Lakers-Magic Game 3

» June 10, 2009 5:31 PM | By Brandon Hoffman

I don’t need to tell you that Orlando shot an NBA Finals record 62.5 percent from the field, but it’s worth repeating. Orlando was incredibly efficient on the offensive end.

Credit Rafer Alston for pushing the pace and getting the Magic enter their offense before the Lakers could set their defense. Alston also attacked off screens when the Magic were forced into the halfcourt, and looked to score once he turned the corner. Alston attempted six shots in the paint, and connected on five of them, after shooting a combined 3-for-7 in the paint in Game’s 1 & 2.

Orlando’s ball movement was superb. The Magic assisted on seventeen of their first 24 field goals.

Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis led the Magic in scoring with 21 points apiece. Howard shot 5-for-6 from the field, and 11-for-16 from the stripe. Two of Howard’s buckets came off high-low passes from Tony Battie. Howard rolled harder into the lane off of pick-and-rolls and the Magic did a much better job of getting him the ball on the move, which helped him establish deep position in the paint.

The Lakers did a good job of impeding Howard’s progress on screen-and-rolls with an extra defender in Game’s 1 and 2, but Howard was allowed to dive into the paint unimpeded in Game 3.

The Magic attempted a season-low 14 three-pointers (HT: Third Quarter Collapse). The Lakers were a step slow when rotating to contest shooters beyond the arc, and Alston, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, and Mickael Pietrus took advantage by pumpfaking defenders into the air and penetrating for open shots from mid-range. Orlando shot an NBA Finals record 70 percent on two-point field goals.

Alston and Pietrus combined for 38 points. Phil Jackson at practice today: “Alston and Pietrus were the ones that hurt us last night, and that home crowd and the ability to make mistakes and play a little freer gives them confidence. We have to take that back, find a way to squeeze that back.”

Kobe Bryant assumed the role of facilitator early as he assisted on three of the Lakers first four baskets. Bryant scored his first bucket with 5:41 remaining in the first quarter and proceeded to connect on five of his next six attempts, finishing the quarter with seventeen of his team’s final 19 points. Bryant finished the half with 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting.

After starting 6-for-7, Bryant made just 5-of-18 shots over the final 39 minutes of the game, and missed 5-of-10 attempts from the free-throw line.

Courtney Lee defended Bryant well after a subpar showing in Game’s 1 and 2. Lee bodied up Bryant when the Lakers attempted to post him up at the elbow, and gave him very little space once he caught the ball. The Lakers’ ball movement left a lot to be desired, as demonstrated by their 16 assists on 40 made field goals.

Orlando shot lights out, and yet the Lakers trailed by only two with a little over two minutes remaining. The Lakers had a chance to steal a win and put the Magic in an insurmountable hole, but Bryant came up short down the stretch.

A few thoughts on the final play: The Lakers have tried to put Dwight Howard in as many high screen-and-rolls as possible, and they’ve had some success with that strategy. So it’s no surprise that they went back to that set at the end of Game 3. It’s the same play that sealed L.A.’s overtime win in Game 2. But the high screen-and-roll also bit the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers ran the same play versus the Denver Nuggets at the end of Game 2 in Los Angeles, with Nene playing Howard’s part by knocking the ball away from Bryant as he tried to split two defenders. The broken play led to that memorable jumpball between Carmelo Anthony and Pau Gasol (where J.R. Smith ran across the circle before the ball was tipped) and ultimately resulted in a Nuggets victory. Bryant deserves criticism for forcing the issue by trying to split two defenders (AGAIN), but Orlando knew what was coming. Why didn’t Jackson burn a timeout and isolate Bryant at the top of the key where he could be afforded enough space to attack Pietrus or Lee one-on-one? Neither player has proven he can check Bryant without help. Why involve the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the deciding play of the game?

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