The C’s, after doing the unthinkable in the previous round by eliminating the infallible LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers from the playoffs in 6 games, waltzed into the O-Rena in Orlando and escaped with an almost too-close-for-comfort 92-88 victory despite a dominant performance for the first three quarters and slightly beyond.
Sometimes it’s just funny how easy it is to forget that stuff can change rapidly within the course of a 48-minute game. It didn’t look at any point like a Magic comeback would be anywhere in the cards. Like, not even David Copperfield’s brand of magic could get this Magic back into it. Okay, probably not the best comparison, but you get the idea.
Seriously, Boston is clearly the straight-up tougher team (maybe the toughest in the league). A friend who’s a Boston sports fan posted on facebook about halfway through the game that he was watching the Celts punch the Orlando Magic in the mouth, which pretty much summed things up at the time. They’re sort of like the Bad Boy Pistons-era teams in terms of their ‘Don’t Eff With Us’ vibe. But it’s kind of business as usual for the Celtics. This is the brand of ball they play regularly, and it’s what they did to oust Miami and then Cleveland from the postseason over the past few weeks.
Orlando took a decidedly less challenging path to get here, bull-whipping veteran-less, leadership-lacking and overmatched squads Charlotte and Atlanta to reach the EC Finals. Alright, maybe that’s a little unfair, but not entirely inaccurate. Let’s put it this way … the Magic shouldn’t be counted out, and have plenty of skills. In terms of matching up, executing, playing defense and hitting shots, they’re certainly not worlds apart from Boston. The Celts do have a championship season under their belt from two years ago, something the Magic don’t have.
But the most crucial difference, unless Orlando toughens up in a hurry, is the fact that the C’s are just better at getting in there and making things happen by sheer force of will. It didn’t help that the Magic started off with such a cold shooting performance in the first half. But they showed their intestinal fortitude and battled back to make it close by the end of the fourth quarter. Problem there is, Boston has been in that situation many times before and is never the one to lay down and roll over either.
No matter what, the rest of this series promises to be as intriguing as Game 1 was. But the C’s snaking Game 1 on foreign soil was a hugely positive way for Boston to kick this series off.
Oh and one last thing … for all of Orlando’s depth (which is considerable), it didn’t seem to matter which lineup Stan Van Gundy (or as my wife likes to call him, thanks to me, Ron Jeremy) put in there. Boston had an answer no matter whether the Magic went small-and-fast, or bigger with a more patient half-court type of game, or a combination of the two. Dwight Howard made his presence felt and had some impressive moments (killer defense, lots of blocks). But tough, smart, minimal-mistakes play will always hold up in the end (see Boston, Game 1 of this series).
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One other nugget of information that probably warrants mentioning … through some inexplicable amalgamation of timing, impulse-purchasing and circumstance, I’ll be attending Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals series between the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns, taking place in Phoenix next Sunday. This is what happens when an opportunistic vacation destination and a little advance research intersect. I’ve got Lower Level Baseline seats for my brother-in-law and me. I’ll be sure to file a full report as soon as possible afterward, but since El Presidente will be taking a much-needed vacation at that time and the full week after, I’m going to have to take a wait-and-see approach as to when that actually happens.
Either way, this factoid transitions perfectly into the other NBA Playoff Series that will be taking place leading up to the Finals. Suns vs. Lakers is what I was hoping for, and by all accounts it should be quite the thrill-ride. The Lakers have the size and experience advantage, while the Suns have the inimitable Steve Nash, are riding a wave of momentum and possess an unlikely group of players that have somehow found their own formula for postseason success. In the WC Semifinals, Phoenix swept the Spurs … the four-time-in-the-past-13-years-champion San Antonio Spurs. That dynasty is pretty much over. So it seems like anything is possible. But then, there’s also the hope that they didn’t release all of their chi by now, if you get my drift.
And check it out nerds, I’m basically promising to hit you all off with some more fresh material on the regular. After all, a president can’t effectively govern when he (or she, relax ladies) only surfaces once in the blue. Ya feel me? And if ya don’t know, now ya KNOW.
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