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Savage: Positive Thoughts
By Dan Savage
May 21, 2010
BOSTON – In every series there’s that dreaded moment.
That distinct place in time where one team’s fans, players and organizational members realize that for all intensive purposes their season is essentially over.
I’ve watched that look first hand, glaze over the faces of the Bobcats and the Hawks this postseason. And on Tuesday as the Amway Arena clock struck 00:00 and Jameer Nelson’s three-point heave fell off mark – I’m not going to lie – that feeling of utter dejectedness swept over my body and left me completely hopeless.
Seemingly paralyzed in my media seat, I was locked into a hollow stare at the scoreboard, trying to grasp at any potential possibilities of how the Orlando Magic could rally back from a 0-2 Eastern Conference Finals deficit, after dropping the first two games at home.
As I finally forced myself out of the seat and headed for the locker room, I intentionally avoided eye contact with everyone I passed. At that moment, I didn’t want to be bothered. Instead, I was focused on finding some ray of hope that this franchise could make a monumental comeback.
With each step taking me closer to the Magic’s locker room, I feared I’d see a room with heads held low and the look of utter defeat.
But upon my arrival, I witnessed the near antithesis of my worries. The team’s facial expressions and body language still reflected determination and a complete belief that they could turn this series around.
And that’s the moment that initiated my metamorphosis from a sullen disbeliever to an all-biases-aside-writer who sincerely thinks that Orlando’s Finals run is far from over.
Over the past few days, stats, sound bytes and glimpses at a revitalized Magic game plan have aided that 180 turnaround. So to help the members of Magic nation who are going through a similar struggle, here are a few positive thoughts to help you hold your head high heading into Saturday’s Game 3 date in Boston:
Road Warriors: While the Magic split their season series with the Celtics at Amway Arena during their 2009-10 regular season, they went undefeated (2-0) in TD Garden. They’ve proven consistently both during the regular season – by finishing with the league’s fourth best road record – and during the playoffs – by going a perfect 4-0 thus far – that they can win away from the friendly confines of home.
Getting Healthy: Matt Barnes has struggled through this entire series with lower back spasms and Rashard Lewis fought through flu-like symptoms in Game 2. However, both players are in much better shape heading into the third contest of this series. Barnes went through a full practice on Thursday and the worst of his back troubles appear to be behind him.
Stepping Up to the Challenge: Speaking of Barnes, the Magic’s small forward had plenty to say after Thursday’s practice. He mentioned that he’s hoping to guard Paul Pierce for the remainder of the East Finals and believes he can slow down Boston’s premier scorer. Pierce has lit up the Magic to the tune of 25 points per game and 58.3 percent shooting from the field this series. However, he hasn’t had as much success when he’s been covered by one of Orlando’s top defenders.
After Barnes switched from covering Ray Allen to locking down Pierce in the second half of Game 2, Orlando’s “Bad Boy” limited the “Truth” to just 1-of-4 shooting from the field.
It’s Been Done Before: In NBA history, 14 teams have come back to win a best-of-seven series after falling into a 0-2 hole. And on three occasions, a team that dropped the first two home games of a best-of-seven series was able to fight back and win:
2005 West First Round Dallas vs. Houston: HOU won first two at DAL, DAL won series 4-3.
1994 West Semis Houston vs. Phoenix: PHO won first two at HOU, HOU won series 4-3.
1969 West Semis Lost Angeles Lakers vs. San Francisco: SF won first two at LAL, LAL won series 4-2.
Improving in the Paint: The Magic were just 8-of-20 on layups against Boston in Game 2 with four of those coming on close-range shot attempts by Dwight Howard and one from a Matt Barnes fast-break finish. If you’re counting at home, that means the Magic were just 3-of-15 on other attempts right near the rim.
“The league average on layups is 60 percent and we’re making 20 percent,” Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy explained.
In a series where the Magic have lost by an average of a mere 3.5 points per game, just knocking down a few more shots from point-blank range could be the difference maker.
Motivational Speaking: If you were expecting Howard and Lewis to admit defeat after losing the first two games of the ECF, think again. They both have been extremely optimistic the past few days.
“There’s no need to say that we’re going down fighting, because we’re not going down,” Orlando’s Superman explained.
Sweet Lew had this to add: “We feel like we’re still the better team. We feel like we can still win this series. We beat ourselves those first two games and made a lot of mistakes. We still have the confidence that even though we’re down 0-2 that we can win this series. We’re going to keep having that sense of confidence till we do it.”
Finding New Ways: Lewis will be the first to admit that he’s had a tough time offensively against Kevin Garnett and the Celtics this series. Boston has stayed home on Orlando’s perimeter shooters and KG refuses to leave Lewis open on the three-point line when Dwight Howard gets the ball down low. So ICE-O has done some self-reflecting and Van Gundy has gone back to the drawing board in order to find ways to get the Magic’s sharpshooter rolling.
While Van Gundy was mum on his plans, Lewis explained that he looks to crash the glass in search of putback opportunities, post-up early in transition and start to put the ball on the floor and penetrate against Boston’s defenders (hopefully just like this).
Memorable Moment: Last postseason, there was a similar lack of faith in the Magic when they traveled to Boston to battle the Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. A certain 32-0 number was thrown out there. Funny, now the Celtics are 32-1.
