Do the Magic Have Anything Left?

The Magic have fought through adversity this entire season.

Everything from losing Jameer Nelson in the middle of the season, having Dwight Howard to suspended one game in the Philadelphia series, to being pushed to the brink by the Celtics and the Magic have still fought back every time.

Now they find themselves down 2-0 in the NBA finals to a Lakers team that seems almost mistake-free right now. If anyone come back from this two-game deficit, it's the Magic.

They're going to have to win both games in Orlando to have a chance at winning their first NBA title. Tuesday's Game 3 couldn't be a better time for the Magic to win their first NBA Finals game in franchise history. They're currently 0-6 all time in the NBA Finals.

It's very possible for Orlando to win both games at home. After all, they're one botched lay-up by Courtney Lee from this series being tied 1-1 and everything being completely different. Not to put too much emphasis on one play, but that missed lay-up may cost them the series considering how difficult it is to win on the road at this point in the playoffs.

Jameer Nelson's minutes have to be cut more in Game 3. Rafer Alston has only played 11 more minutes than Nelson in the first two games and that could be disrupting the chemistry that Orlando built in the first three rounds of the playoffs with Alston running the point. Don't try to fix what's not broken.

Alston has been unable to catch any sort of a rhythm offensively since Nelson has been sharing time with him. Alston is only shooting 3 of 17 from the field during this series. Nelson isn't doing much better shooting 4 of 12 from the field, which should be expected since he's been out for so long.

As I've said time and time again, never count the Magic out. This series is still very capable of going seven games.

2009 NBA Finals: David vs. Goliath

People have counted out the Orlando Magic this entire postseason, and that included myself. Even going into the opening round series against the Sixers I had my doubts about this team's toughness.

I stand corrected.

However, the Magic are going to have to prove me wrong one more time to win their first NBA championship because the Lakers just look too good for them in this series.

Throw everything out of the window when it comes to the Magic beating their first three teams of the playoffs, because the Lakers are far different than Philly, Boston, and most certainly Cleveland. The Lakers create many matchup problems for the Magic, much like the Magic did to the Cavs.

The obvious first question is who is going to guard Kobe? You can't double-team him heavily like you did against LeBron because Kobe will find his teammates who are very capable of beating you. Double-team Kobe and he's probably going dish it over to Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, or Trevor Ariza. Ariza has elevated his game tremendously this postseason and that could spell problems for Orlando.

Dwight Howard is also going to have a lot harder time having his way with Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom doing the defending down low. It's going to be critical that Howard hits his free throws at a high percentage because the Lakers aren't going to let him just cruise on in and get easy shots.

As gloomy as it might look for Orlando, I still can't count them out completely. This team lives and dies by the three and anything can happen when you're that kind of a team. If Orlando three's weren't falling in the Eastern Conference Finals, then Cleveland might be in the NBA Finals and not Orlando. It's a high risk, high reward proposition for Orlando.

Orlando will probably continue to be effective from behind the arc but it will only take them so far. Players like Mickael Pietrus, Rafer Alston, and Rashard Lewis are all going to have to carry the load on offense to beat the Lakers. It's possible, but it's going to be very tough.

In the end it's going to be a home team's series and this year's NBA Finals will go seven games. Orlando will enter Game 7 living and dying by the three-pointer and the Staples Center crowd will probably get to them. Besides Hedo Turkoglu, none of these perimeter shooter have ever been in this type of situation where the stakes are this high.

Kobe Bryant will not let the Lakers lose at home in Game 7. So the NBA shouldn't be too down on themselves for not getting a LeBron-Kobe NBA Finals, because this will still be a great series with plenty of drama and excitement.

Mo Williams Doing A Little Too Much Talking.....

After the Cavs' Game 3 loss to the Magic on Sunday night, Mo Williams said they would still win the series and that they were the best team in basketball.

I'm all for having confidence and trying to pump up your teammates, but not when your back is on the ropes like this. Cleveland should be down 3-0 right now and facing an embarrassing sweep tonight if not for a heroic and downright lucky shot by LeBron in Game 2.

Orlando has completely owned this entire series and I look for them to do the same tonight unless LeBron gets some help. That means you Mo Williams! You're shooting 32 percent from the field and now you're putting added pressure on your team. You don't think that Mo's comments won't be sitting in the back of LeBron and the rest of the team's minds? I think so.

The bottom line is the Cavs have not had an answer for Rashard Lewis, Rafer Alston, or Mickael Pietrus. Mo Williams has gotten out-played by Alston this series and that has to change or the Cavs are done for sure.

Game 3 was Cleveland's golden opportunity to steal back home-court advantage and they blew it. They had Dwight Howard in foul trouble for most of the first half and instead got pushed around by Marcin Gortat. Are you kidding me? We're talking about a guy who's averaging 3.7 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game in the playoffs, and you let him fill the void for Dwight Howard.

