Magic blow Nine-Point lead and Get Forum Blue and Gold Crushed in Second Quarter

A 19-10 lead and a terrific start in the first quarter were completely erased when the Orlando Magic lost their concentration composure and -- even worse -- their ability to maintain some semblance of an elite NBA team, never mind some decent shot selection when the LA Lakers demolished the Magic to turn a 40-36 Orlando lead into a 52-40 second quarter Lakers lead.  That 16-point turn-around will be lethal.

The halftime buzzer sounded with the Lakers leading the Magic 56-46 and the Magic faithful headed to the concession stands seeking a "a double shot" of refreshment and some Advil, possibly something MUCH, MUCH stronger.

LA's Trevor Ariza was the surprise star of the first half, hitting 4-of-6 field goal attempts, including 2-for-2 from 3-point land for 12 points. LA's Kobe Bryant leads all scorers with 15 points.  The Magic will need to come out and play their best quarter in team history in order to handle the onslaught that the Lakers will bring from the confidence they've built in the second quarter.

Orlando needed to keep the Lakers on their heels while applying constant defensive pressure and tons of youthful energy in order to sustain a 6-or-8 point lead throughout the half.  If that were carried out methodically, LA would have folded.  

Now, it looks at though Game 6 is in doubt and the NBA Finals will end with a GIANT fifth game thud.  

Orlando Coach Stan Van Gundy has been totally overmatched by Phil Jackson and Lakers.  Old School took him to school.  The Magic had no answer and no counter moves in the terrible second quarter meltdown, and totally defensive letdown.

What a shame.

NOTE to Phil Mushnick:  The 8pm Sunday night, kid-friendly starting time might not be such a good idea after all....Maybe games like this shouldn't start until 9pm so young players DON'T See them .  The breakdown by the Magic in quarter #2 was not meany for young viewing eyes.

Tip-Off in Orlando...

They're tipping it up in Orlando. The 8pm "Phil Mushnick" special start time. I 'feel' about a 12-point Magic victory in the cards with Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu hitting some shots, then the Lakers falling behind. If the lakers can keep it close, they might be able to reach for the championship killer instinct effort to close it out.

More realistically, is the scenario where the Magic will come very hard and win by a dozen. The Lake Show will sense the loss and pack it in, onserving energy to close it out in Game 6 on their home court. Let's see what happens? Tune into ABC Sports or the NBA on World TV partner nearest you!

TL

Magic 102-90.

Quick Change

The halftime act at the NBA Finals was the always amazing, never get tired of seeing it... Quick Change.

We did lament that we liked "Old School" Quick Change a little batter than the current edition, although the change into the Orlando Magic home uniform was pretty cool.  See:

2:41 left; 99-97 Magic

The Magic have scored only 6 points since the 6:52 mark - all coming on FTs. LA is showing the signs of a true champion and the magic are forcing shots, are out of their offense and continue to force the ball inside and tourn the ball over. Let;s see what happens after the 2:41 timeout.?

81-75 at the end of 3rd

I love Dwight Howard's little/baby rolling jump hook.  He should run with it all night long.  Look for Hedo to Heat-o up.

More after the final buzzer.  Too good a game to be bloggin' too much.

TL

En Fuego

A tremendous shooting performance by both teams has provided basketball fans with a tremendously competitive Game 3. The half-time score is 59-54 and i HIGHLY recommend you tune into ABC SPorts or the NBA TV partner in your country to see the rest of this game. Kobe Bryant leads the LA Lakers with 21 points on 8-15 shooting. Four Orlando players (Alston, Turkoglu, Howard and Lewis all have 10-or-more points with Alston leading the way with 13 at halftime.

Orlando is currently shooting 75% from the field while LA is shooting a "more human" 54-percent.

The Magic have 17 assists on 24 field goals.

Tune in.

Basketball 24/7 ... Thoughts before Game 3

As recently as the 2006 NBA Finals, a team with a locker room full of character was facing a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-seven game championship series.

By Terry Lyons.

That team, the Miami Heat of Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal fame, came back to take the league title in a thrilling and memorable manner, toasting with pricey bottles of champagne while lighting victory cigars after an impressive and relentless dispatching of the Dallas Mavericks of Texas in six games.

The Heat, down 2-0 in that 2006 title series, took it to extreme measures as they battled back from a 13-point deficit late in the pivotal Game 3 while unearthing championship level qualities of team character, team defense, trust and the ability to properly face adversity while they served as proximity witness to the total collapse of their opponent, the Mavs.

