Magic At Lakers Previews Game Two

[duncan228]

Orlando at Los Angeles Preview (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2009060713&prov=ap)
Game info: 8:00 pm EDT Sun Jun 7, 2009
TV: ABC, TSN
By Tom Withers

Behind Kobe Bryant’s stone-faced mask and the icy grimace he’s wearing in these finals, his eyes are laser locked on one target: His fourth NBA title.

His vision is so narrow, so sharp that he can’t think about anything but a shiny championship trophy now close enough to touch.

To him, these two weeks are all that matters.

After that, it’s anyone’s guess.

As he and the Los Angeles Lakers practiced in advance of playing the Orlando Magic in Sunday’s Game 2, Bryant, as few as three games from wrapping up his 13th season as a pro, said he has not given any thought about giving up what has been the driving force in his life.

“I don’t know,” he said when asked how much longer he’ll play. “I just love the game so much still. “I just feel like there’s still so much out there for me to improve on and work on. My body feels great. God willing, I stay healthy, I’ll just keep going.”

Bryant, who will turn 31 in August, has an upcoming decision to make on his future. While he’s under contact to make $23 million next season, he has an early termination option, which he can exercise if he so chooses this summer. The idea of a Bryant-less Lakers may be farfetched, but nothing can be assumed.

Michael Jordan was just 30 the first time he quit, stepping away to chase his dream of playing baseball.

Could Bryant, who scored 40 points in Game 1 and has been the closest thing to M.J. the league has seen, follow him and do something else?

His coach doesn’t think so.

“Kobe is going to play it out for as long as he can,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “He’s just a player that is going to find a way regardless. When his skill level deteriorates, he’s going to find a level to play at that his athleticism is going to allow. I can see him playing to 36, 37.”

There are no apparent signs that Bryant’s wondrous skills are receding. In fact, and this is a scary thought for every other team in the league, Bryant may be just hitting his prime. He has become a smarter, more efficient player. He takes care of his body. His work ethic is unsurpassed. He is driven like never before.

Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy laughed when he was asked if he has seen any flaws or erosion in Bryant’s magnificence.

“Yeah, I thought he dropped off quite a bit the other night,” he quipped.

Van Gundy, who has spent the past two days devising a better scheme to slow L.A.’s No. 24, expects Bryant’s game to evolve in the years ahead. Bryant won’t be able to slash to the basket as often, but he’ll figure out new ways of destroying defenses—just like Mike.

“That’s what happened to Jordan,” Van Gundy said. “So now even though at the end of his career he might have lost a half step or a quarter step, they get to the basket when they want to because you’ve got to take away that jump shot, and they just get smarter and smarter.

“Those guys get better and better.”

Jackson has seen it firsthand. He won six titles with Jordan in Chicago, and the gray-haired Zen Master is seeking his fourth with Bryant. As long as Bryant stays healthy, Jackson expects him to follow the same path toward retirement as Jordan did.

“All players that remain physically competent, as they get old, they just get better,” Jackson said. “Their reactive ability is probably most noted on the defensive end. That’s usually where they get hurt the most. But you saw guys like (Jerry) Stackhouse and Jordan playing past 35 with great ability.

“There’s no reason why Kobe won’t.”

With the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks opening their season at Staples Center, both teams had to work out at the Lakers’ training facility on Saturday.

As the Magic shot around on L.A.’s practice floor, they could look up and see eight of the 14 Larry O’Brien Trophies won by the Lakers lined up side by side behind a second-floor window overlooking the court. It’s an imposing sight for a franchise which has been to the finals just twice, has yet to win a game in either visit and got blown out in Game 1.

Van Gundy has reminded his players that they can get back in the series. Orlando shot just 30 percent from the field and center Dwight Howard made only one field goal.

The Magic have spent the entire season in comeback mode. It’s time to rally again.

“We’ve been through it,” said Van Gundy, who plans to keep his rotations intact for Game 2. “As the playoffs have gone on, I’m given them history lessons of just about anything that can happen in the playoffs, people being blown out at times. All of us were upset with our performances the other night; I wasn’t happy with mine, I don’t think they were happy with theirs. We’re anxious to get back at it.”

