Setting the Tone
I didn't plan on writing a piece regarding Game 1, but when my friend suggested a diary a la Bill Simmons, I couldn't resist. If worse came to worse, paying such close attention to the game might spark a different, better idea to write about. It didn't.
9:02 PM (Eastern Time) - The game hasn't started yet, but something newsworthy has already happened. I put my pad on the table to write down my pre-game expectations and knocked over John's (my friend) drink. It seems even writers are susceptible to Game 1 jitters. Anyway. predictions:
Kobe Bryant will take a minimum of twelve (12) free throws.
Dwight Howard will get himself into foul trouble as a result of Kobe's extra aggressiveness.
Andrew Bynum will play twenty minutes or less.
Hedo Turkoglu will score 13 points.
The Lakers will win by 5.
First Quarter
10:02 - Dwight Howard gets his first bucket on his second shot. The Magic are going to him early.
Kobe Bryant9:47 - Kobe Bryant gets his first bucket.
4:52 - Tony Battie dunks. It took that dunk to remind me that Tony Battie was on this team. Definitely forgot to mention him in HD's 2009 Finals Preview. His confidence is clearly soaring because he shoots on three consecutive Magic possessions. John asks if I'm going to write down any of the funny stuff he's been saying.
3:38 - Kobe is certainly looking to attack (3-7), but the Lakers are simply better when the ball is moving and everyone is getting involved.
At the end of the first quarter, the Magic are up 2. Neither team is playing particularly well. Bryant only has 6 points. John says that they look like they are "feeling each other out" and anxiously awaits to see what Jack Nicholson will do when a ref makes a terrible call against the Lakers.
Second Quarter
Jameer Nelson starts the second quarter for the Magic. Prior to the game, ESPN and every other sports' news outlet reported that Nelson was unlikely to play in the series, let alone Game 1. Something is awry. Interesting subplot to the series.
11:15 - POLISH HAMMER! POLISH HAMMER! Sorry. Huge Marcin Gortat fan. Nelson gets the assist.
8:38 - Nelson is putting on a small show. He's got two points and three assists, which account for every point the Magic have scored in the quarter thus far. A baseline jumpshot, a beautiful no-look to Courtney Lee for a layup, and the aforementioned bounce pass to Gortat for the dunk. He looks healthy, but how many minutes can he play?
5:15 - Kobe has hit three jumpers in a row, resulting in two Magic timeouts in less than 90 seconds of play. We've seen this before. He's got that look in his eyes. John comments that Luke Walton could have any girl at the bar if he were here. He also proposes the first poll question of the night: Who got the looks in the Van Gundy family, Stan or Jeff? Stan wins in a landslide, 5-2.
3:36 - Kobe hits a turnaround jump shot that can only be described as Jordanesque. John claims he saw Lamar Odom run down court and see some gummy bears from a small child in the front row. He also believes that the Lakers are unbeatable when Odom gets a double-double. I order a hot brownie sundae that I'm almost positive I can't finish.
It's halftime. The Lakers are up 10, and I finished the hot brownie sundae. That said, I am more impressed with Kobe's statline than I am with my endless appetite: 18 points and 4 rebounds are nice, but the 6 assists are what's helped the Lakers put some distance between them and the Magic.
Third Quarter
11:40 - Kobe scores with ease in the post. He spins over his right shoulder as if he is going to shoot a fadeaway, then pivots again toward the basket for a layup. I recall a conversation with an HD colleague in which that colleague told me Kobe didn't have a post game.
Kobe Bryant
9:32 - I'll admit I had reservations about the Lakers going with both Gasol and Bynum against this Magic team. That same colleague convinced me that going big against Orlando would not work. Bynum is having a solid game, and the Lakers are up double digits.
8:41 - Foul on Rip Hamilton. Seriously, if Courtney Lee wears is still wearing this mask when he's healthy...
