“Don’t get smart!”

You know that the Celtics are watching this video laughing their asses off.

On Wednesday, after two straight narrow defeats at the hands of the Celtics, I asked, “Why can’t the Magic finish games?” I referenced an article by John Carroll, where he said the problem was four-fold:

1. The Magic don’t fully commit at the defensive end.
2. They refuse to pound the ball inside.
3. They fall in love with the three-point shot.
4. They don’t trust their coach the way the Celtics do.

I focused on #2, and threw in a couple of other problems:

5. Poor late-game play from Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis.
6. They don’t have a guy who can consistently get to the hole.

So what was the difference in the Magic’s win in Game 6?

1. Check…they held the Celtics to just 75 points, 13 in the fourth quarter.
2. Check…Dwight Howard attempted 16 shots and 12 free throws; both are series highs.
3. No change…the Magic were just 6 of 26 for the game.
4. It’s hard to gauge how much they trust Stan Van Gundy on a game-to-game basis. They responded with good defense and a strong game plan to feed Howard the ball, so they must trust his instruction to a certain extent.

5. What about Turkoglu and Lewis? Here are their fourth quarter stats:

Lewis: 2-5 (0-1 3PT), 8 points, 3 rebounds, steal, assist
Turkoglu: 1-5 (1-3 3PT), 3 points, 2 rebounds

So Lewis and Turkoglu went a combined 3 of 10 for 11 points and five rebounds in Game 6. They shot 3 of 15 for a total of 11 points (combined) in Game 4 and Game 5. Turkoglu didn’t play particularly well, but the one shot he hit in the fourth quarter was HUGE. It came with 1:23 remaining and the Magic clinging to a three-point lead. Lewis clearly played well. He shot just 40% in the quarter, but he got to the line twice for four more points, had an assist, a steal and drew an offensive foul on Kendrick Perkins.

6. Check…Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston each had key driving layups in the fourth quarter. To win close games down the wire, you have to have a player (or two) that are effective at getting into the lane and finishing. Alston and Lee stepped up in the fourth quarter for the Magic.

On the whole, the Magic did a better job across the board, save for some very suspect three-point shooting. But can they post a repeat performance in Game 7 in front of a very hostile crowd?

I missed the start of the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the Celtics/Magic series, but apparently there was a Stephon Marbury sighting. Check out this series from the play-by-play log:

11:22 Stephon Marbury enters the game for Ray Allen
11:04 Stephon Marbury makes 19-foot jumper (Paul Pierce assists)
10:26 Stephon Marbury makes 21-foot jumper (Paul Pierce assists)
8:30 Stephon Marbury makes 24-foot three pointer (Brian Scalabrine assists)
7:56 Stephon Marbury makes 21-foot two point shot
7:16 Glen Davis makes 6-foot hook shot (Stephon Marbury assists)
5:54 Stephon Marbury makes 6-foot two point shot
5:54 Stephon Marbury makes free throw 1 of 1
5:26 Stephon Marbury misses layup
4:54 Rajon Rondo enters the game for Stephon Marbury

That’s 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting, with an assist to Davis. The Celtics didn’t make up any ground during Marbury’s six-and-a-half minute stint — when he entered and exited the game, the C’s were down by the same margin, 10 — but his hot shooting helped Boston avoid disaster. The Magic built a 14-point lead with 8:48 to play, but Marbury’s play helped whittle it down to eight with just under six minutes remaining.

Keep in mind that prior to this hot streak, Marbury had played a total of 138 playoff minutes in 11-and-a-half games, shooting 14 of 55 (25%) from the field and scoring just 36 points. So, yes, his 12-point stint in the fourth quarter was shocking, and the Celtics probably wouldn’t have been able to pull out Game 5 without it.

In Game 4, Orlando was down six going into the fourth quarter and rallied, only to lose on Glen Davis’ game-winning jumper. In Game 5, they were up by 14 with 8:48 to play and were outscored 29-11 over the next nine minutes en route to a four-point loss.