So is Bryant.

He is consumed with winning it all, and although his body language says otherwise, Bryant insists he’s having fun in his sixth finals.

“Just because you’re focused on something doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy something,” he said. “That’s part of the fun is just figuring out how to focus and how to get ready. You can still do your job and have a good time.”

At various times, Bryant has been called aloof, selfish, moody, arrogant. Those he allows to get close to him, say he’s different.

Jackson was asked the biggest misconception about Bryant.

“That he’s a nice guy,” Jackson said. “He’s a killer. He’s a gun slinger, and he’s a guy that’s going to take the weak and have no mercy on them.”

Bryant, whose obligatory news conferences have been painful because of his uptight demeanor and one-word responses, was told of his coach’s portrait of him.

“He lied,” Bryant said, smiling.

Series Breakdown (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/playoffs/2009/orllal)

[duncan228]

Bynum ready for 2nd rumble with Superman (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-nbafinals-lakers&prov=ap&type=lgns)
By Beth Harris

Andrew Bynum was helpless to stop the Boston Celtics’ pummeling of the Lakers in the NBA finals a year ago. He’s finally getting a chance to do something about bringing a title to Los Angeles.

Even with an awkward brace on his surgically repaired knee, Bynum had the best start of any Lakers player in the 100-75 Game 1 victory against Orlando. He had eight points and four rebounds playing just under 9 minutes in the first quarter.

“That’s what we want, that early inside presence out there in the ballgame, and the combination of Pau (Gasol) and Drew out there gave us that impact,” coach Phil Jackson said.

At the same time, Bynum was helping hold down Dwight Howard, who made just one shot in the game.

“That was part of our game plan, just keep him away from the basket and make him shoot shots,” Bynum said.

Still a pro basketball baby at 21, Bynum has endured two major knee injuries since becoming the youngest player ever drafted three years ago.

He was rapidly coming of age in January 2008—shooting a league-best 64 percent—when he went up for a rebound in a game and came down on teammate Lamar Odom’s foot. Bynum underwent surgery and missed the rest of the season while rehabbing.

Then injury struck again.

Bynum tore the MCL in his right knee on Jan. 31 and missed 32 games. He returned just as the regular season was ending, giving the 7-footer barely any time to prepare for the playoffs.

“Playing a handful of games at the end of the season I think was a benefit for him,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “He didn’t fully get to rehab his knee, but he got as close as we can possibly get before he started playing. So that’s one of the things that we’re really concerned, that he fully rehabs after the season is over and he’s 100 percent. But he’s come back and played with a brace which has some limitation.”

Bynum used up some fouls working down low against Howard, having picked up three at halftime. He played fewer minutes in the second half, when Bryant carried the offensive load and Gasol, the Lakers’ other 7-footer, took over.

“Pau has been very good at looking for Andrew, feeding Andrew, getting the ball into him when he has an open spot and an opportunity, and that’s helped Andrew’s game a lot,” Jackson said.

Now the coach is looking for Bynum to strike a balance between helping shut down Howard in Game 2 on Sunday and stopping penetration.

“He’s very animated, intensely focused, on this matchup between himself and Howard, almost too much so, to the point where he still has to help,” Jackson said. “But he really has it in his mind that he’s going to stay attached to him, keep his body off the rim or away from the rebounds.”

Howard, who’s 23, first saw Bynum play in a high school All-Star game. They were both drafted out of high school; Howard in Atlanta and Bynum in New Jersey.

“He was wider but now he’s slimmed down, gotten into better shape,” Howard said. “His game has improved from the first time he’s been in the NBA. I really love watching him develop, and I think we both have a lot of respect for each other. Knowing that we’re like dinosaurs in the NBA, there’s not a lot of us (big men), we have to stick together.”

Now in his third year with the Lakers, Bynum was the youngest to play in a regular season game at 18 years and 6 days against Denver. He became the youngest Lakers player to record a double-double in November 2006, surpassing Magic Johnson’s mark.

“Andrew is a really good shooter,” Jackson said. “He’s a good enough shooter to have a touch and make baskets and shoot free throws, we know that. The big key with him is defensive help, defensive retreat and how active he can be at that end of the floor.”