In that series, Dallas team owner Mark Cuban lit a spark of over-confidence in a champagne room while fanning a flame of arrogance when his team took the early series lead. The Mavericks self-imploded as they dropped the final four consecutive games of the series while former Dallas Coach Avery Johnson, watching helplessly, bucked like a broken bronco as he attempted to re-start the team's jet-engines only to find them failing miserably as his club fell from the sky. Johnson, trying to defend his team's honour and acting in a fit of absolute despair, did the one and only thing that he thought would work. He called out a "mayday" on his local beat reporter, and immediately losing the respect of the entire basketball world of fans, friends, innocent bystanders and observers, including his own players (thank you, Dirk) when he called out and blamed the media.

The Heat seized the moment, jumped on the opportunity and stepped up to fight the fight with Wade leading the charge while Shaq and Zo (Alonzo Mourning) took on the twin-engine role as commanders when they led their team to the promised land of NBA dreams.

Can the young Orlando Magic accomplish the same feat? We'll see tonight when the Magic play host to Game 3 of the 2009 NBA Finals on their own home court, while simultaneously pitching some Amway products from downtown Orlando, a Orange County speed-trap an hour or so from the place where dreams are made, Walt Disney World.

The Magic will have to scale a daunting 2-0 (deficit) wall without the aid of an opponent who is self-destructing. Unlike the Cuban-crisis Mavericks of '06, the LA Lakers have "been there" before. The experienced former NBA Most Valuable Player, Kobe Bryant, is saying all the right things as the two teams trekked cross country from the city of Angels to the land of make believe in hum-drum central Florida.

Bryant is seeking his fourth NBA championship and a place alongside his two main rivals in former teammate Shaquille O'Neal and San Antonio Spurs frontman Tim Duncan, the trio who can claim the title of the most dominant NBA players of the last 10 basketball seasons. During that time, Bryant managed to earn a gold medal with the 2008 USA Basketball Olympic team while O'Neal (winner of gold in the 1994 World Championship in Toronto plus the1996 Olympic Games in Hot-lanta) and Duncan (a bronzed goose egg with the 2004 USA team). Lebron James, you might wonder, has only a 0-4 showing in the 2007 NBA Finals to show on his 'big-game' resume. (Note to 24/7 readers: Mr. James, the clock is officially running, as of now).

The Lakers, anchored by a low-post offensive threat from Catalonia's very best in Pau Gasol, are showing signs of improvement as they press into the final round of the NBA playoff marathon. Gasol, together with defensive team anchor Lamar Odom, are impressive both offensively and defensively. Meanwhile, the LA backcourt has thoroughly outplayed the Magic guards which is forcing Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy to re-work his lineup to play 6-10 swingman Hedo Turkoglu of Turkey at the point-forward position in an attempt to mix-up the match-ups and force the Lakers into changes in their rotations.

So, as Game 3 fast approaches, the questions are easy and they are these:

Will home-court change the tide of the 2009 NBA Finals as the Magic return to their downtown O-Rena home?

Will Dwight Howard step-up in a big-time way and show the kind of character that true champions are made of?

Will Rafer Alston and Jameer Nelson be able to pick themselves up off the canvas and play at an NBA Finals championship level against a veteran point guard like Derek Fisher of the Lakers?

Will Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis bring on an offensive barrage to knock the Lakers off balance?

Can the Magic become only the fourth team in NBA history to battle back from an 0-2 deficit to win a Finals? Or even more basic, will the Magic get the proverbial 'monkey off their back' and finally win their very first NBA Finals game - after six attempts have gone south (0-4 to Houston in 1995 and 0-2 to the current LA Lakers)?

They have the man, as Howard is a proven Olympic champion but Bryant is the champion of champions and many of the Lakers are multi-time NBA champions. And, remember this nearly biblical and certainly historical quotation from the one-and-only Rudy T, the great coach of the NBA champion Houston Rockets:

"Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion."

Ramble On ... For the NBA, "These ARE the Good Old Days"

"We can never know about the days to come... But we think about them anyway; And I wonder if I'm really with you now; Or just chasing after some finer day.

"Anticipation, anticipation. Is making me late; It's keeping me waiting; And tomorrow we might not be together, I'm no prophet, and I don't know nature's ways. So I'll try to see into your eyes right now, And stay right here, 'cause these are the good old days!

"These are the good old days, And stay right here, 'cause these are the good old days.
These are the good old days. These are the good old days. These are the good old days; These are the good old days."

