L.A. Lakers at Orlando Magic – Game 4 Preview
The Magic won game 3 in Orlando to cut the Lakers lead in this series to 2-1. It has been a tale of two Magic teams, as in game 1 they did not even shoot 30% from their field and then in game 3 they shot over 62%, which was an NBA record. The Lakers did not have a bad outing in game 3, as they did shoot over 51% from the field, but Kobe Bryant, uncharacteristically, did not play well down the stretch. Kobe is the best player in the NBA in crunch time at the end of games, but in the 4th quarter in game 3 he was only 2/6 from the floor, missed his 3 3-pointers, had a ball stolen in the last 30 seconds, and missed some key free throws. Still, Kobe faltered down the stretch and the Magic shot over 62% from the field and Orlando still only won by 4 points. If the Magic shoot tonight like they did in game 3 it will be very hard for the Lakers to keep them from tying this series no matter how well they play.
One of the leading sportsbooks has the Magic as 2.5-point favorites with a total of 201.5.
One of the main reasons the Magic lost the first two games was they did not get any guard play. The chemistry of the Magic may have been hurt with bringing back All Star PG Jameer Nelson, who was not impressive in the first 2 games and Refer Alston may have had his confidence shot with Nelson back at the point. Before game 3 Alston was berated by head coach Stan Van Gundy, his Magic teammates, and even his friends, as they all told him to play his game and get back to the playground legend Skip to My Lou. I guess he heard them, as in game 3 Alston played most of the minutes at the point in game 3 and had a huge game going for 20 points on 8/12 shooting after only going 3/17 for the first 2 games. The only player for the Magic that did not shoot at least 50% from the field in game 3 was Marcin Gortat and he only played 5 minutes and did not score (0/1 from the field). Conversely, except for Pau Gasol, no Lakers starter shot over 50% from the floor, but their bench helped out combining to shoot 9/14.
Speaking of Gasol, Kobe may want to get him more involved, as he had another solid game scoring 23 points on 9/11 shooting. If Kobe struggles again, especially late in the game, he has to get the rock to Gasol and Lamar Odom (11 points 4/6 shooting in game 3) and trust them to score, which they have done all series. The Magic have to play better D tonight, as it will be very hard for them to shoot like they did in game 3. The Magic allowed the Lakers to grab 11 offensive boards and even though they out rebounded the Lakers in the game they cannot give L.A. second chance opportunities tonight. The Lakers have to play D like they did in the first two games not give the Magic open looks.
The momentum has shifted in this series and tonight is a HUGE game, as if the Magic win this will be a series, but if they lose the series is probably over.
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