Bynum helped hold Orlando to 30 percent shooting in the opening win.

“We can be better, but as far as the intensity, we’re going to have the same level as the other night,” he said. “We’ve just got to hold them under 100 points, that’s the way we look at it. Keeping a team under 100 points gives you your best chance to win.”

[Trainwreck2100]

asskicking du jour

[shelshor]

Referee Assignments
Sun. Jun. 7
Orlando @ L.A. Lakers: S. Javie, M. McCutchen, T. Washington

[KSeal]

It's gonna be tough for Orlando to win the series if they lose tonight. Come on LA, put the dagger in 'em!

[21_Blessings]

fuckshit, Javie

[Allanon]

Too bad Stern didn't put Javie in the Orlando game.

[duncan228]

Ball Don't Lie.

Game Two preview: Magic on the rebound? (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Game-Two-preview-Magic-on-the-rebound-;_ylt=AmWKCA7GiNaqH0YzKN4WWxy8vLYF?urn=nba,168491)
By Kelly Dwyer

Orlando at Los Angeles Lakers, Game 2 (Los Angeles leads series, 1-0)

We have to make two things very clear, right from the start.

First, the Lakers are playing their best basketball of the season. They may have had stronger, more efficient runs on both ends during stretches of the regular season, but considering the competition, the setting, and the time of year (a little harder to execute with legs that are playing their 101st game of the season), this has been the team's best week and a half of the season.

And while we don't expect that to relent — the team is too focused — the second part of this is very important. The Magic, made to look silly in Game 1, will be better in Game 2.

Not because of their will or their toughness or their resilience or something that Patrick Ewing said to them before breaking a backboard during Saturday's shootaround. But because they won't shoot 30 percent again. And, more importantly, they won't shoot a horrid percentage on all the open shots that they missed in Game 1.

Everything, save for injury, that could have gone wrong in Game 1 went wrong for the Magic. I know they were competitive and even ahead for the first 18 minutes of the game, but a combination of good offensive execution finished with poor shooting on one end, and Kobe Bryant nailing tough shot after tough shot on the other, really led to a dispirited second half in a game that should have been a lot closer.

I know Bryant's makes weren't exactly of the Shane-Battier-hand-in-yo'-face variety, but they were tough, tough shots. And he constantly, repeatedly, made them. And yet, the Magic didn't foul the man until the second half. 34 points to score 40 shots, in a loss, is right up there with what we saw during the regular season from the Lakers and Bryant.

The difference here is that Kobe's domination of the ball in Game 1, as opposed to the regular season, came with a purpose. And the spacing was much better, even better than it was over Games 5 and 6 against Denver, because those games came against a gimmick-styled trapping defense. This was something entirely, if not new, then better. Even if the Lakers didn't pile on the points.

The Magic rebounding should improve, you would hope. Orlando's defense will improve, it has to, and the team's history of poor defense in Game 1s (http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/06/05/magic-defense-another-bad-game-1/) should have Magic fans feeling better about the team's chances about taking Game 2, and the home court advantage. Then again, there are two problems with banking on that hope.

First, as we've mentioned so many times that you're surely sick of it, the Laker offense is adaptable on the fly to any machinations or adjustments that even the best defense in the NBA can toss its way.

Secondly, Phil Jackson has been warning his team ever since the closing buzzer of Game 1 that the Magic came here to do one thing, and one thing only. Steal a game. That's it. If he's telling it to the press, he's telling it to his team.

So while I believe we have all the pieces in place for a closer game, those banking on an (yeah, let's say it) Orlando-style turnaround in Game 2 will just have to lower the expectations. Even if all the coin flips that landed on tails on Thursday night suddenly land on heads on Sunday evening.

Dismiss the Magic at your own peril; they could very well win this game, and this series. But if the last week and a half is any indication, the Lakers don't look prone to regress into the bad habits that dotted their play in the Houston series, or the early stages of the Conference finals.

A few notes ...

