We knew the Lakers would close the 12-point deficit. It was just a matter of when. Pau, Kobe, and a clutch Derek Fisher (the real closer tonight) showed up tonight. So who forgot he was in the NBA Finals? Stan Van Gundy. Yep, watching Jameer Nelson play I could only hear Bobby Brown crooning in my head, "tell me, tell me why?" Only I was shouting at the television. WHY! WHY! 11:00 minutes. Jameer Nelson bow-legs brings the ball up the court. Somewhere around 6:40(it's already 11:45p.m. around here, my memory is blurry)--Jameer Nelson makes an assist to Cry Baby (a.k.a Dwight Howard), prompting Mark Jackson to say, "criticize Stan for keeping Nelson in if you want to, but Nelson is making solid decisions, passing the ball and making assists."
Hmm, true, but this is exactly the problem. Nelson was solid. Nelson passed. Nelson did not turn the ball over. You don't want solid in the playoffs; if you're the Magic you need to score at least 100 points to have a chance of contending with the Lakers. A barely healthy Nelson ain't giving you squat.
When asked about his choice to play Nelson over Alston, Van Gundy said confidently,"Rafer sat on the bench for 10-12 minutes, I thought it was better to play Jameer."
What?
Jameer Nelson has been sitting for four months! Talk about cold. I'm all for adjusting in the Finals but benching Rafer Alston to play your guard who hasn't played with his teammates for months? The rest of the team doesn't even know who he is! (Jameer...tall, dark-skin dude? Yeah, I know him. That's the ball boy, right)?
Another kernel of wisdom from Stan, "too much is put on this Finals experience. Our guys are basketball players--I don't buy the whole veteran experience--this is basketball."
Uh-huh. Wrong. Um, Stan wake up. This is the Finals and the Zen-Man is outcoaching you on every step you take. Watching a team in rhythm is a beautiful thing. Like watching Phelps swim beneath the water--rhythmical. Phelps merged with the water. A team in rhythm is like a school of fish; they become one. The Orlando Magic as my mama likes to say, "can't tell whether they coming or going." Translation: The Orlando Magic are a talented team with no direction and are like sheep being led astray.
Magic Johnson says all the Lakers have to do is "stick to the game plan" and Lakers win (Kobe can say, "see, I told you I could do it. Shaq ain't nothing without me!" Instead he'll just say, "it was a good series. The Orlando Magic are a passionate team...blah, blah,blah).
If only the Orlando Magic could stick to the game plan. Who knows? Maybe Stan is right, rhythm and experience in the NBA Finals doesn't matter. Maybe Lakers win anyway. I'm sure Stan will have plenty of time to mull this over--with a nice cold beer on the beach after Sunday. Maybe the Orlando fans will be a bit more forgiving--basketball, it's just a game!
Ok- This game was a clinic, missed free throws(Big Turk) and controversy over Jameer Nelson or Rafer- On that note I give the call to Rafer slightly. Only because Rafer got you to the FINALS- geez stick with him in the bad and the good. Even with that decision, it didn't make the game. The coaches call of not fouling Fisher- WHY? If you are up by 3, foul and make them earn and still come out with a 1pt lead. If you don't trust your team to make free throws, then that sucks.
ReplyDeleteOh and "Experience?" LOL, Kobe was 11-31, that's not experience, that means you had a pretty bad night. But, doesn't matter now as the series is over.
Good post. SVG has been clearly outcoached throughout this series. His substitution patterns have been baffling at best, and his decision to bench Skip in the 4th quarter last night was just the latest of such strange calls. I wrote in a previous post that Nelson should be playing true backup minutes, as both of these players (Nelson & Skip) currently don't know what their roles are. To make matters worse, his very own brother is commentating these finals -- taking away any sliver of objectivity we could otherwise hope for.
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