As bad as I'm coming down on Cleveland, Orlando still can't afford to get too confident either. They can't forget that LeBron is still on the other team and he is arguably the best player since Michael Jordan.

Tonight is definitely a must-win for Cleveland. I'm sticking with my prediction of Orlando in six games. I think Orland comes out tonight and does exactly what they've been doing the entire series, and that is create matcup problems with Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Basketball is a team sport and that's why Orlando will win this series and send the Cleveland "LeBrons" home in six games.

L.A. In a Dogfight While Magic Look To Go Up 2-0

This year's NBA playoffs have been the most exciting I've seen in a long time. Every conference finalist you can make a good argument for winning it all this season and that means exciting playoff basketball.

The whole world, with the exception of Denver and Orlando fans, wants to see the Lakers meet the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Instead of the Lakers versus the Cavaliers, let's just call it Kobe versus LeBron.

No one could be hoping for it more than the NBA itself. Ratings would spike for the NBA Finals to watch the arguably the two best basketball players the world has seen since Michael Jordan himself. It would be a great matchup to see them two go at it, but I'm not so sure it would be a great team matchup.

We've already seen that the Cavaliers are vulnerable past LeBron. The Magic slowly crept their way back to win Game 1 thanks to a balanced scoring attack that LeBron doesn't have. It didn't matter in the first two rounds against Atlanta and Detroit. LeBron could simply beat those teams all alone. The Cavaliers finally have a real test and they flunk the first one in a big way.

We all know the Cavaliers are great at home, but now that home-court has swung to the Magic's advantage.

There's just way too many matchup problems for the Cavaliers in this series. Zydrunas Ilgauskas can't stop Dwight Howard, or any other player on the Magic's roster. They're just too fast for him. LeBron can't cover them all. He's a remarkable player, but he's still human.

When LeBron scores 49 points and you still end up losing at home, then there's something seriously wrong. I'm not ready to count the Cavaliers completely out, but I knew that eventually LeBron would need some help. Until he gets some help from perimeter players like Mo Williams and Delonte West, then the Magic could take this series realistically in six games.

As for the Western Conference Finals, this is a seven-game series in the making. However, the Nuggets could easily be up 2-0 going to Denver if not for the collapse in the Game 1.

The Lakers have figure out a way to contain Carmelo Anthony. That means keeping him under 30 points, which they have failed to do for the first two games. These teams are so identical it's almost scary.

I think the Lakers will end up taking Game 7 at home on the back of Kobe Bryant. Bryant has done it so many times in his career, and there's nothing telling me he won't do that again. Either way, it's not going to be easy for either team.

The Magic Choke Again

The Orlando Magic have completely choked the past two games of the series. Last night they led by as many as 14 in the 4th quarter before throwing it away, and Dwight Howard wasn't shy of who to blame after the game.

"Our coach has to recognize that when he has a certain group out there and they are getting the job done we have to leave those guys on the floor," Howard said after the game about Coach Stan Van Gundy.

Very rarely do you see a player blame his coach for a loss, but Howard only touched the ball three times on offense in the 4th quarter. Instead you saw Rafer Alston, Hedo Turkoglu, and Rashard Lewis fire up miss after miss. Dwight definitely has a case here.

How does a team not run their offense through a player like Dwight Howard? You feed Howard down low, let him draw in the defense, and then hit your spot up shooter like Turkoglu and Lewis. Instead, the Magic brought the ball down the floor, made two passes at the most, and settled for contested shots.

Stan Van Gundy apologized for his coaching in the Game 4 loss, and he probably should have apologized for Game 5 as well. Now the Magic have went from possibly going up 3-1 in the series, to being down 3-2 to the defending champs.

I don't see the Magic battling back from this. The players clearly are in disagreement with Van Gundy and the Celtics are playing with all of the momentum. The Celtics are playing with a great balanced attack on the offensive end and players like Glen Davis and Eddie House are contibuting more than expected on the offensive end.

Put this one in the bag and let's get ready for the Celtics and the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Two Games, Two Suspensions, One Great Series

Last night's Conference semi-final action was full of ticked off players and physical basketball, mostly coming from the Rockets-Lakers series. Nonetheless, Stu Jackson probably had a busy night sorting out the mess from last night's two games.

Magic-Celtics

Rafer Alston and Eddie House were involved in the first incident of the night. Alston apparently got sick of getting his butt handed to him after House drained a three right in front of Alston. As House ran past, Alston gave him a slap in the back of the head.

It was more like a slap your mother would give you for saying a bad word at the dinner table than it was a malicious punch. Either way, Alston has to be suspended for this action because the NBA has no tolerance for blows above the shoulder.

