Earlier in the postseason, Stan Van Gundy complained about how the NBA playoffs drag out, especially compared to the regular season, where teams usually play with no more than two days of rest. The Magic wrapped up their second round series against the Hawks almost a week ago, and they showed serious signs of rust in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
But championship-caliber teams should be able to overcome a rusty start and begin to exert their will in the second quarter. That can be tough to do when you’re playing one of the top defenses in the league, like the Celtics. The Magic mustered just 14 points in the first quarter and 32 points in the first half and looked absolutely dreadful against a Boston team that is on a nice roll coming off its win over the Cavs.
In the first quarter, the Magic shot just 4-for-20 and turned the ball over four times, and the second period wasn’t much better. Dwight Howard finished with 13-12 and five blocks, but he shot just 3-of-10 from the field and 7-of-12 from the free throw line, and turned the ball over seven times. Making matters worse, he had several opportunities for “and 1” plays but failed to convert, and then missed his free throws. He’s going to have to play a lot better if the Magic are going to advance. All of the post moves are there, but he’s very mechanical in the way he gets his shot off. He has very little touch even though it looks like he can shoot a jump hook with either hand.
Looking at the box score, it would appear that Vince Carter (23 points, 9-of-18 from the field) played well, but here’s a great example of why I don’t like his game. Late in the third quarter, with his team down 18, Carter kept fighting on the offensive glass and made a putback. Great, good job, Vince. But then he made a bunch of faces and puffed his chest out as he ran down the court — keep in mind the Magic are down 16 now — and missed his defensive assignment. He was supposed to be guarding Paul Pierce, but Rashard Lewis had to get Carter’s attention to get him on Pierce. As that was happening, Rasheed Wallace (Lewis’s man) cut to the hole and the Magic had to foul to save the layup. Just like that, Orlando is down 18 again.
The Celtics made a lot of big shots in the second half, but took their foot off the gas a little bit, which allowed the Magic to make a run (25-13 over the last 8:41). This was sparked in part by fine play by J.J. Redick, who along with Mickael Pietrus, may be a better option than the gimpy Matt Barnes. Redick is a smart player who covers Ray Allen pretty well and everyone knows he’s an outstanding shooter. He should get more minutes.
Ray Allen (25-7-3) and Paul Pierce (22-9-5) led the Celtics, but the Magic can find some solace in the fact that even though they played horribly for three-quarters of the game, they still had a shot to win at the end.
Game 2 is on Tuesday night at 8:30 PM ET. It’s a must-win for the Magic.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
