Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “It’s their last day at Amway, but the Magic believe they’ll buck the odds and be taking part in a ring ceremony on opening night next season in the building. ‘That’s what we’re fixing to do, make history,’ shooting guard Courtney Lee said. ‘No team’s ever done it before, so that’s what we want to do.’ Lee has a world of confidence for a rookie … a rookie who is guarding Kobe Bryant in a survival game, no less. He was jokingly asked if he had packed his bags for L.A., where Games 6 and 7 would be played, if necessary. He thinks they’re necessary. ‘I’m going to do that when I go home, yeah,’ Lee said Saturday, straight-faced, not playing along with the gag. Lee has learned the art of swagger in his first season from a cocksure, slightly cuckoo bunch of teammates and a coach who all refuse to look at deficits as deterrents. ‘Right now,’ small forward Hedo Turkoglu said, ‘I’m just happy to be in this situation.’ See what we mean? The Magic have an unusual way of looking at things wrong side up.”
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Orlando has committed 60 turnovers in the Finals, and those miscues have resulted in 71 points for Los Angeles. The Lakers, on the other hand, have made 42 turnovers, which have led to 45 Magic points. The Magic had averaged 12.8 turnovers a game during the first three rounds of the playoffs, and are averaging 15.0 in the Finals. It would be tempting to blame the Magic’s problems on their unsettled point-guard situation, but Rafer Alston and Jameer Nelson had just one turnover apiece in Game 4. Instead, there’s plenty of blame to go around. Of the 10 players who saw action for Orlando on Thursday, only J.J. Redick didn’t turn over the ball. ‘We know what we did wrong,’ Nelson said. ‘We turned the ball over. I think one thing we have to do is value the basketball. This is a crucial point of our season, and the more shots we get, the better.’ Howard leads the team in turnovers during the Finals (17) and had a team-high seven turnovers in Game 4. The Lakers are placing added emphasis on stripping the ball from him when he receives the ball near the basket.”
John Schuhmann of NBA.com: “The NBA elite is a club with exclusive membership. Over the past 25 years, only seven franchises have won a championship, and the Miami Heat are the only one of those to have won it just once. In this league, success usually leads to more success, and failure often leads to more failure. So for the Orlando Magic, a trip to The Finals, no matter the outcome, is a big step in becoming a long-standing member of the NBA elite. The Magic have told us that their goal was not just to get here. They won’t be satisfied unless they come out of this series with their first Larry O’Brien Trophy. At this point, the odds of that happening are long, as no team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals and the Lakers haven’t lost three straight games since they acquired Pau Gasol more than 16 months ago. … If the Magic don’t make history and win three games in the next five days, the experience of the 2009 NBA Finals should be the same for them in 2010 and further down the line. Along with the motivation, comes the confidence and belief that they can get back here again.”
Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “During the last couple of years as we considered whether or not to build a new arena for the team, there has been much disagreement and debate about the Magic’s value to the community. In the last few weeks, those doubts have been washed away in a wave of incredible excitement and international exposure. ‘Go Magic’ signs have popped up like wayward weeds in the yards of foreclosed homes. More than 4,000 new season tickets have been ordered since the playoffs began. Downtown businesses have been boosted and so has civic morale. Even the tourism industry, which is mostly funding the new arena, is getting its money’s worth. USA Today ran a huge headline on the front of its Finals special section: ‘ Disney World vs. Disneyland.’ Disney-owned ABC, which is televising the Finals, is promoting the City Beautiful’s attractions and attractiveness and beaming it to 215 countries and a billion viewers across the globe. The first four games of the Finals have been the most-watched shows in prime time since the American Idol finale in May. ‘You can’t buy this sort of exposure,’ Magic Chief Operating Officer Alex Martins says.”
Jeff Eisenberg of The Press-Enterprise: “‘It’s very frustrating when you know you’re one basket, one layup, one free throw away from either the series being tied or being up in the series,’ Orlando’s Rashard Lewis said. ‘At the same time, it most definitely gives you confidence knowing you can beat this team. They’re beatable, but you’ve just got to cut down the little mistakes.’ The Lakers, trying to close out a team on their first try for the sixth time in their past seven series, may need to do a better job of keeping Orlando from attacking the middle of the floor. Dribble penetration from Hedo Turkoglu and Alston off the screen-roll has forced LA’s defense to collapse and leave shooters open, as has Howard establishing deeper position in the low post. On offense, contributions from Kobe Bryant’s supporting cast have offset the fatigue that has taken its toll on the Lakers star. Bryant has made 11 of 16 first-quarter shots in the past two games but just 11 of 40 afterward, perhaps trying to do too much to secure his first championship since winning three straight from 2000 to 2002.”
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: “Family members and close friends of the Lakers will take a charter flight to Orlando this morning, as is the custom whenever there’s a road game in which the franchise can win a championship. Indeed, one more victory, and the Lakers begin their off-season with a lot more smiles than they did a year ago. They are on the verge of their 15th championship, holding a 3-1 lead over Orlando with a chance to end the NBA Finals tonight at Amway Arena. One by one, the Lakers promised they realized the importance of being this close to a title and not getting lost in visions of championship celebrations culminating with a victory parade in downtown Los Angeles. … ‘The players have to get away from the euphoria, not listen to what everybody is telling them,’ said assistant coach Kurt Rambis, a player on that 1987 Lakers team. ‘We have to be more focused and determined than the way Orlando’s going to play Sunday night. In a lot of ways, Orlando’s going to be relaxed. The pressure is off of them.’”
Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News: “After a day of rest and relaxation, the Lakers returned to the practice court Saturday, doing all they could to harness their nervous energy going into what could be the decisive game of the Finals tonight at Amway Arena. It proved to be difficult, if not impossible. ‘It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a really long time and it’s getting close,’ Odom said of the possibility of winning the NBA title. ‘You just put the emotions to the side and just treat it as a big game, try to close it out. There are no words to describe it. I’ll probably lose it a little bit. It’s been a crazy road.’ Odom’s eyes moistened as he spoke, his emotions already building. Kobe Bryant was a good deal more composed, outwardly at least. ‘We just have to focus on what we’ve fought to do,’ Bryant said. ‘We’ve done a good job of that all season, being focused, being in the moment, coming out and playing. I don’t think it will be that much of an issue.’”
Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times: “Bryant is coming back. And while Jackson won’t confirm anything, insiders say only health issues would keep him from not only completing the remaining year of his deal, but possibly signing a two-year extension. Pau Gasol is coming back. Andrew Bynum is coming back. Derek Fisher is coming back. And Jackson just intimated that, contrary to previous belief, both Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom could be coming back. It’s all about how much money owner Jerry Buss is willing to spend. Given that these Lakers could win three more consecutive championships starting tonight, here’s guessing he will spend that money. Tonight’s history could belong to Jackson, who would pass Auerbach as the greatest coach in NBA history. But two more championships down the road, the history could be found in the Lakers tying the Boston Celtics with 17 championships and Bryant tying Michael Jordan with six. That’s a lot of money still out there on the table. Bryant’s legs and Jackson’s back willing, the Lakers would have a legitimate shot at it. And Buss has never been known to push away his chair early.”
Julian Garcia of the Daily News: “After his one incomplete season, there are plenty of Nets fans who wouldn’t mind seeing the Yi Jianlian shipped out of New Jersey the way Richard Jefferson was nearly one year ago. But even though Nets CEO Brett Yormark wouldn’t be the one to pull the trigger on any such deal, he is not ready to give up on the 21-year-old. In fact, regardless of Yi’s lack of production in his only season as a Net, Yormark is still looking to cash in on the 7-footer’s enormous popularity in his homeland. After brokering four sponsorship deals with Chinese companies last October, just before the start of Yi’s first season in New Jersey, Yormark will be looking to add to that number when he meets with executives from 33 companies in China this week. He and a member of his sales team started a 10-day trip Saturday. Though Yi averaged just 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds last season, Yormark left for Asia feeling confident that his mission of signing ‘four or five’ more deals will be a success. Finalizing a deal with a Chinese company that would be the 10th founding partner in the proposed Barclays Center in Brooklyn is also on Yormark’s agenda.”
Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: “The House negotiation merely accentuates what may be the mot challenging summer in Danny Ainge’s six seasons as Celtics personnel chief. He has one restricted free agent (Glen Davis) rolling into the summer off a tremendous playoff performance, and another (Leon Powe) who poses a challenge for the opposite reason – Ainge must decide whether it’s worth the risk to re-sign Powe despite knee surgery that is expected to keep the forward out until midseason. If House has outplayed his contract, then what does that say about Rajon Rondo, who will earn $2.6 million next season and $3.8 million the season after that? Yes, a Rondo contract extension is also up for discussion, as is how to handle Ray Allen, who is heading into the last year (worth $19.8 million) of his deal. ‘Those are issues we’re not going to deal with until probably September and October, but definitely not in the summer,’ Ainge said of Rondo and Allen. ‘Our priority is to get this team situated for next year.’”
Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: “Once a year or so, during some NBA function that may bring the two together for an excruciating moment, Michael Jordan will immediately be drawn to the magisterial presence of Jack Ramsay and shake the hand of his fellow Hall of Famer. Then he will use the rest of the time to ridicule Ramsay for a decision that has long since dodged reason’s grasp. ‘He never misses the opportunity to remind me of that single oversight all those years ago,’ the legendary Dr. Jack recalled the other day. ‘And I’ve said to him, ‘Michael, we couldn’t draft you — we had players at your position. Had we known what you would be, we would have taken you and traded for a center. But Michael has a great talent for remembering slights of any kind.’ … Another factor was the influence of Bobby Knight, who coached Jordan during Olympic tryouts in those months prior to the draft. The Indiana coach was very close to Inman, who died in 2007. ‘Stu and Bobby were best friends, and Stu sat in on all those Olympic meetings,’ Thorn recalled. ‘I think because Bobby felt Michael was too selfish, that Portland didn’t like him as much as we did.’”
John Canzano of The Oregonian: “Some of the basketball players competing at the Rose City Showcase received free sneakers and sweatsuits from corporate sponsors. Complimentary gym bags, too. Some were given travel stipends to cover airfare, hotel rooms and meals. The coach of one Seattle-based team, which practices three hours a day, three times a week in preparation for these kinds of tournaments, said: ‘Nobody on our team pays a dime.’ How so? ‘Secret corporate friend.’ He happens to coach a team of third-graders. If you’d have stood in the gymnasium doors at Lewis & Clark College on Saturday, you’d have seen innocent children playing a beautiful game. It would have warmed your heart, and made you believe in the joy of basketball again. Of course, all of this was surrounded by the logos of sponsors and grown-ups in sweatsuits pitching their academies, and selling DVDs, and bragging about their connections to Division I programs.”