Alston made the lamest excuse after the game stating, "He elbowed me and it was a natural reaction". Really? I, along with many others, have looked at the video plenty of time and I'm pretty sure House was just running by and you threw a cheap shot. Fortunately for the Magic, I don't think they'll miss him too much in Game 3.

Rockets-Lakers

Now to the real series that everyone cares about. If you didn't get a chance to watch last night Game 2, then here's a couple simple numbers you should see. Two ejections, five technical fouls, and one flagrant foul. Now that sounds like some turbulent basketball!

The game first got heated up in the third quarter when Lamar Odom and Luis Scola started jawing it up. Pretty soon the entire Lakers squad was bickering with Scola.

The real action started on the next play when Derek Fisher through probably one of the toughest screens I've seen in a long time on Scola. Fisher looks over his shoulder, sees Scola coming, lowers his shoulder and absolutely levels Scola onto the floor.

This seemed to almost ignite the Lakers team and they went on to dominate the rest of the game. However, this is basketball, not hockey, so Fisher has to be suspended. The tension didn't end there.

With about six minutes remaining in the game, Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest were battling for a rebound when Bryant threw a physical blockout on Artest and elbows him in the throat. Shockingly enough, Artest is whistled for the foul.

As we all know, Artest is a very animated player that doesn't put up with much. After being called for the foul, he runs over to the officials to protest the call and eventually sprint down court to Bryant and gets in his face. This gets Artest ejected and as he's leaving the court and makes a gesture of cutting Bryant's throat. This is starting to sound like WWE wrestling.

Even though the Rockets lost last night, the series is still in their hands. Not only do they still have home-court advantage but a physical series will play in their favor. Artest is shooting lights out right now, Aaron Brooks has found his touch behind the arc, and Carl Landry looked like a beast inside the paint scoring 21 points and grabbing ten rebounds off the bench. Now they just have to keep Yao out of foul trouble and they can win this series.

All I can say about all this is that this has been one of the most memorable playoffs of recent memory, and it's nowhere close to being over with. There's still a lot more physical basketball left in the Rockets-Lakers series.

The Best Playoff Series Ever??

Just when I thought the Bulls-Celtics series couldn't get any crazier, I turned on the television to TNT last night to see another overtime game in this series. That marks the fourth overtime in six games between these two teams. Simply put, that is unbelievable.

So now there will be a Game 7 on Saturday night in Boston, and the average person would predict the Celtics to win this game due to home-court advantage, but don't let that fool you. The Bulls have already taken the Celtics to overtime twice in Boston, so they're not intimidated the slightest bit.

When I previewed this series a couple weeks ago I stated that the Bulls would win if Derrick Rose played the best basketball of his short career, and I think he's definitely done that. That block he had on Rajon Rondo, which I might add was fading away, was just astonishing.

Let's go inside the numbers of this series after six games:

• Lead changes: 106
• Overtime Periods: 7
• Point differential (excluding Game 3): 1 point in advantage of the Bulls
• Other eye-opening moments: Hard foul on Brad Miller by Rajon Rondo; Ray Allen scores 51 points in Game 6; Shoving match between Rondo and Heinrich; Joakim Noah's breakaway steal and dunk on Paul Pierce.

Many are discounting the idea that this is the best series of all-time because it's a first-round matchup, but to me that doesn't matter. The degree of excitement and great basketball being played by both teams has trumped the fact that it's only a first-round matchup.

However, I can't give it the best series of all-time. I give that to either the 2o02 Western Conference Finals with the Kings taking on the Lakers, or the 1998 NBA Finals where Michael Jordan famously took his last shot in a Bulls uniform to defeat the Jazz.

We won't really know how this series ranks with all the other till a three or four years pass by and whether or not we are still talking about it. If this was an NBA Finals, or even a Eastern Conference Finals, series then I think this would hands down rank at the top of the list.

Can the Heat Win Without D-Wade?

The Eastern Conference playoffs have been extremely exciting as opposed to the Western Conference playoffs, which has had about as much excitement as watching the MLS Playoffs.

There's another great Eastern Conference playoffs matchup tonight as the Hawks host the Heat for Game 5 of their series. The series is knotted at two games apiece and with both teams losing a game on their home floor.

However, the Heat may have been in position to wrap up the series tonight if Dwayne Wade could have avoided getting injured. Wade was obviously in a lot of pain in Game 4 and was nowhere near 100 percent. After all, the NBA superstar did throw up four air-balls, so there had to be something wrong with him.

Some analysts are even speculating that Wade will even sit out tonight's game. Here's a look at the production of the Heat's starting lineup after four games of this series:

1. Dwayne Wade- 25.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 6.8 apg
2. Mario Chalmers- 7.8 ppg, 3.8 apg
3. James Jones- 11 ppg, 1.5 rpg
4. Udonis Haslem- 8 ppg, 8.5 rpg
5. Jermain O'neal- 16.5 ppg, 6 rpg

Important Bench Players:

1. Michael Beasley- 7 ppg, 6 rpg
2. Daequan Cook- 7 ppg, 2.8 rpg

Whether Wade sits out or not tonight, other players are going to have to pick up the extra load because Wade will definitely not be at his best. I can see Wade maybe scoring 15 points and grabbing a couple rebounds but that's it.