***

Old school New York Knicks fans will never, ever believe a Knick team will be as good or fun to watch as the 1969-70 and 1972-73 version of the team, skillfully coached by Red Holzman.
The Reed-Frazier-DeBusschere-Bradley-and-(Barnett/Lucas/Monroe,etc) team played a brand of ball that defined a generation of NBA basketball. That team was PERFECT for New York.

I am sure that the fans in Chicago from the late 80s to MJ's final shot in the 1998 NBA Finals at Salt Lake City believe that "it will never, ever get any better than that." I'm sure you can hear more of the same for fans of the great Showtime Lakers or the rugged Boston Celtics during their title runs in the '80s and beyond. After some great ABA days, the loyal Baseline Bums from the San Antonio Spurs enjoyed 1999+ while the fans from Detroit never had it better than the Bad Boys era and they might feel the same way as those '70's NYK fans, ... and so on.

Well, a lot of the old-timers refuse to believe it actually can get better than the days when they played/participated/coaches/administered the game.

Oscar Robertson comes to mind. He would always have that scowl on his face, never happy, never appreciating the new level of defense and athleticism in the modern game. He would often shout down the NBA of today, many times to a national TV audience.

***

I am here to say this:

For the NBA ... These are the GOOD OLD DAYS. So, stay right here, because the NBA Playoffs of 2009 are, indeed, the "Good Old Days." I truly believe the global audiences tuning in for the intensity, the sacrifice, the athleticism, the strategy, the coaching, the defense, the clutch shooting, the 'impossible to officiate, but somehow being monitored to perfection' games are enjoying the most entertaining basketball that any generation has witnessed during any decade of the league's brief history.

It began with the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls, a series some stepped up to describe as the "Best first-round series ever played" and it continued in towns and cities throughout the USA, including an amazing Game 7 thumping of the Celtics by the Orlando Magic, a reversal of fortunes for the defending NBA champs but a coming out party for the Magic who were playing without their all-star point guard, Jameer Nelson. The great games and the drama took a bit of a lull while media attention wandered to difficult matchups, physical play, referee mediocrity which resulted in some suspensions and nonsense. Thankfully, the NBA Conference Finals have BEEN SO, SO GOOD, that the focus of the basketball world is back on the players and the game, right where it should be everynight.

Lebron James' amazing last second game winner has been matched in overtime by the lies of Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthong and the amazing Dwight Howard and Hedo Yurkoglu.

Great Stuff, all around.

***
NEWS ITEM: TL RIPS his native NY and prefers BOSTON:
After a posting an item on Facebook yesterday after I returned to South Station in Boston after a long 3-day stint in NYC working long days on some new business, I made note that the "temperature in Boston was about 15 degrees cooler than NYC, but that Boston was 1,000x cooler than NYC" as a place to live.

A good friend, from my grammar school days, quickly piped in with a pleasant wall post but terse reminder, "that I should remember where I grew up" etc.

My thoughts were these:

1. My NYC tolerance level is at all time low. I just don.t have the patience to deal with: All the rude people, the heat, the congestion, the noise, the rats on the subway tracks, the dirt, the busses, the crowded subways, the traffic, the horns, the lack of respect for human decncy and all of the other things we as native New Yorkers "allow" to happen on a daily basis, usually just blaming it on "New York being New York."

Think about it.

2. Boston is just plain out - A NICER PLACE TO LIVE. The city has everything to offer. Yes, the Peete's coffee and DD were closing too early, and yes, I had to shovel snow A LOT this past winter and the winters are TOUGH. But, the 'average' days are just simply, beautiful, scenic, inspiring and generally more wonderful when compared to what I experienced in NYC over the past few days.

3. I'll always have New York. My kids grew up as 'real New Yorkers." I'll always have Long Island, the Nets and the Isles. I'll always love NYC, Bayside to Forest Hills to the village to the West Village to the West Side to UES and the cool Yorktown area in the 90s. My kids will have Manhattan, the history of Manhattan Island taught to them inch-by-inch by their parents and their teachers at pre-school and later, more in-depth at NBS. I love The Garden and it will always be my one favorite room/venue in the world. I won't forget any of it. I wouldn't trade one moment. But, I like Boston much, much better.

Happy Memorial Day. Take a second to think about the Vets, past and present who are serving to defend our country and our dream of a real democracy. Let's hope we achieve it after we let the American dream slip the past few years. The future is bright, but, like our forefathers, we're going to have to work hard to get it right.

Guess what? Every game in the NBA Regular Season DOES MATTER

When I was the Director of Communications/Media Relations for the NBA, a certain Commissioner friend of mine would often challenge our friends in the Fourth Estate when they would mutter a common preamble before stating a question or pre-conceived notion.

