Orlando’s Simple But Potent Offense

[duncan228]

Orlando’s Simple but Potent Offense
Jonathan Abrams
New York Times

ORLANDO — The component that largely led to Rafer Alston’s exodus from the Houston Rockets may be his exaltation with the Orlando Magic.

In Houston, Alston was heavily criticized for not delivering the basketball to Yao Ming, the behemoth center, beneath the basket. Dealt midseason to the Magic after an injury to the All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson, Alston found a comfort zone and a big man to his liking in Dwight Howard.

“I got him on one pass that all I saw was a white No. 12 jersey and I was able to hit him,” Alston said after the Magic’s Game 4 overtime victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals. “For me, it comes with playing with Yao. He is such a tall guy, I just want to throw the ball to him. He has great hands, he can just go up and dunk.”

The process is part of the equation behind the Magic’s success, simple at its core, yet stunning in its efficiency. Taken in separate parts, the Magic is a mostly hodgepodge of discarded parts: Alston shuttled from Houston, Hedo Turkoglu shuttered from the Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs, Rashard Lewis traded from the Seattle SuperSonics.

Strung together and fastened by the cornerstone Howard, the Magic is on the verge of its first finals appearance since 1995 and can get itself there with a Game 5 victory over the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Thursday.

Only eight teams in N.B.A. history have rallied from a 3-1 deficit, the extreme odds that the once heavily favored Cavaliers face. The Phoenix Suns were the last team to do so, wiping out the margin against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2006 playoffs.

To do so, the Cavaliers must find needed help for LeBron James on offense and suture the mismatches that the Magic creates on defense.

In simplistic fashion, the Magic’s offense orbits around Howard, Typically, it begins with Turkoglu, who like Lewis, is a walking mismatch from his point forward slot.

Often, Turkoglu brings the ball to the frontcourt and when the opposition traps him on pick-and-rolls, the rest of the defense rotates to locate Howard, The Magic is more than capable of hitting 3-pointers, as evidenced by its franchise-record 17 on Tuesday. If it connects on 3’s, the defense is suddenly hesitant to rotate from their perimeter assignments and Howard is left single manned beneath the rim, a result that usually ends in a dunk.

The opposition is left to pick its poison and in essence, choose its plight. When the offense fires on all cylinders, it is beautiful to witness, especially when Alston’s shot is on. He delivered 26 points and made 6 3-pointers in Game 4.

The Magic has a potent offense, one that creates multiple leaks. Whenever the Cavaliers appear to have one hole plugged, as was Lewis for much of Tuesday, another, like Alston, leaks.

“It seemed like they wanted to go small,” Lewis said. “LeBron was guarding me. They wouldn’t leave me on the wing. Even when Anderson Varejao was guarding me, every pick-and-roll we ran, the guy would stay home on me, so it was hard for me to get a shot off. But they were leaving him open, especially on the pick-and-rolls and he was coming up big and knocking down shots.”

The Cavaliers have been forced into the role of chameleons, changing their defense to the whims of the Magic. Among their reserves, Daniel Gibson has played form less than 30 seconds this series to 21 minutes, Wally Szczerbiak from none to 21 and Sasha Pavlovic from none to 25.

“It is a great 3-point shooting team,” James said. “I mean, Dwight is playing well and he’s a beast down the middle. So, you try not to shrink the floor.”

As the Cavaliers have switched personnel and pick-and-rolls, the Magic have remained steady on the course, using Howard for screens up top, then diving him below.

“Whether we were small or big at the time, they were going to play pick-and-roll and look to create off the pick-and-roll and then just roll him to the basket, let him go block the block and throw inside to him second,” Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown said.

At times, they have left Howard guarded with one man, double teamed him or simply corralled Howard and sending him to the free-throw line. To Howard’s credit, he has made 21 of his last 28 free throws.

The T.N.T. analyst Charles Barkley, on Tuesday’s telecast, said that Brown deserves some scrutiny. “If I’m on the Cavaliers, I have to question Mike Brown at some point,” he said. “In one game, he plays Pavlovic. In the next, he doesn’t play him. In the next game he doesn’t play Szczerbiak and he doesn’t play Gibson. He puts those guys in a very awkward situation.”

Earlier in the series, James and the outspoken Mo Williams clamored for more single teaming and that individual defenders held accountable for their own man. Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas were not among the players championing that option.

If so, they will probably be highlight reels on the Magic’s coronation path to the finals. Then again, what else can the Cavaliers do to plug their many holes?

[Indazone]

What can the Cavs do to plug their many holes? They only have one. Matching up at Center. For this they have to play Big Z even if he's slow he can slow down Dwight Howard. But like Barkley says, you have to put the magnifying glass on Brown.