If Jermaine O'neal controls the paint and Chalmers manages the game effectively, then the Heat have a chance.

Another huge x-factor in this situation is Michael Beasley. If Beasley can get back to the way he played in the first two games of the series, the Heat have a good chance at pulling out a win in Atlanta tonight.

NBA Playoff Scenarios: Western Conference

The Western Conference playoffs look to be a little more exciting than the Eastern Conference, at least for the first-round action. The potential for upsets is way higher in the Western Conference as well. Here's the scenarios:

Western Conference

#8 Jazz vs. #1 Lakers

Jazz will win if: Deron Williams spawns into John Stockton and Carlos Boozer spawns into Karl Malone. Just a month ago I had the Jazz in the Top 5 of the Power Rankings, but a lackluster finish to the season has made me change that thought real quick. As if things can't get any worse, Jerry Sloan has no confidence in his team and the team they have to play beat them in the season finale 125-112.
Lakers will win if: As long as Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum play the way they did the entire regular season, this will be a sweep. The Jazz are a good home team, but the Lakers are just too strong for the slumping Jazz.
Prediction: Lakers in 4

#7 Hornets vs. #2 Nuggets

Hornets will win if: A solid team effort will make this series much closer than it looks on paper. We all know Chris Paul will show up and play great, but if his supporting cast plays good as well, the Hornets could steal this series. That means Tyson Chandler and David West.
Nuggets will win if: The Nuggets have to minimize their turnovers against the Hornet which love to run the court. Chauncy Billups and Kenyon Martin are the x-factors. If they play up to their capabilities, the Nuggets will win this series convincingly.
Prediction: Nuggets in 7

#6 Mavericks vs. #3 Spurs

Mavericks will win if: They continue to play the way they played to end the season. The Mavs had one of the toughest schedules in March and April and still managed to pull out seven wins and make the playoffs. Josh Howard is the x-factor for the Mavs.
Spurs will win if: They figure out a way to replace the production of Manu Ginobli. Players like Roger Mason, Matt Bonner, and Michael Finley will have to step up their production. That is a big "if".
Prediction: Mavs in 7

#5 Rockets vs. #4 Blazers

Rockets will win if: Yao Ming establishes himself as the dominant force and the offense runs through him. The Rockets seem to go away from Yao way too much and they can't do that in this series. The Blazers aren't particularly strong in the low post so the Rockets have to exploit that with Yao.
Blazers will win if: If the Blazers use their speed to push the tempo up and make Yao Ming almost non-existent, whether it's foul trouble or just good defense, then the game will swing their way. The Blazers might be the hottest team coming into the playoffs and that usually spells success.
Prediction: Blazers in 6

NBA Playoff Scenarios: Eastern Conference

The 2009 NBA Playoff bracket is set with very little intriguing matchups in the first-round. But as many sports fans know, and Kevin Garnett for that matter, anything is possible. Let's examine the scenarios for each playoff matchup:

Eastern Conference

#8 Pistons vs. #1 Cavaliers

Pistons will win if: Somehow Chauncy Billups sneaks into a Pistons uniform and they play like 2004 championship team.
Cavaliers win win if: If Lebron plays even average, the Cavs will win in five.
Prediction: Cavaliers in 5


#7 Bulls vs. #2 Celtics

Bulls will win if: Bulls completely dominate the paint and Derrick Rose plays the best basketball of his life.
Celtics will win if: They win at least one of two when the series shifts to Chicago. Other than the Cavaliers, the Celtics are the best home team in the NBA.
Prediction: Celtics in 5


#6 Sixers vs. #3 Magic

Sixers will win if: The Sixers figure out a way to contain Dwight Howard. Also, if Andre Iguodala has a couple 30-point games, things could definitely shift towards Philly.
Magic will win if: As long as Dwight Howard dominates the paint and comes up big on the offensive glass. The Magic are a bit out of sorts right now so second chance points might turn out to be big.
Prediction: Magic in 6

#5 Heat vs. #4 Hawks

Heat will win if: If Dwayne Wade doesn't have to do it all on his own. Wade is one of the best in the NBA, but he needs his supporting cast to step up. Players like Jamario Moon, Udonis Haslem, and Mario Chalmers have to have solid performances.
Hawks will win if: If they play in any way like the team that took the Celtics to seven games last season. The Hawks defeated the Heat by two just two nights ago with a strong performance from the bench. They'll need more of that in the playoffs.
Prediction: Heat in 7