Game's on TNT, 7:30pm PDT. Orlando has been struggling lately, but we all know they're gonna get up for tonight's game and play their hearts out, for obvious reasons. We shall prevail (hopefully)
Dwight has been playing really well. Lakers started off hot but we cooled down near the end, up by 5 though. Out of Kobe/Pau/Ron/LO/Drew, Shannon Brown gets the interview at halftime. lol He's a beast, having a terrific game. PG of the future.
Wow this game was crazy... I thought we were gonna choke this away with how we opened up the 2nd half. Then our defense stepped up and Farmar/Shannon helped bring us back. Pau was terrific down the stretch, as was Lamar, making up for Kobe's poor shooting night. We don't play again until Thursday, where we travel to Cleveland, which is good news for Kobe and all his injuries.
Crazy win tonight. I thought we had it in the bag with how we played and defended in the first half, but the Magic went on that tear to take the lead, only for us to respond right back with a 21-1 run of our own. Shannon was beasting it tonight. Him and Farmar were the keys to this victory tonight, both played well, especially down the stretch. The Magic continue to show why they're not championship material. That team needs to feed Dwight. He was dominating in the 1st half with 18 points on 9/12 shooting. For them to inexplicably ignore him until about 7 minutes left in the 4th is inexcusable. You HAVE to get him the ball if you're the Magic, plain and simple. I don't know if it's SVG's fault or just the idiocy of his teammates, but they need to get him the ball, period. Anyways, good win tonight for us. We managed to get the win with Kobe playing like crap, which is always good for us.
The Magic live or die by the three. Dwight was dominant offensively in the first half, but honestly, you cannot expect that from him every night. Beyond that, they've surrounded him with a bunch of jump shooters in Nelson, Lewis, and Carter (who has been terrible this year). I don't know what the hell Barnes does but I don't think he's starting material. They have nobody to attack the paint, and when their jump shots aren't falling, they're screwed because Dwight is too inconsistent offensively. The Magic are really missing Hedo's play-making ability, and his size. Hedo was the Magic's biggest weapons last year because he made them a nightmare to defend against (mismatches), Vince Carter provides nothing special and is nothing more than a jump shooter at this point of his career. The Hedo-Vince swap has been a failure so far for the Magic, and I'm pretty sure they're missing Courtney Lee's contributions as well. Orlando went into the offseason, made a bunch of moves, spent money. They have like 10 million committed to Bass/Gortat when they don't even play. I don't understand why they didn't just use that money to resign Hedo. They have a lot of depth, but beyond that, they have the worst starting 5 of the contending teams. I don't see them getting far this year unless they make a drastic 180 shift in their play. Jump shooting teams, and teams that rely on the 3 don't make it far in the postseason.
Can't Kobe take less shot attempts and just look to rack up on assists? Damn... his efficiency and %'s (ALL OF THEM, even FTs!!!!!!) just look ugly
I agree... that's why Cleveland is the favorite to come out of the East... unless Boston become healthy come playoff time which is very unlikely Damn... that possible Cle-Lal final will have so much meaning for kobe-lebron-shaq-lakers fo
I hope Orlando goes on a hot streak just in time for the East playoffs, then cool down in the Finals...(oh wait...too cliche)
I agree that they live and die by the three. However, I disagree about Dwight. While he's not polished offensively, he does have some solid moves, and showcased those in the 1st half. I think, if they let him, he could dominate a game night in and night out. There isn't a player in the East not named Shaq that can contain him. He is so much stronger and quicker than basically every other center in the NBA, it's not even funny. If the Magic gave him 14-16 shots per night, I think he could be a 25+ppg guy, they just don't give him the opportunity, and that was shown last night as well. As for not having a guy that can get the hoop, you're partially wrong there. Nelson has the ability to get to the hoop, as does Barnes, and Carter can still get to the hoop when he wants to as well. They just choose to shoot the three because SVG doesn't lash out at them for doing so.