***

Los Angeles' doubling of Dwight Howard reminds me of the way Phil Jackson and Jim Cleamons used to call for double-teams on Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning. Wait until he puts the ball on the floor, commit hard, watch as things usually fall apart. Howard passed well in Game 1, to these eyes, but poor recognition of double-teaming was the first thing he brought up to an assembled media throng (well, one guy named "Kelly") that wanted to hear about his other Game 1 missteps.

***

Be very careful what you wish for, Laker fans. Kobe's line, in a vacuum, is exactly what the Magic were after. Lots of shots, and only eight free throws (good for most, not all that hot for someone that shoots 34 times in 38 minutes). I mean, 40 points, eight rebounds, eight assists ... have we heard that line before? In late May, for instance?

The difference was the Laker D, which was sublime, Orlando missing open shots, and the Laker spacing offensively. The Laker D, I'm guessing, will stay about the same. Orlando will hit more open shots. The continual x-factor with the Lakers? Will the spacing be there? Will they run the offense properly, so that the Magic can't force LeBron Kobe to get his while everyone else stays dormant?

Then again, as was mentioned during the last series, the Cavs aren't good enough to win with LeBron putting up big numbers and everyone else falling by the wayside. The Lakers are good enough to win with Kobe going off, and everyone else falling a little short of their averages. Not because Kobe isn't brilliant (he is), but because everyone else's averages are that good.

***

I'm not being an obscurest or daft when I point out that the Magic, for whatever reason, played much, much better with Courtney Lee on the floor, as opposed to Mickael Pietrus.

I like Pietrus, he played good defense (with bad results) and ended up with a so-so shooting night in a Game 1 that saw the rest of the Magic only hope at getting to so-so, but I don't think the minutes should be tilted to Pietrus over Lee as much as they were (32 to 22 for Lee) in Game 1.

***

Adjustments are wonderful little things, and you'd like to see the Magic be able to slide their perimeter shooters into slots where they could then see rotations after the rest of the Laker D collapses on Dwight Howard. Howard then kicks it out to a Rashard Lewis or Hedo Turkoglu, who then finds J.J. Redick for the three-pointer. This would, of course, involve Redick actually playing. If not, it would involve the Magic actually hitting their wide-open shots.

The point being, the Lakers were able to double-team Howard as he went into his move in Game 1 without consequence. Some of this was on Howard, a lot of it was on Howard, but you have to make things obvious for your center at times. Expect SVG to have all sorts off open passing lanes that either lead to an assist for Howard, or lead to another pass and assist for a potential shooter soon after.

Unless the Lakers anticipate this, and don't double team as much. Ooh, intrigue!

***

A few days off, a few more weeks removed from coming back from injury ... we could see a big game out of Andrew Bynum in Game 2 on offense. Has to stay on the floor, of course, but it's a strong possibility. He just has to allow that confidence level to move up a notch, and listen to his initial offensive instinct.

And it should be noted that Andrew's initial offensive instinct is a often a sound one, for any age.

[duncan228]

Nelson's return leaves Van Gundy with critical choice (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/chris_mannix/06/07/game.2.preview/index.html?eref=T1)
Chris Mannix

LOS ANGELES -- There is a saying in sports that has been repeated countless times by coaches everywhere: You dance with the one that brung you. It's what baseball managers say in the playoffs when they are asked to explain why they chose to bring back their ace on three days rest instead of sending out the well-rested fourth starter. It's what hockey coaches come back with in the postseason when they are second-guessed about not making a change in goal after the starter spends most of the game digging the puck out of his own net. It's a basic coaching tenet: when the games become more meaningful, you trust the guys that got you there.

Stan Van Gundy, however, appears to be willing to defy that principle. Rafer Alston has started 48 games for the Magic since coming over from Houston at the February trading deadline. He averaged 14.6 points and 6.2 assists in an Orlando uniform in the regular season and is averaging 12.3 and 4.2 in the playoffs. He has had some clunkers (a four-point, two assist output in Game 2 of the conference finals) but he has also had a few breakouts (like a 26-point effort in Game 4 of the same series). But even with his fluctuating play, Alston's role as the team's top point guard has never been in question.

