| 28 May 2009
We began recording our podcast Thursday evening with a 20-point Cavalier lead and literally no faith that they'd hold that lead and win the game convincingly. And right after we finished recording the podcast, the Magic had turned a 34-12 deficit into a one-point deficit at halftime. Cleveland jumped ahead with great ball movement and big threes from a Mo Williams that was clearly done hibernating for the playoffs. And they gave that lead away by having LeBron over dribbling the basketball and the Cavs not moving the ball around while the Magic attacked the basket and chipped away at the lead by two-pointers instead of a three-pointer orgy.
This was a game of two big runs and an even slate after 24 minutes. The Cavs had done their best to break the will of the Magic with an early blowout that they hoped would turn into an Orlando attitude of "well, let's pack it in and try to win this Saturday." Instead, the Magic responded with their own run to even things up and show Cleveland that it would take a 48-minute effort to allow LeBron and his teammates to pack for Disney World this weekend. And the game essentially came down to a big swing with about three minutes to go in the game that finally nipped the Orlando run in the bud and allowed Cleveland to take final control of this game.
With Orlando in possession of the ball and the shot clock winding down, Mickael Pietrus found himself with a three-point shot on the right side. He rose up for the jumper and looked to put another dagger in Cleveland's title aspirations like he's done so many times in this series. But the French Michael Jordan shot the ball like the French Harold Miner on that play and the ball careened off the rim and into the Cavs possession. Cleveland took the ball down the court, ran some shot clock, grabbed an offensive rebound, and LeBron scored a basket followed by a free throw to complete a three-point play (which fouled Dwight Howard out) and a 50-second, six-point swing. It left Orlando with a nine-point deficit instead of a much more manageable three-point margin.
The Cavs made a few more plays, hit their free throws, and survived to see another ratings-filled day.
Why the Cavs Won This Game
The reasons the Cavs won this game are two-fold. First, Mo Williams finally showed up and was a presence early on in this game. He scored 24 points on 7/14 shooting from the field and 6/9 shooting from the three-point line that had the Godfather music flooding our senses. It opened up the court for Delonte West to get points wherever he wanted and for Daniel Gibson to receive the extra pass for some big three-pointers. Second, LeBron James is a really good basketball player. LeBron closed out this fourth quarter with a near legendary performance that so-called Witnesses have been preening for and pundits have been hoping he'd show. He assisted on 32 straight points in the fourth quarter with 17 points and four assists that lead to a couple of free throws thrown into the mix. He killed the Magic with his outside shooting, by attacking the basket, by rebounding the ball in key moments, and slinging the ball all over the court. I don't believe in all of that Chosen One/Witness crap but in the fourth quarter of Game Five I definitely saw a determined and special performance.
Why the Magic Lost This Game
Defensive rotations and free throw shooting failed the Orlando Magic's opportunity to close out this series and first Finals appearance since Shaq was patrolling the pinstriped paint. Orlando had been doing a tremendous job challenging jumpers and getting out on shooters to contribute to some poor Cleveland shooting throughout this series. But in Game Five, they weren't able to rotate as crisply and the Cavs torched them for 50% shooting from the field and the three-point line. Throw in the fact that the Magic missed 13 free throws in 41 attempts and Orlando shot themselves in the collective foot far too many times early on to match Cleveland's energy and scoring.
Heading Into Game Six
For Cleveland, it's simply a matter of LeBron James getting help on the offensive end of the ball. This series has come down to the two teams playing each other to a virtual stand-still while LeBon tries to figure out ways to pull the game out all by himself. But in Game Five, LeBron got his much-needed help from the outside shooting of Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson while getting a nice effort from Zyndrunas Ilgauskas down low. But the big key is Mo Williams. If he can get 20 points or more for the Cavs, it means they're knocking down outside shots and moving the ball well. If Orlando can stop him, they will advance to the next round. If they let him get in a rhythm and shoot well, they're probably headed back to Cleveland. After all, the Cavs are 30-5 when Mo scored 20 or more points.
Prediction: Cleveland forces a Game Seven
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