Last Resort: If those weren’t enough reasons to get you believing, there’s always Josh Cohen’s dream. He’s been known to be quite the prognosticator.
By Dan Savage
May 21, 2010
BOSTON – In every series there’s that dreaded moment.
That distinct place in time where one team’s fans, players and organizational members realize that for all intensive purposes their season is essentially over.
I’ve watched that look first hand, glaze over the faces of the Bobcats and the Hawks this postseason. And on Tuesday as the Amway Arena clock struck 00:00 and Jameer Nelson’s three-point heave fell off mark – I’m not going to lie – that feeling of utter dejectedness swept over my body and left me completely hopeless.
Seemingly paralyzed in my media seat, I was locked into a hollow stare at the scoreboard, trying to grasp at any potential possibilities of how the Orlando Magic could rally back from a 0-2 Eastern Conference Finals deficit, after dropping the first two games at home.
As I finally forced myself out of the seat and headed for the locker room, I intentionally avoided eye contact with everyone I passed. At that moment, I didn’t want to be bothered. Instead, I was focused on finding some ray of hope that this franchise could make a monumental comeback.
With each step taking me closer to the Magic’s locker room, I feared I’d see a room with heads held low and the look of utter defeat.
But upon my arrival, I witnessed the near antithesis of my worries. The team’s facial expressions and body language still reflected determination and a complete belief that they could turn this series around.
And that’s the moment that initiated my metamorphosis from a sullen disbeliever to an all-biases-aside-writer who sincerely thinks that Orlando’s Finals run is far from over.
Over the past few days, stats, sound bytes and glimpses at a revitalized Magic game plan have aided that 180 turnaround. So to help the members of Magic nation who are going through a similar struggle, here are a few positive thoughts to help you hold your head high heading into Saturday’s Game 3 date in Boston:
Road Warriors: While the Magic split their season series with the Celtics at Amway Arena during their 2009-10 regular season, they went undefeated (2-0) in TD Garden. They’ve proven consistently both during the regular season – by finishing with the league’s fourth best road record – and during the playoffs – by going a perfect 4-0 thus far – that they can win away from the friendly confines of home.
Getting Healthy: Matt Barnes has struggled through this entire series with lower back spasms and Rashard Lewis fought through flu-like symptoms in Game 2. However, both players are in much better shape heading into the third contest of this series. Barnes went through a full practice on Thursday and the worst of his back troubles appear to be behind him.
Stepping Up to the Challenge: Speaking of Barnes, the Magic’s small forward had plenty to say after Thursday’s practice. He mentioned that he’s hoping to guard Paul Pierce for the remainder of the East Finals and believes he can slow down Boston’s premier scorer. Pierce has lit up the Magic to the tune of 25 points per game and 58.3 percent shooting from the field this series. However, he hasn’t had as much success when he’s been covered by one of Orlando’s top defenders.
After Barnes switched from covering Ray Allen to locking down Pierce in the second half of Game 2, Orlando’s “Bad Boy” limited the “Truth” to just 1-of-4 shooting from the field.
It’s Been Done Before: In NBA history, 14 teams have come back to win a best-of-seven series after falling into a 0-2 hole. And on three occasions, a team that dropped the first two home games of a best-of-seven series was able to fight back and win:
Improving in the Paint: The Magic were just 8-of-20 on layups against Boston in Game 2 with four of those coming on close-range shot attempts by Dwight Howard and one from a Matt Barnes fast-break finish. If you’re counting at home, that means the Magic were just 3-of-15 on other attempts right near the rim.
“The league average on layups is 60 percent and we’re making 20 percent,” Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy explained.
In a series where the Magic have lost by an average of a mere 3.5 points per game, just knocking down a few more shots from point-blank range could be the difference maker.
Motivational Speaking: If you were expecting Howard and Lewis to admit defeat after losing the first two games of the ECF, think again. They both have been extremely optimistic the past few days.
“There’s no need to say that we’re going down fighting, because we’re not going down,” Orlando’s Superman explained.
Sweet Lew had this to add: “We feel like we’re still the better team. We feel like we can still win this series. We beat ourselves those first two games and made a lot of mistakes. We still have the confidence that even though we’re down 0-2 that we can win this series. We’re going to keep having that sense of confidence till we do it.”
Finding New Ways: Lewis will be the first to admit that he’s had a tough time offensively against Kevin Garnett and the Celtics this series. Boston has stayed home on Orlando’s perimeter shooters and KG refuses to leave Lewis open on the three-point line when Dwight Howard gets the ball down low. So ICE-O has done some self-reflecting and Van Gundy has gone back to the drawing board in order to find ways to get the Magic’s sharpshooter rolling.
While Van Gundy was mum on his plans, Lewis explained that he looks to crash the glass in search of putback opportunities, post-up early in transition and start to put the ball on the floor and penetrate against Boston’s defenders (hopefully just like this).
Memorable Moment: Last postseason, there was a similar lack of faith in the Magic when they traveled to Boston to battle the Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. A certain 32-0 number was thrown out there. Funny, now the Celtics are 32-1.
Last Resort: If those weren’t enough reasons to get you believing, there’s always Josh Cohen’s dream. He’s been known to be quite the prognosticator.
