Realistically, it was a game that the Magic should have won, but blew it. Bad decisions, bad execution, bad you-name-it towards the end of the game and in overtime cost Orlando their shot at coming home with the series even. Now, they’re in tough and on their heels at home – having to make sure that Los Angele, preferably, doesn’t take any of the next three games.
Also, did we really expect the Magic’s “Big Three” to be as silent as they were in Game 1 again? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. Hedo and Rashard both got their games going but Dwight still seems to be trailing behind them. Sure, the big man’s grabbing a ton of rebounds, but his offence just isn’t there.
And can we please stop calling the Hedo-Dwight-Rashard combination the Magic’s Big Three. It’s really disrespectful to the Celtics’ version to have Orlando’s version be called the by the same name. Could the fine people in the national media not think up a better name? Also, I never thought I would defend the Celtics — especially Kevin Garnett and his classless play — but this situation really warrants it.
A couple notes on the game.
— Kudos to Dwight Howard for finally showing up. But getting his first dunk of the Finals in the third quarter of Game 2 is pretty pathetic. I thought this guy was supposed to be the next Shaq?
— How does Courtney Lee blow not only blow the potential game-winner, but two lay ups in crunch time like that? It’s not so much that he blew them, that part was semi-predictable, but why were there two plays run for him when there’s four other better options on the floor? Sometimes, Stan Van Gundy just makes you scratch your head.
— And on that attempted alley-oop to Lee to end regulation, well I’m no NBA ref but that was a mean moving pick set by Rashard. If Lee actually connected on that alley-layup, there would’ve been a riot.
— After his spastic play in OT, I think we’ve all realized now why JJ Redick should be on the bench. There’s a reason they were letting you drive, your team was down six with very little time left, a layup wouldn’t have helped buddy. Very low basketball IQ by the ex-Duke star.