Hey Stan, time for plan B
The Magic had no answers for the unstoppable Kobe Bryant, but can they make the necessary adjustments in game two?
NEIL DOUGH
Stan Van Gundy is still awake. He’s sitting in his hotel room breakfast nook, reading his morning paper, gently sipping on his mocha choka latte, and throwing down his Denny’s Grand Slam. He is also smiling from ear to ear. In his mind the Magic got away with one last night, and that is what he is going to tell his team. “We didn’t get beat, we beat ourselves.”
The Magic were not going to win game one last night. They could of doubled their terrible feild goal percentage from 30 to 60, and still would of lost. They could of fed Dwight Howard the ball on every possession, fouling out Bynam and Gasol at the same time, and it wouldn’t of mattered. Jameer Nelson could of sparked the Magic with 20 off the bench, but Stan Van Gundy is happy he didn’t. He’s smiling because now they have an excuse, a reason as to why they lost game one that he can actually build on. Deep down though he knows the truth. Kobe wasn’t losing game one. No matter what the Magic did.
There were moments in the 2nd and 3rd quarter where Kobe Bryant played like he was possessed. He looked hungry, mean, and determined. He wanted the ball on every possession, got the ball on almost every possession, and took it to the Magic every time. Aside from the moments where Kobe seemed to be on a planet all his own, the Lakers played unbelievable defense. The doubles on Howard, the perimeter defense on Hedo, and holding Rashard Lewis to only 8 points went a long way to sealing the game one victory. Poor shooting in the NBA is usually the result of great defense, and last night was no exception.
We will see how good of a coach Van Gundy really is in these next few days. He is definately going to blame the loss on poor defense and poor shooting, but will he make any adjustments? Will he tell his team to just play better d-, and hope the shots fall? Because on the other side of town sitting in the living room, still awake and burning insence there is a coach with heavy hands, and he is smiling too. He has Kobe Bryant.
Photo: Reuters
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Orlando Magic must prepare a very big plan this 2nd game of the 2009 NBA Finals. Who will win the 2nd game of it?
Orlando has to be competitive in game two, and while a win would be nice, it’s not required. Howard needs to have a big game two and the Magic need to hit their threes and keep L.A.’s supporting cast in check if they want to go back to Amway Arena with a fighter’s chance of winning the 09 title.
Hey there, love your blog…About the second game-great disappointment I must say.Can’t help but wish it was the cavaliers out there against Lakers-just might have had a better game.All is not lost though, if Magic learn better team play they will have a chance in the upcoming games.