Loss of Magic

Okay, up 5 with a little under a minute to go, I was standing, watching, while raising both my hands to victory. It was that moment that made me believe that the Orlando Magic surely had a chance to defy all odds and defeat the top team in the NBA yet again. Surely this time, there was no last shot that could have forced overtime. And surely, this time, the Magic will have a W despite the all those turnovers that they have committed.

2 missed freethrows, and a big shot by the Fish likely have made all these only to a "could have" statement. It never really worked out with the Magic and now they have finally run out of some Magic. It was definitely a defying moment for these young Magic team especially with Nelson, out of an 4 month injury, leading the pact late in game. However, after all the right plays they have made late in games, this was surely to be forgotten. It starts with hitting free throws. Howard has missed several free throws in the entire game but none was more crucial than those two big ones missed in the dying moments of the game. He knew that it could haunt him, but still the Magic believed that one more good stop, and the series is tied 2 a piece. But that one stop that they were seeking never happened. They did a good job pressing, trapping Kobe, and with few 4 seconds left to play, Fisher hit an uncontested 3 pointer which eventually went in. Nelson who was right in front of him, as small as he get, didn't contest nor did he close out to force a lay up instead of a 3 that tied the game. Van Gundy in fact needs to take blame for what happen late in game. He should have known that Kobe will be a decoy and a foul would have put the Lakers in serious catch up mode. Yet, he believed that the man who hasn't put up a basket after 5 attempts will not make him pay. Not surprisingly, Fisher made him pay. Although this wasn't a Robert Horry moment, it was equally successful and dramatic.

Van Gundy in the post game conference said that the superior finals experience the Lakers had was not a factor in any of the games. But if Fisher's finals experience has been swapped with Nelson's finals experience, He might think otherwise.