| 07 June 2009
The main theme of this post will undoubtedly be the missed alley-oop connection from Hedo Turkoglu to Courtney Lee. Unfortunately for Lee and anyone with any intelligence who follows the NBA is that this simple, split-second play that probably would have a 40 or 50% success rate at the end of games, let alone an NBA Finals game, will be over-talked about and over-examined to fill on-air time.
In reality, it was a pretty difficult play and in no way warranted the amount of questioning and attention thrown towards Magic players.
Here are three videos from NBA.com for the post-game speak:
Embedded video from NBA Video
- This is the thing that I love about Phil Jackson. He plants these little seeds in everybody's heads about how this game went, which are ultimately untrue and yet people buy it like Google stock. He mentions that the Magic played really well and had every opportunity to win the game. Well, they did have plenty of opportunities to win the game but they didn't play all that well. And I love that about Phil. It's this little psychological warfare in which he puts seeds of comfort into the minds of whoever is listening on Orlando's end. At the same time, he knows that he has this team right were he wants them.
- This is completely insignificant but I loved the fact that he mentioned Orlando hadn't had a Finals in 18 or 16 years. Maybe he doesn't know the exact year, which surprises me. Just funny to me that Phil was actually in the Finals 18 and 16 years ago, not Orlando. With Phil, you never quite know whether he's trying to get into the heads of the opponents or whether he's just bad with little details like years.
Embedded video from NBA Video
- I enjoyed Stan's reaction to Rachel Nichols' question about the out of bounds, alley-oop attempt that Courtney Lee missed it. It was perfectly executed but they just missed it. And there's nothing really more to say. What's the over/under on how many times Mike Breen brings this up during Game Three? 8.5? Anybody even CONSIDERING the under? Didn't think so.
- There seems to be some real bad blood brewing at the worst possible point in the season for the Magic and their coach. There have been issues in the past with personality conflicts due to SVG being honest and upfront about shortcomings and miscues in games. He seems to take the blame when it's deemed appropriate (Game One) and seems to put the blame out there when he feels he isn't at fault (Game Five against the Celtics). Well, after a bit of a spat over playing time with Rafer Alston after Game One, he really hung his guards out to dry here. It's legit and totally true what he said but at the same time pro athletes have a hard time accepting responsibility.
Embedded video from NBA Video
- I loved Courtney's answers to David Aldridge's questions. My fancrush on Lee continues to blossom with every play. He had two big shot attempts at the end of this game with a missed lay-up and the missed alley-oop but I love the fact that he was aggressive and fearless in taking the shot at those big moments.
- Kind of strange that pro athletes see that game at such a slower pace than the rest of us do. The fact that he felt like that final play took forever just shows you how calm and collective these guys are.
- I like that he didn't feel like his miss lost the game for Orlando. It didn't lose it. It just didn't win it. That's the perfect attitude to have, especially for a young player.
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