Also published at Mind Pinball
In a series where they could easily have been up three games to one or at least tied at two games apiece, the Orlando Magic are 48 minutes away from watching their championship dreams disappear to the West Coast. Last night’s game was just one more nail in the Magic’s coffin. Feeling some confidence after winning game 3 in a score that was much closer than perhaps it should have been, the Magic by all rights should have been pumped for game 4, and started out strong, racing out to a twelve point lead at halftime. The Lakers made all of that up in the third quarter, setting up a back and forth fourth quarter that saw the Magic seemingly put the game on ice late. Up by three with Dwight Howard on the line needing to make just one free throw to essentially end the game and tie the series, he made neither attempt. To compound matters, on the ensuing Lakers possession, after a timeout, Jameer Nelson failed to defend the three point line against Derek Fisher, who hit nothing but net on a 3-pointer to tie the game. From then on, through the overtime period which followed, the Magic was toast.
Let’s face it: when you win a game that you shoot lights out in by less than ten points, that must be some kind of omen. Then when you follow that up with a game where turnovers are a constant problem, closing out on three point shooters is a problem and missing free throws is a problem, that is a recipe for defeat. Kobe Bryant, for all his greatness, wasn’t what did the Magic in, the Magic did themselves in. It’s a fate that has happened far too often in this series. With the Magic now facing a do-or-die scenario in all of its remaining games, I find it hard to believe that they can win three games in a row, with two of those on the Lakers’ home floor. It’s only a matter of when now, for the Los Angeles Lakers to claim another title, and for Kobe Bryant to finally stamp himself as a champion, apart from Shaquille O’Neal.
With the NBA season about to end, I have to say again that this year’s playoffs seemed to bring back excitement to the sport’s postseason. That’s not to say that there were no great plays, fanstastic finishes and exciting games in years past; it just seemed that there was more of each in the playoffs this year. Even with the blowout in Game 1 of this series, the last three games have all had their share of late drama. I wonder if this good will can continue through the offseason into the draft and on to next season. I’m pretty sure that once again, we will hear the cries of those hoping for a LeBron-Kobe showdown in the Finals, the one the Magic denied us with their series win in the Eastern Conference Finals. Nevertheless, the sport wins with a great postseason.
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