's strategy to guard James at his disposal and he will find some little weakness in Orlando's defense. It will be extremely difficult to copy the defensive performance the team did against the Cavaliers. Plus the Lakers have a better supporting cast surrounding their superstar.

But despite the better supporting cast, Kobe is still the one that makes the team go. If Orlando can force him to be a volume shooter than it makes it less likely that he will be passing to his teammates.

Again, this strategy may or may not work if Bryant is both shooting the ball at an efficient rate AND the Lakers are running their offense through Gasol in the low post.

Orlando has to do a good enough job in the first couple games to force Bryant to become a volume shooter and hurt his team by taking away its offensive fluidity.

3) Don't be satisfied: I was too young to remember too much from the 1995 NBA Finals (I was what six?). But reading retrospectives on the team and analysis from that time period and it is clear Orlando was happy just to reach the Finals. Beating the Pacers was an accomplishment and the season was a success.

The Houston Rockets, on the other hand, were an experienced title team and expected to win another championship.

Sounds eerily familiar.

I will not lie. Making the NBA Finals is a tremendous accomplishment for this team and this franchise. I would consider this season a success whether Orlando wins or loses this series.

But opportunities like this do not come around often -- as the 1995 team learned when Michael Jordan returned, led his Bulls team to a NBA record 72 wins and an NBA championship. Shaquille O'Neal left and the rest is history.

The team cannot be satisfied with just reaching this point (even if some fans are... look at those season ticket sales after Saturday's game). It has to consider this a once in a lifetime opportunity and something not to be squandered. After all, LeBron James and Kevin Garnett are both waiting in the wings salivating over the opportunities next year provides.

The Magic's window will be open for a while, but you cannot play like it is when you are in the Finals. This is the only opportunity that matters.

Orlando cannot get discouraged after a loss in this series (especially if it is in Game One) and has to continue to fight and claw on each possession.

Stan Van Gundy has done a great job inspiring this team and they always seem to find a way to eke out wins. I have said this numerous times, but this is the sign of a great team. I have complete faith the Magic will not be satisfied and will adjust to anything the Lakers throw at them.