Air France Soars to New Heights in Postseason
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May 24, 2009
ORLANDO -- Every season on championship caliber teams, there's a player that steps up that nobody outside the organization expected to rise to the occasion.
They're usually labeled as the x-factor; a player who exceeded his predicted value and made an immeasurable impact on a series.
For the Orlando Magic, there's been one candidate that's perfectly fit that role; Mickael Pietrus.
The swingman out of France was brought in as Orlando's prized free-agent acquisition during the offseason. It was thought that he could be the Magic's answer to slowing down some of the league's superstars at the shooting guard and small forward positions.
Names like Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce and LeBron James were mentioned as the high-level talent that their new piece to the puzzle could help contain.
However, during the regular season it was a dream that never fully came to fruition.
Pietrus was bogged down by injuries that forced him to miss a total of 28 games throughout Orlando's 2008-09 campaign, the most severe being a fractured right wrist that cost him nearly a month.
He lost his starting role in the lineup and the preseason hype of him as the defensive stopper and high-energy player Orlando needed appeared to be nothing more than a faded memory to those outside the Magic organization.
His touch from beyond the arc and the free throw line was severely affected and frustration was clearly visible on his face at times as result of the new challenge he was facing.
Although he was aware that his wrist injury would continue to plague him throughout the duration of the season, Pietrus never considered shutting it down. Instead he worked tirelessly at adjusting the arc on his shot to compensate for the lack of snap in his wrist motion.
Once the playoffs arrived, he elevated his intensity in practice and in turn, increased his production on the court.
"In practice he's been going hard and it's been carrying over," veteran point guard Anthony Johnson explained. "He's given us a big lift off the bench and he's been a big reason why were are in the position we're in kind of dominating this series."
In every game that he's seen at least 20 minutes of action over the past 11 playoff contests, Pietrus has scored in double-figures.
He continued his torrid pace off the pine on Sunday as he notched 16 points and six rebounds in Orlando's 99-89 Game 3 home triumph over the Cleveland Cavaliers, helping his team claim a 2-1 series advantage.
"He's been terrific, especially these past three games," Johnson said of Pietrus, who finished with twice as many points as Cleveland's entire bench on Sunday. "He's stepped up in the Eastern Conference Finals."
But MP's actions haven't been limited to the offensive end.
He's also played significant role in limiting King James' reign during the fourth quarter. While he realizes it's impossible to stop the NBA's MVP, he's hoping that by sticking close defensively, he can force him to defer to his teammates down the stretch.
"I just try to minimize him in the fourth quarter and make him go to somebody else," Pietrus explained of his defensive tactics. "That's how we had a great chance to win the game."
As far as rookie Courtney Lee can tell, the player known as Air France is doing it all.
"He's coming off the bench and bringing energy," Lee said of his teammate's contributions during this series. "He's playing good defense on LeBron, forcing him to shoot tough shots; he's running out in transition making plays and he's knocking down threes. He's definitely providing energy for us."
He's got the respect of the opposing locker room as well.
"Their wild card is Pietrus," Cavaliers point guard Mo Williams said following another strong display from the Magic's swingman on Sunday. "It has been like that all three games."
While most players would be content averaging 3.6 points per game more than their regular season average over a playoff series, Pietrus still wants to do more.
"I want to bring more and more for my team," he explained. "And hopefully, we'll go to the NBA Finals."
Should they get any more out of Air France, that will likely be the Magic's final destination.
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