I really thought that this series was going to be a good one.? The Lakers had a tough series with Denver.? The Magic handled the Cavs in the Eastern Conference finals.? The Lakers looked as though they could be beaten.? The Magic looked like a team of destiny.? With the NBA season coming to a close last night, reality set in for me.Even though game one was more of a fluke than otherwise, that Laker blowout told everyone one thing.? The Lakers were clearly the better team.... and that was not even close.? To win this series, the Lakers would have had to let down a bit and the Magic would have had to play mistake free basketball.? Losing the series 4-1, the Magic played nowhere near mistake free hoops.? Countless brutal turnovers by Jameer Nelson and Rafer Alston had me scratching my head.? There were passes that Nelson threw in this series where he would jump in the air, toss the ball in a seemingly random direction, and hope that there was a teammate in that vicinity.? A lot of those passes did not end up being turnovers because Nelson (and Alston too) was lucky enough to have teammates in the area.? However, for a three point shooting team, those poor passes were effectively turnovers.? Three point shooters have their feet set beyond the arc awaiting passes.? When the shooter has to move from that spot, his rhythm is disrupted and his window of opportunity closes.? Overall, the Magic had poor PG play this series.? Where was Anthony Johnson when they needed him?
The Lakers smothered Dwight Howard this series with their length.? Howard, aside from game 4, was not a dominant force in this series.? Speaking of Dwight Howard, I love his game and if I could start a team with any two mega-stars, it would be LeBron and Howard.? But this guy has to learn how to shoot free-throws.? That game 4 loss will forever be remembered as the game that Howard could not seal the deal with 1 of 2 free throws with 11 seconds left on the clock.? Howard will develop his offensive game and will be a champion in his career, but he has to? learn how to hit his free throws.? The Lakers were too good for him to miss that many.
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