Now We Know Why Teams Battle for the Home Court
I’ll be leaving today for St. Louis and the NIKE Hoop Jamboree. Our son, Alex, was selected to participate and we’re looking forward to the competition to see exactly where he stacks up against the best freshmen and sophomores in the country. Probably won’t be blogging until we get back, but I KNOW there will be some really interesting blogs come out of this trip.
Stay tuned.
Down 0-2 in a series that could (should?) easily be tied at one, the Orlando Magic came out last night and put on a shooting clinic the likes of which the NBA has never before seen. That’s not an exaggeration either. Orlando shot 75% in the first half and each made basket brought a louder roar from the capacity crowd of 17,461 who were hoping to witness (pardon the term, LeBron) the Magic’s first ever NBA Finals vistory. That they were only ahead by a mere five points (made to look even smaller considering one Kobe Bean Bryant was in the uniform of the opposing team) was at once discomforting and motivational to the Magic faithful (as far as keeping the place alive and the hometown boys at the very top of their game).
They cooled off somewhat in the second half, to the point of some folks thinking, “Oh no, not another heartbreaking loss in the ‘09 playoffs,” but a clutch putback dunk by Michael Pietrus and some desperately needed stops at the opposite end of the floor put everyone’s mind at ease - and looking forward to Game 4. My blog on June 7 will become eerily prophetic if the Magic can play an identical game (I doubt even the most optimistic fan would expect that) to last night’s.
Should Orlando be able to win, momentum would do a 180 and be squarely in favor of the underdogs from Florida - with pivotal Game 5 staying in Orlando. Whoa! Even jai lai or the 4:30 pm early bird special doesn’t generate this kind of excitement.
For the same reason I predicted Game 2 was not a “must win” contest, no one should get jacked up about “what happens if the Magic win Game 4 (most of the Magic zealots have already replaced the “if” with a “when”). This game of basketball, NBA Playoff basketball in particular, as if you hadn’t noticed by now (even if you consider yourself a casual follower), swings in a hurry from one team to the other - often within the game itself. Proof positive was watching Kobe explode for 17 first quarter points, but ending with only 31 - and missing five - 5! - free throws. Rumor has it that the last time Kobe Bryant missed five FT’s in the same game, three wise men and a virgin showed up. That occurence doesn’t seem likely - or even plausible - especially in Los Angeles.
Like Stan Van Gundy calmly said frantically yelled at his squad, “Kobe’s on fire; they’re on fire. Keep up the defensive effort and the energy!“ One thing about good coaches is that, whether they ever played the game beyond high school or are former pros & Olympians, a major key to in-game coaching is to observe what’s happening and have the ability to convey something meaningful to your team at a time out or a crucial situation so that the club can employ your (a) strategy which will perpetuate the good or terminate the bad. String a few successful suggestions or comments together and that team will follow you wherever you wish to take them. Phony something up and you’ll be exposed for the fraud you are and evidently were all along, and if you’re not fired, the time will come where you’d wished you were.
As Pat Riley so eloquently put it:
“In coaching there are only two possible outcomes: winning and misery.”
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