Game three of the NBA Finals will take place tonight in Orlando with the Magic down 0-2 to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Fortunately for the magic, they're home where they were 32-9 during the regular season. Unfortunately for the Magic, the Lakers have history on their side...when the home team wins the first two games of an NBA Finals, that team goes on to win the series over 90% of the time. The Magic could throw a wrench in the percentages. However, they will need to go into their bag of tricks and work a little MAGIC!
There will be several stars in attendance tonight at the game and one of those will be a former NBA All-Star guard, Otis Birdsong, who played 12 years with 3 teams in the league and shot over 50% from the field for his career. He was a consensus All-American at the University of Houston and the second player taken in the 1977 NBA draft. BTW...Otis is also a Florida native.
My first question to Otis was---who is he picking to win it (the NBA Championsip)? His response was---"Chuckle"---"The Magic"! And then he gets serious and says "the L.A. Lakers in six games." I wanted to know why he picked 6. "Because I think the Magic will win 2 games at home."
The Magic had every opportunity to win the game at the end especially with the play call for Courtney Lee. It was a designed lob with several screens set for him to get to the basket. I asked Otis if he thought the rookie Lee was the right guy and was that the wrong play call? "
"That was a great call---he just missed the layup. You know, when he caught the ball---it's a great example for young kids---if he had tried to lay the ball in, (the basket), with his left hand it probably would have been an easier shot. He was on the left side. He was up in the air. He probably could have used his left hand. But, he just missed the layup. He, (Lee), probably got too excited---caught up in the moment and just layed it up a tad too hard."
"He, (Lee), missed a golden opportunity because Kobe---even though he had 29 points, he wasn't "Kobe". He had 7 or 8 turnovers and I don't think the Lakers played that well. They gave up too many wide open shots. Rashard Lewis had too many open looks. Turkulou had too many open looks. J.J. Reddick was 1 for 9. But, he had a lot of wide open looks. So, the Lakers are very fortunate to have won that game."
Birdsong added more. "If the Magic think that by just going home is gonna be the answer to all their problems, they are sadly mistaken because Denver thought the same thing. When the series was 3-2. I guess they figured that just by going home, they would win that game and the Lakers went out and handed it to 'em. So, this won't be an easy game for Orlando Tuesday. Kobe is two games from a title and you'd better believe he's gonna bring it Tuesday night."
I asked Birdsong if he thought this is the same team that beat Cleveland. "They're the same team. But, it's about matchups. They had the advantage on several fronts."
Birdsong talked in depth about the mis-matches between Cleveland and Orlando. But, those were pretty obvious. So, we won't mention them all in this article since that series is over. However, Birdsong did lend this view about that series.
"They just had too many matchup problems. They didn't get anything inside. LaBron was the only force inside for Cleveland. So, now that has changed. L.A. gets a lot of points in the paint. Kobe gets points in the paint. Gasol gets points in the paint. Odom gets points in the paint. Even Bynam, when he's in there, he gets a few points in the paint. So, the roles have reversed. It's tough now. L.A. has all the matchup advantages."
Those are the reasons why the Lakers were picked by the pundits at the start of the season to win the NBA Championship---matchup advantages! Birdsong agrees.
"No doubt. And even though Cleveland had the best record in the league, L.A. clearly has the best talent---and with those three bigs and Kobe Bryant, you have to be favored---and of course, with Phil Jackson---the legendary coach."
I asked Otis if he thought Orlando had been considered a possible contender for the title at the start of the season. "Not at the beginning of the season. But, the way they played throughout the season. I mean, I kept telling people Orlando has a good team---those kids can play. Even though Rafer Austin and Johnson have done great jobs it would have been interesting to see with Jameer Nelson at 100%. But, there were no guarantee with Jameer Nelson in there that they, (the Magic), would have gotten this far because he is a scoring point guard. Rafer basically looks to shoot but he's wide open. Jameer would try and create his own shot and that's why he led the Magic in scoring. He was their leader in scoring when he got hurt." (Back in February)
Rafer Ausin in my mind is a better fit for the Magic team than Nelson. I sought Birdsong's opinion. "The way they had played in the playoffs---for that particular style---they were a better team. But, when Jameer Nelson is 100 % healthy, the Magic are a tougher to defend because he creates too many problems. He's so quick---he can shoot the "3"---put it on the floor. But, his problem is he has to learn to get everybody else involved first." Birdsong went on to explain that when Jameer is getting his, no one else is getting theirs.
That response led me to ask Birdsong if he thought Van Gundy should have started Nelson versus Austin at the point for the first game of the finals. "No! He did the right thing in going with Rafer. I think he played Jameer too many minutes the first game. I mean, the kid played the whole second quarter.
"When, (L.A.'s Andrew), Bynum came back, Phil Jackson was "spoon-feeding" him. He played him 5 or 6 minutes and sat him down---he played 5 or 6 minutes (more) and sat him down. You can't just throw a kid to the fire and let him play the whole quarter. Rarely do starters who've been playing all year play the whole quarter."
Now---to the really big question---what about the chemistry? Doesn't the switch at point guard, Rafer and Jameer), hurt the chemistry of the team? Ahhh, no doubt. The way Rafer was playing, and Johnson off the bench, who's a veteran very good defensive player---provided toughness. I don't care what they say---that affects the chemistry."
Birdsong experienced the same situation as the 2-guard while with the Kansas City Kings facing the Rockets in the '81 Western Conference Finals. Phil Ford had eye surgery at the end of the regular seaon and missed the first two series of the playoffs---Phoenix and Portland. Ernie Grunfeld, who Otis describes as slow was the backup point and the Kings were winning because their style was "possession" basketball which was the style that got them to the Western Conference finals. Grunfeld got the Kings past the first two rounds.
However, the late, (Head Coach), Cotton Fitzsimmons decided to insert Phil Ford back in the starting lineup, who was not 100%, which Birdsong stated disrupted their rotation, and their confidence. The Rockets would defeat Birdsong and the Kings 4 games to 1. The Rockets would go on to face Boston in the NBA Finals.
Hence, Birdsong has some idea of what Rafer is feeling. "The way he's shooting, to me, whether he admits it or not, I think he has put pressure on himself to play well because he doesn't know how long he's going to be in there and if he's not performing at a high level he' looking over his shoulder thinking the coach is gonna pull me and put in Jameer."
"But, as far as a "team", I don't think their confidence is shaken at all. Like they, (the Magic) said, the Lakers just held serve."
It'll be up to the Magic to hold serve beginning Tuesday night. If the Magic win Tuesday, we have a series. If not, Kobe and the Lakers will add another championship banner to the rafters.
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