That is, until now. In Game 1, Van Gundy elected to platoon Alston with Jameer Nelson, the Magic's ex-starter who made his first appearance since shredding the labrum in his right shoulder in February. The results weren't pretty: Nelson played the entire second quarter and finished the game with six points (on 3-of-9 shooting) and four assists in 23:28. Alston finished with six points (on 2-of-9 shooting) and one assist in 24:32 and exited the Magic locker room with a jarring feeling of confusion over his role that he didn't have when he walked in.

"It was odd. I mean, I think everyone can see that," Alston said. "That's unusual to start the game and then you don't even touch the court in the second quarter."

The risk with distributing minutes evenly between two players is that it becomes more difficult for either player to establish a rhythm. Alston implied that the diminished playing time affected him, particularly in the second half. Van Gundy called it an excuse.

"Having that affect his play, that's up to him," said Van Gundy. "If I'm looking from the outside, that sounds like an excuse to me."

"I'll give you a good excuse," Alston said. "I sat 12 minutes real game time [in the second quarter], I sat about 30 minutes real life time. So there's an excuse."

That Van Gundy is comfortable with Nelson isn't surprising. Nelson has been the Magic's starter for the last two years under Van Gundy and this season emerged as an All-Star for the first time. It was Van Gundy who convinced Nelson to not worry about his deficiencies as a distributor and embrace his ability to be a scoring point guard and play a leading role in the Magic's bombs-away offense. And Nelson was effective, averaging a career-high 16.7 points before bowing out with the injury.

It's also clear that Van Gundy isn't totally comfortable with Alston, a sometimes dazzling playmaker and streaky shooter who is prone to occasional mental lapses.

If this were the same Nelson that propelled the Magic to the top of the conference in January, the who-should-play debate would be a no-brainer. But it isn't the same Nelson. The January version of Nelson wouldn't have passed up open jump shots, as Nelson did several times in Game 1, and wouldn't have missed badly on the ones he took. That Nelson wouldn't have looked winded after about a six and a half minutes stretch in the second quarter.

What Van Gundy has is a shell of the old Nelson, a player that is desperately trying to regain his old form in a short period of time. Despite that, Van Gundy seems willing to give Nelson the opportunity to reclaim his role as the Magic's top playmaker and let Alston twist in the wind. That could be dangerous. The Magic don't have enough weapons for the point guard to be a position of weakness; they need one of them to step up. An informal poll of a handful of NBA coaches, scouts and executives over the weekend yielded the same answers: Van Gundy should settle on one and play him the bulk of the minutes. That leaves Van Gundy with a choice: does he go with the player he trusts or does he trust the one that brung him?

[duncan228]

What To Expect In Game 2 (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-090607)
Kurt Helin
ESPN TrueHoop

Lakers fans are confident right now. With most fan bases you'd expect that after a 25-point Game 1 win, but that's not the usual reality in Los Angeles this past season. The Jekyll and Hyde nature of the Lakers has conditioned the fan base to expect a lackadaisical performance after a good one. A big Lakers win normally makes us as skittish as a grazing gazelle. The Lakers' up-and-down play was a forgivable habit in December but became worrisome in April and downright exasperating in May.

But it doesn't feel like that is what is going to happen in Game 2 against Orlando.

There is Kobe Bryant's new underbite, and all that comes with it. There was the Lakers locker room after Game 1, which was far more businesslike than normal -- all season long the Lakers players said the right thing about trying to be consistent, but this time it seemed as if they meant it.

And they have meant it for 10 straight quarters. Starting at halftime of Game 5 against Denver and running through Game 1 of the Finals on Thursday, the Lakers have played basketball about as well as they can. That may not seem like much, but for the up-and-down Lakers that is a DiMaggio-like streak.

Most of all, confidence exudes from Phil Jackson now. It's not just the 43-0 thing after winning Game 1 (although that helps). He is far more confident than he was in 2004 or in 2008 -- and he's said as much. He feels like he has a handle on these Lakers and what buttons to push. He clearly knows what mismatches he can get and wants to exploit against Orlando.

Jackson is carrying himself with the confidence of a man with 10 rings. Soon he may have that, but that confidence has buoyed all of Los Angeles.