Magic in 7. But seriously, this isn't the same Magic team playing earlier in the postseason. Granted, they were playing easier teams, but still...the effort level and fire hasn't been there, especially yesterday. By the way, I've said this a long time ago, way before this season, but my son Rondo is the truth. Definitely the postseason MVP by far. Once he gets a jump shot and becomes less out of control at times, he will be unstoppable.
I'm sick of these stupid fucking posts and stupid fucking thoughts. This isn't the same Magic? How about giving the C's some damn credit for their defense and game planning? It is the same Orlando team and it was the same Cleveland team. Boston is just fucking better than both those teams. They're healthy and clicking at the right time. Give them their props.
Stop it 5 - the only stupid post here is yours. The Magic played with absolutely no effort on Saturday. There was no fight and no sense of urgency. I don't credit the Celtics for making Orlando play terrible basketball. Whose fault is it that they played horrific defense? Whose fault is it that some of the key guys like Carter are taking low percentage shots? I do credit the Celtics defense in Rashard Lewis' struggles, but he certainly should be shooting better than 25% from the field and 7% from downtown. Van Gundy even said he hasn't been coaching up to par. The Magic were not playing this kind of basketball earlier in the playoffs. You should be ashamed and embarrassed for posting such written fecal matter.
I'm surprised at how easily the Celtics have handled Orlando. The Magic haven't even been competitive in this series and have already quit on their coach. Dwight Howard has been a sorry excuse for a leader during this series admitting his teams heart wasn't in it.
Nice logic. I thought the same thing as Mamba, but I didn't even wanna waste my time addressing it. When a team beats you twice on your floor, then you go to their house and they take a quick 15 point lead, you start to think you have no shot and that's when you give up. Also, Orlando's D hasn't been that bad. It's not like the Celtics are scoring 120 points. Not giving the Celtics credit when they're completely dismantling the Magic is just dumb. Also, comparing how the Magic played against the Bobcats and Hawks to this series is even dumber.
If you thought the same thing as Mamba then you too would be having silly/irrational thoughts. My claim was: "this isn't the same Magic team playing earlier in the postseason". Whether the Celtics are better or not is completely irrelevant. My claim still stands and is true. Using the previous rounds definitely isn't dumb. It doesn't matter if they play a 3rd seed or a 7th seed - there is a certain intensity level and energy which they had earlier on that has been missing for some of the ECF. Playing with intensity is always necessary to succeed in the postseason, regardless if you are playing the Hawks or the Bobcats. If you watched Game 3, you would notice that their defense was absolutely terrible. Saying "it's not like the Celtics scored 120 points" is pretty dumb reasoning considering that both teams tend to play at a slower pace. FG% is a much stronger indicator of defense. And taking away the stats of Nate, Finley, and Daniels, who all played irrelevant minutes in garbage time, the Celtics shot about 49% from the field and 55% from downtown. The Magic rotations were late and the effort level on defense was lackluster and barely present. If you noticed, I never said that the Celtics weren't the better team. It certainly can be the case that the better team had an easier time because the Magic played with little heart and little sense of urgency in Game 3.
I disagree. NBA playoff series' are all about matchups. It doesn't matter who else the Magic beat or how bad they beat them. Look at the Lakers, they are rolling through the West's elite, but they struggled against OKC. Also, it's easy to have a lot of energy and intensity when you're beating up on a worse team. Orlando wasn't even tested until this round. Now we are finally seeing what kind of team they really are. They weren't ready for the Celtics, and it was obvious in the first 3 games. They finally showed some heart in game 4, but still needed overtime to win a game. I thought their defense in game 3 was adequate. Boston moves the ball well, and when Rondo is clicking, they are going to shoot well against any defense.
I never denied that matchups play an important role in the playoffs. But playing with intensity can ultimately determine who wins the series regardless of the matchup. That's debatable. It can actually be easy to play with less intensity against worse teams because there is still a very good chance you can win. Why play with 100% intensity when only 75% intensity is sufficient for winning the game? The fact that you said: "They finally showed some heart in game 4" suggests that their heart wasn't present all throughout the series. But the Magic played with heart all throughout their series against both the Hawks and Bobcats. This is why I said they were a different team. As talented as Rondo is, he penetrated way too easily. Jason Williams was particularly horrendous that night. And the rotations were way too slow and the screen and roll defense was extremely weak, I thought.
"The Celtics were looking at having as many as nine days off before the Finals started if they had won tonight. Now there's a strong chance they'll need until Game 6 on Friday, which would leave them only five days of rest -- and add two more games of wear and tear -- before the Finals. That's still plenty of rest, of course, but the Celtic's maladies are mounting. The right-handed Perkins' already limited offensive repertoire has been further constrained by a sprained right wrist (not to mention shoulder and knee problems). He now appears unwilling to shoot the same 15-foot jumper he stroked easily on the first play of Game 1 in Orlando. Tony Allen was so limited by an ankle problem that Boston has worked out Robinson extensively in his place during practices this week. Rivers turned to Robinson for a brief cameo, taking Allen out of the game, and that might be a bigger story in Game 5. And Rondo went to the locker room late in the first half for something vaguely described as "muscle spasms." Whatever it was, it might have contributed to Orlando's Jameer Nelson getting the better of the point guard matchup for the first time all series."