Why can’t Orlando finish?

After Game 4, John Carroll wrote that the cause is four-fold. (ESPN Insider subscription required.)

1. The Magic don’t fully commit at the defensive end.
2. They refuse to pound the ball inside.
3. They fall in love with the three-point shot.
4. They don’t trust their coach the way the Celtics do.

No arguments with #1. In Game 4, the Magic allowed the Celtics to shoot almost 53% from the field. In the fourth quarter of Game 5, the C’s shot 11 of 19 (58%) during their tremendous comeback. That is not championship-caliber defense.

Likewise, #3 makes sense as well. For a team that takes a ton of threes — almost 31% of the Magic’s field goal attempts come from long range in the last two games — they have been terribly inaccurate (11 of 51, or 22%).

I can’t get in the minds of the Orlando players, so I don’t know how much trust they have in Stan Van Gundy.

But I can speak to #2…

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Now that we’re knee-deep in the conference semifinals, let’s take another look at how the playoff teams stack up.

R.I.P.

Click on the team name to read a short offseason blueprint.

16. Pistons
15. Sixers
14. Heat
13. Hornets
12. Bulls
11. Jazz
10. Blazers
9. Spurs

ON LIFE SUPPORT

8. Hawks
7. Mavericks
The NBA released a statement that the officials blew the intentional foul call at the end of regulation (which allowed for Carmelo Anthony’s game-winner), but I blame the Mavs for not forewarning the officials that they were going to try to foul immediately. (Mind you, I have no proof that they failed to warn the refs, but if they did, the call would have no doubt been made.) Regardless, the Mavs and the Hawks are down 3-0 and we all know what happens to teams that are down 3-0. (They go home for the summer.)

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The Celtics tied the series last night (2-2) on Glen “Big Baby” Davis’ buzzer-beating jumper.

The shot was great, but as he was running past the sideline, Davis shoved a little kid out of his way. The best shot of it is at the 1:19 mark.

While it’s pretty ridiculous that any kid is sitting courtside for a playoff game, that kind of insult to injury is uncalled for. (Kidding.)

By now you know that the Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets each managed to win Game 1 on the road, but what you may not know is how exactly they managed to pull those wins out.

Orlando rode a 30-17 second quarter to an 18-point lead at halftime, and led by as many as 28 (65-27) with nine minutes to play in the third quarter before the Celtics finally showed up to play. Boston whittled the lead down to four with two minutes to play, but a timely drive by Rafer Alston and four straight free throws by J.J. Redick helped the Magic hold on for the win.

Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo each went 2 of 12 from the field, so most of the Celtics’ scoring was left to Paul Pierce who finished with 23 points on 7 of 18 shooting. Boston simply wasn’t sharp; it might have been fatigue or maybe it was just one of those nights. Dwight Howard finished with 16 points, 22 rebounds and three blocks, and the C’s simply didn’t have an answer for him inside. Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Rafer Alston combined to shoot 17 of 45 (38%) from the field, so it’s not like Orlando was running on all cylinders, either.

Meanwhile, in L.A., the Rockets capitalized on the Lakers’ flat play. Yao Ming posted 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Ron Artest chipped in with 21 points and seven assists. But the key was the play of point guard Aaron Brooks, who outscored Derek Fisher (19 to eight) and came up with a pair of timely buckets in the fourth quarter. Along with Kyle Lowry, the Rockets have quickness in the backcourt that the Lakers can’t match unless they elect to play Shannon Brown and/or Jordan Farmar.

Shane Battier did a nice job defensively on Kobe Bryant, who scored 32 points but didn’t really get going until the Lakers were in scramble mode late in the game. He had seven points in the last 1:32, so without those makes, he was 12 of 29 (41%) for 25 points. Pau Gasol (14 points), Lamar Odom (9 points) and Andrew Bynum (10 points) all had relatively quiet games, which allowed the Rockets to spring the upset. In Artest, Carl Landry, Chuck Hayes and Yao Ming, the Rockets have one of the best defensive front lines in the league, so they have the personnel to slow down the Laker big men.

