Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus: “Cleveland was consistent in a bad way, beating the crap out of the bad teams and having a tough time against other elite ones. Did the Cavaliers just not have another gear to go to in those matchups? Meanwhile, Orlando actually tied the Lakers for the best winning percentage of those four teams in head-to-head matchups, going 6-3. For whatever reason, the Magic played its best when the competition was at the highest level. Part of that might be a matchup issue. Like the Celtics before them, Cleveland badly missed the jump-shooting, lanky four of the Robert Horry/James Posey mold who could have defended Rashard Lewis and spread the floor on offense. Howard also proved a thorny matchup throughout the series, and the Cavaliers were never able to exploit anything that looked like an advantage on paper save for James.”
John Schuhmann of NBA.com: “Williams shot poorly in the first four games of the series, not ready for the spotlight. And the rest of James’ supporting cast was inconsistent at best. So where do the Cavs go from here? Is their roster, as it stands, good enough to win a championship? Is it just a matter of Williams getting some big-game experience under his belt? ‘I think this team is right there,’ Ben Wallace said. ‘I think we have to become less predictable on the floor when things get tough. We have to go up on the fly. We can’t afford to look to the coaches and expect them to make all the calls. We have to go out there and know what we’re going to do.’ The Cavs did open things up offensively this season, but went back to too many isolations for James in this series. They became stagnant at times, lacking ball and player movement. Still, it was their defense that failed them most of all. They were the second best defensive team in the regular season and the best through the first two rounds, but they were simply burned by the Magic too many times in the conference finals.”
Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports: “There’s little sense in criticizing James for not speaking with the media Saturday – it’s the only thing he didn’t do in this series. He averaged 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8.0 assists. He offered leadership and defense. He saved Game 2 with an all-timer of a buzzer-beater. And it wasn’t even close to enough. Cleveland players said James did speak to them briefly in the stunned locker room and, according to Daniel Gibson, said ‘we just need to keep working.’ It was clear to everyone, however, he was taking this defeat hard. A 66-win regular season left the Cavs optimistic they had found the parts for a championship, but deep in the playoffs, where intensity is matched and matchups get intense, the limitations are clear. The Cavs were swept in the 2007 Finals and now have failed to get out of the East the last two seasons. In this game, from the time the Magic trotted out the booming voice of 7-year-old Gina Marie Incandela for the national anthem to a fourth quarter filled with chants of ‘MVP’ and ‘Beat L.A.,’ it wasn’t so much a contest as a 2½-hour pep rally for the Finals.”
Charley Rosen of FOXSports.com: “Of course, the only important number is the final score, but there’s another statistic that revealed what was really going on inside the Cavs’ collective heads — they shot only 11-for-22 from the foul line. This miserable performance shows an incredible lack of concentration, which in turn shows a lack of an authentic competitive spirit. In other words, the Cavs choked. But there’s more to Cleveland’s latest and perhaps saddest story: After the deciding game of any NBA series, the time-honored practice is for the players and coaches to shake hands, hug, or in some way congratulate, or commiserate with, one another. It’s called good sportsmanship. Immediately after the final buzzer, however, King James chose to ignore this sacred ritual and made a beeline for the dressing room. Maybe he was too disappointed, too angry, or too teary-eyed to linger for even an extra few minutes. Or perhaps the King really has the soul of a peasant.”
Ben Q. Rock of Third Quarter Collapse: “For the first time in this series, the Magic made LeBron James (25 points on 8-of-20 shooting) look human. He mostly did what he had been doing earlier this series, namely by driving to the basket and jumping into defenders as he tried to finish. Tonight, he rarely got the benefit of the whistle, attempting a mere 11 free throws. It’s certainly possible for the Cavs to win when secondary players like Delonte West and Mo Williams lighten James’ offensive load, as they did tonight with a combined 39 points on 15-of-31 shooting. But nothing the Cavs could have done, short of James taking his game to an even higher level, was going to stop the Magic on a night when they got 40 from Howard and 36 from three-point range. Kevin Arnovitz broke down the offense in greater detail at TrueHoop here, but it suffices to say that this was Magic basketball at its finest. Great ball movement, great player movement, good shot-selection… the team really did not make too many mistakes offensively tonight. And, in a bit of a twist, they ran their offense almost exclusively through Howard in the post.”
Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “We’ve endured the abandonment of Shaq and the desertion of T-Mac. We’ve experienced Weisbrod the bad cop and Billy with his flip-flop. We’ve lived through too many broken dreams, fractured ankles and busted plans. Somewhere along the way, this place lost that lovin’ feeling for its only professional sports team. But now it’s back. At long last, it’s back. After a dozen years of apathy and indifference, this sometimes rootless, rudderless city finally has a rallying point. This town has a team — a real team — it can be proud of and excited about. Whadaya say? Let’s change the name of I-4 to ‘Van Gundy’s Way.’ Let’s start calling City Hall the ‘Dwight House.’ … And now that the Magic have vanquished the Cavs, can we please stop hearing ad nauseam about how winning a championship would end Cleveland’s tortured sports past? What about Orlando’s tortured sports past? What about the Magic losing the biggest free-agent departure (Shaq) in sports history and signing the biggest free-agent bust ( Grant Hill) in sports history? What about Penny’s palace coup?”
Greg Stoda of the Palm Beach Post: “Van Gundy’s a smart guy – he’s a real smart guy – and far too intelligent not to know what leading the Orlando Magic into the NBA Finals means. ‘I’ll tell you something that does make me feel good,’ he said in an Amway Arena hallway as Saturday night ticked into Sunday morning. ‘I’ve always believed in myself, but I’ve heard from a lot of former players telling me I’m a good coach. That kind of thing means something special. I’ll admit that.’ He was standing not far from the home court where he had just coached the Magic to its final win in a 4-2 elimination of Cleveland in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference championship series. … He was mentioning a phone call from Heat President Pat Riley, who told Van Gundy, ‘I’m proud of you.’ It was Riley for whom Van Gundy served as a long-time assistant before succeeding him as Heat coach, only to be succeeded by him when the ouster or resignation came down. The Heat went on to win the NBA title in that 2005-06 season. All of it, though, means something special mostly because one famous former player called Van Gundy a ‘master of panic’ this season, and announced that the coach would let down the Magic come playoff time. Shaquille O’Neal can shut up, now.”
Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “At the NBA level, the principles of the Princeton offense are loose-fitting compared to the discipline and precise execution that made the offense famous at the collegiate level. That is to say, don’t expect the Sixers to begin swirling around the court as if cogs on a merry-go-round. This thing has evolved. But here are the CliffsNotes on the offense: It’s predicated on ball movement, spreading the floor, reading the defense, and cutting back-door when overplayed. … The Sixers’ offense this past season was filled with sets: a couple of cross-screens, some curl-cuts, a back screen. A player was either open or he wasn’t. Each player had a predetermined place that could be altered by how the defense defended, but mostly retained its shape. Jordan’s offense is a set of principles that demands that each player learn how to read and react to his defender’s choice, always possessing the counterpunch, and constantly moving parallel to one another. In essence, last season’s offense was like filling in a coloring book, while this offense is like painting. So Stefanski erased one question mark with Jordan’s hire, but plenty remain, including: Does the team have the correct guard personnel to execute such a high-IQ offense?”
Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post: “After waiting 42 seasons to be the biggest shots in pro basketball, could next year finally be the one when the Nuggets win it all? But be forewarned, all you championship dreamers. ‘The next step for this basketball team is harder. The step up from here to a championship is more difficult,’ said Billups, who brought with him a championship ring when the point guard was traded back to his hometown team in November. How did his Detroit Pistons capture the 2004 NBA title from a star-studded Lakers roster that included Shaquille O’Neal, Karl Malone, Gary Payton and Bryant? ‘They had four Hall of Famers on that team,’ Billups said. ‘Our Detroit team definitely wasn’t as talented as those Lakers. Nobody would argue that.’ Moral of the story: The best talent doesn’t always win a championship. The best team does. There’s a big difference. ‘We got to the Western Conference finals this season because we were more talented than New Orleans and Dallas,’ Billups said. ‘But, at some point, the team you’re playing against at this level is going to be just as talented, or more talented, than you are. Then it becomes a mental game. And that’s harder than anything.’”
Janice Carr of The Orange County Register: “Sure, the Lakers have concerns about how to stop Dwight Howard and defend against the Magic’s bevy of 3-point artists. But in the end, it doesn’t matter to them who else will be on the court Thursday at Staples Center. The Lakers, who own home-court advantage in the series, simply want to win the NBA championship, and the accompanying ring and banner would be nice, too. ‘The team right now is hungry and focused,’ Pau Gasol said after Sunday’s film session and light practice. ‘Last year, we were just excited to be in the Finals. This year, it’s like ‘OK, we’re in the Finals. Let’s get it done. Let’s get to work.’ It’s a big difference.’ … ‘This year, we are on a mission. We’ve been on a mission all year long, and I think we have the toughness and aggressiveness starting with me and other guys, too.’ Coach Phil Jackson, who owns nine championship rings, said redemption has fueled this season’s march to the Finals, a path that hasn’t always been smooth.”