The preamble that would set the Commish off - and was always a major "pet-peeve" of mine is the phrase, "Some people say" or "Some people believe" or "Some people are writing."

That phrase would then erroneously 'qualify' the preconceived notion as though it were fact. Usually, the truth was so far away from the statement that you could place the continent of Asia in the gap.

So, as I often write in this blog, "Stay with me."

I have heard the following sentence muttered by media and NBA fans the world over.

"The NBA regular season doesn't matter." or the games in the middle of January, Feb and March don;t matter in the NBA, because the season is too long."

Well, guess what?

The games do matter. It is a challenge to play 82 games. A challenge like running a damn marathon. Getting up for 82. Travel. The road. Winning a big game on the road. Defending your home court. I can go on.

For those who doubt me, I offer this as exhibit 1-A:

Home court in the conference finals goes to Cleveland and LA. That might be the difference in moving on to the NBA Finals. If the NBA Finals are contested between Cleveland and LA, one regular season game decided the team that will have HOME COURT ADVANTAGE and that means, Games 1, 2 6 and 7. A HUGE A/Advantage in the Finals.

Clev 66-16
LAL 65-17
Orl 59-23
Den 54-28

If Orlando plays Denver, think the five regular season game differential might matter a bit, considering the altitude of DV?

I have spoken!

PS-- Read On for some fun...

The Fourth Estate? Ever wonder why that phrase is used to describe the scribes?

The Fourth Estate - or the media — got its nickname by policing the governments of France and Great Britain in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The French Estates General consisted of The First Estate of three hundred clergy, the Second Estate of three hundred nobles and the Third Estate of six hundred commoners. The media fulfilled a new role, providing their readership with more factual information about political events.


As a result, politicos were forced into a new level of accountability. Media became the fact provider, the great source of information beyond hype. When the politicians stepped out of line, the masses were informed, and protests, and in some cases, revolution ensued.

Ship Be Sinkin' - aka ...Long time passing...when will they ever learn?

Where Have All the Playoffs Gone?

words by T Lyons... courtesy of Pete (see below)

Where have all the Playoffs gone?

Long time passing

Where have all the Playoffs gone?

Long time ago.

Where have all the Playoffs gone?

Knicks have packed them in, every one,

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Where have all the Series gone?

Long time passing

Where have all the Series gone?

Long time ago.

Where have all the Series gone?

Taken to Cable , every one.

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Where have the Johnnie's gone?

Long time passing.

Where have the Johnnie's gone?

Long time ago.

Where have the Johnnie's gone?

Taken to the grave yard, Jarvis done,

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Please, please bring the NBA Playoffs and the NCAAs back to NYC....

Thank you.

T L

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE 

words and music by Pete Seeger

Where have all the flowers gone?

Long time passing

Where have all the flowers gone?

Long time ago

Where have all the flowers gone?

Girls have picked them every one

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone?

Long time passing

Where have all the young girls gone?

Long time ago

Where have all the young girls gone?

Taken husbands every one

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone?

Long time passing

Where have all the young men gone?

Long time ago

Where have all the young men gone?

Gone for soldiers every one

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone?

Long time passing

Where have all the soldiers gone?

Long time ago

Where have all the soldiers gone?

Gone to graveyards every one

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone?

Long time passing

Where have all the graveyards gone?

Long time ago

Where have all the graveyards gone?

Covered with flowers every one

When will we ever learn?

When will we ever learn?

Celtics Live Blog -- 2:00 left in the 3rd

The Tampa Bay Rays put up 4 in the fifth to take a 5-1 lead over the red Sox cross town.  Meanwhile, here at "The Gah-Den", Celtics lead 79-78 with under a minute left in the third.

This is a big one for the Celtics if they are going to compete for home court advantage against the orlando magic in the conference semi-finals or opponents - other than the LA Lakers in the NBA Finals.

Celtics Blog - Live .... Post (4)

It's good to see the banners and the parquet back in teh Boston Garden where they belong. the last time I was in the building, the NCAA Eastern Regional Finals between Pitt and Villanova, the parquet and banners were tucked away in place of a 'clean' NCAA venue.

It was strange, to say the least. The only time in my life that I'd seen a basketball game in the Garden without 14, 15 or 16 NBA championship banners hanging in the rafters.

Not to mention, the fact they took Bobby Orr's #4 down, along with nine other Bruins retired numbers, including my favorite #9 for Johnny Bucyk.

Nets 26- Celtics 17 ... hmmm #17?

Will that happen this June?