Watch Battier’s hands when he defends Kobe’s jumper. He essentially sticks his hand right in Kobe’s face, almost as if he’s about to poke Kobe in the eye. This can be distracting to a shooter, though I’m sure Bryant has seen it time and time again. Battier has the quickness and strength to keep Bryant out of the lane (most of the time, anyway) and the Rockets know they have a chance against the Lakers if they can turn Kobe into more of a shooter and less of a scorer.

The Magic lost last night, 90-80, at home to the Celtics, who were in the second night of a back-to-back. Doug Collins mentioned that the Magic may have been “rusty” because their last game was on Saturday.

Far be it for me to disagree with Doug Collins, but I’m going to disagree with Doug Collins. While the Magic may have been out of the normal rhythm of the NBA season, they did get four days of rest and recovery, which is never a bad thing. The Celtics had played the night before, and historically speaking, that’s more difficult to do than play after a long break. (At least Vegas thinks so.)

The Magic lost last night because the Celtics are just a better defensive team right now. They made things difficult on Orlando’s three-point shooters (32%) and held the Magic to 38% from the field on the night. For the most part, they were successful in keeping Dwight Howard off the block when he caught the ball, which allowed Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis to play him one-on-one instead of forcing the Celtics to double-team. Howard was limited to 11 points, and since there were few double-teams, the Magic were forced to take a number of contested three-pointers, resulting in the lower accuracy from behind the arc. Orlando was also incapable of finishing at the rim much of the night, which only compounded the problem.

In the fourth quarter, Jameer Nelson got hot and Orlando tried to make a run, but Davis and Kevin Garnett hit jumper after jumper to keep the Magic at bay. The Celtics look like they’re rolling again, but I wouldn’t say that the Magic are out of their league. This was just one game.

Two of the four best teams in the league square off tonight in Orlando. The Celtics come to town riding a six-game winning streak (which followed a four-game losing streak), while the Magic have won seven straight, and 16 of their last 18, which included wins over the Lakers (x 2), the Spurs (x 2) and the Hornets.

Much has been written about the Celtics, so let’s focus on the Magic. Orlando might be playing the best ball of anyone right now, and they’re really starting to remind me of the 1995 Houston Rockets squad that swept Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway and the rest of the Magic in the Finals to win their second straight title. They have a true center that commands a double-team (Hakeem Olajuwon = Dwight Howard), a slasher on the wing that can also shoot the ball (Clyde Drexler = Hedo Turkoglu), a sharpshooting power forward (Robert Horry = Rashard Lewis), an assassin of a point guard (Kenny Smith = Jameer Nelson) and his young protege (Sam Cassell = Courtney Lee). The Magic aren’t as deep as those Rockets were — remember Otis Thorpe, Vernon Maxwell and Mario Elie? — and while that may be their undoing come playoff time, it’s hard to imagine Boston or Cleveland’s bench dominating anyone.

The Magic are 5th in the league in offensive efficiency and 3rd in defensive efficiency, which is directly related to their ability to hold the opposition to 42.6% from the field. Stan Van Gundy has done a terrific job teaching the core — Howard, Nelson, Turkoglu and Lewis — how to play defense and there isn’t a coach in the league that is doing more with less, at least at the elite-team level. At this point, he’s my choice for Coach of the Year.

Tonight’s game will be a nice test for the young Magic, and their crowd. With the defending champs coming to town, there should be a playoff atmosphere at Amway Arena, with the fans rising to their feet early and often. If the crowd sits on its hands for much of the first half, the team might be in trouble come playoff time. A real home court advantage is crucial to winning in the playoffs — just ask the Celtics.

The game is scheduled for 8 PM ET on TNT.