7:12 - The Magic can't make a shot, yet Hedo Turkoglu just banked in a three after the whistle like it was nothing. There is no rhyme or reason as to why Orlando is so cold - nerves, fatigue, just a bad night - but this is why teams that rely so heavily on outside jumpers rarely win NBA titles. By rarely, I mean never.
6:44 - Kobe goes around Pietrus and hits a pullup jumper in Howard's face while being undercut. As the shot goes through the basket and the crowd goes crazy, I decide that Kobe Bryant is officially better than LeBron James. Sorry Vitamin Water. A minute later, SVG calls a timeout with the Magic down 16. Kobe looks sadistic as he high-fives his teammates.
3:17 - Mamba hits a tough, hanging bank shot and draws the foul. Everyone in the bar is excited. He's got 16 points in the quarter and has put the game out of reach. SVG should just put JJ Redick in the game and give him the green light to shoot threes every time he touches the ball. What's the worst that could happen?
Fourth Quarter
8:54 - Kobe rises off the bench to yell at one of his teammates during a timeout. The Lakers are up 26. He might be the most competitive basketball player I've ever seen. Right there with Jordan. In other news, John just stole a joke that I made to him in the bathroom and used it at the table. Everyone laughed.
6:56 - Bryant checks back into the game. I write "Bryant" in the hopes that the reader doesn't realize this has become more of a Kobe Diary than a Game 1 Diary. My friend insists he knows Phil Jackson's reasoning for reinserting Bryant. "He'll get more rest guarding someone as bad as Redick than he will just sitting on the bench." It's the ninth Redick-Adam Morrison joke he's made since the opening tip. Though not all funny, these jokes have been more entertaining than the Magic's play tonight.
6:14 - Redick is locking Kobe up. Dare I say JJ is the heir to Ruben Patterson's throne? In other news, John bet on the over for this game, which was 206 points. I laugh and tell him his bet looks good. He is not thrilled with Orlando's shooting percentage.
2:17 - Redick buries a three. John yells "Raindance!"
1:59 - Kobe comes right back and buries points 39 and 40. The real reason why he was put back in the game. ABC shows a graphic that notes the discrepancy of points in the paint. Lakers 56, Magic 22. They also point out that Phil Jackson is 43-0 all-time in series when he wins Game 1. After the Cleveland series, people were worried about how the Lakers would match up with their Floridian counterpart. It appears the more pressing question is, "How will the Magic handle the size and length of the Lakers?" Even on nights that they shoot well, the Magic will lose this battle every time.
00:00
The game ends at 100-75. Dwight Howard took six shots and sixteen free throws. He made exactly one
Rashard Lewis field goal and dunked the ball ZERO times.
Checking in on those pre-game predictions, I said the Lakers would win by 5. Way off. Kobe only took eight free throws yet finished with 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. He took 34 shots. I don't know that his volume shooting will work so well throughout the series, but it's hard to argue with tonight. Andrew Bynum played 22 minutes and proved that he can be effective against this versatile Orlando lineup. Dwight Howard avoided foul trouble, and Hedo Turkoglu finished with exactly 13 points. The Magic were anything but lucky tonight, so the number is fitting.
Other surprises:
Luke Walton played 24 minutes, the same as Ariza. He has the size and versatility to guard Lewis and Turkoglu, but I don't think anyone expected him to play as much as Ariza. Walton rewarded Jackson with 9 points in those 24 minutes.
Mickael Pietrus led the Magic in scoring and shots attempted. Rashard Lewis was uncharacteristically gun-shy, only firing up four three-point attempts and hitting two of them. The Magic "Big Three" need to play more like stars and less like supporting cast. Kobe outscored the three of them by himself, 40-33. Lewis only took ten shots, the same as rookie Courtney Lee.
The Lakers' poise showed why experience is such a big advantage, but that excuse will not work for the Magic in Game 2. The jitters are gone, and now it's time to get down to business. If they don't win Game 2, the series is over.
Mike DeStefano can be reached at mike@hoopsdaily.com.
