Magic vs. Lakers
I’m absolutely amazed at the amount of garbage pouring out of the mouths of all of these so called NBA “experts” and “analysts” during this Lakers/Magic Finals. As an unabashed Cleveland Cavaliers fan I can sum up the beating they took in the Eastern Conference finals in two words: timely shooting. I’m unaware of a stat line out there that can accurately or even semi-accurately track the existence of the “clutch” shot, much less the number of said shots in relation to the number of made baskets during any particular game. I mean, how can you even define “clutch”? If you watched the Eastern Conference finals with any sort of regularity, you can easily define the term with your eyes but can’t quite quantify it any literal way. In the spirit of getting to the point, defining “clutch” in a way that is both calculable and thus digestible by stat heads is a fool’s errand.
But you saw it. We all saw it.
In this particular instance, I am not talking about that shot we’ve all hit in our minds as we chuck up that old playground ball at the raggedy old hoop in our back yards as a youngster. I’m talking more in terms of the timely three-pointer that immediately pulls your team out of a two-point deficit and sets them up for that one-point lead. It’s the type of shot that sucks all of the air out of a building and puts momentum on life-support. It’s that third quarter dagger with a hand in the face that comes on the heels of a 11-2 Cavs run and opens the door for a barage of ice-cold buckets that eventually sends us Cleveland fans to bed with visions of Elway in our heads.
See, that’s pretty much the secret to these Finals. If Orlando hits their threes, they are almost impossible to beat. It is literally that simple. Howard is a beast at times, but he’s still a step or two away from being truly dominant. It’s Orlando’s perimeter players that are going to decide this series on the offensive end. Howard is the man defensively and on the glass, but he’s only a factor offensively when facing inferior bigs. Gasol is no Shaq (even now) by any stretch of the imagination, but he plays very sound basketball defensively and he has done an outstanding job of slowing Howard thus far.
In the end, Orlando’s outside shooting will win or lose this series - as it has been and forever shall be.
That last sentence is absolutely amazing. Quinn will be the starter because Quinn is the better quarterback. Now, it is certainly possible that being the better quarterback in this particular situation is akin to being the least repugnant turd in the bowl, but there is absolutely no doubt that Brady Quinn gives the Browns the absolute best chance to win football games.