[ToTheLeft]

Paging Th3rd to defend Kobe Cryant. Paging Th3rd.

[flamesbball84]

pietrus is nuts if he thought ariza double dribbled...

[ToTheLeft]

pietrus is nuts if he thought ariza double dribbled...

I think he saw the dribble and heard a whistle and hoped for a miracle.

[flamesbball84]

magic finally get their first finals W. ultimately, the lakers proved to not be tough enough to put the magic in a hole that is nearly impossible to get out of. have to give the credit to the magic though too, they did just enough to hang on for a W and did a good job playing D late in the 4th - that dwight howard steal on Kobe's drive was a game changing play. i don't know if he was given credit for the steal, but he should have been since he caused the deflection that led to the change of possession.

however, they'll need to improve a ton on the defensive end, particularly rebounding, to even the series. i very highly doubt the lakers play that atrocious on defense for over 3/4s of the game like they did today. the lakers are 6-0 in the playoffs this year after a loss, have only lost back-to-back games twice this season, and two games was their longest losing streak all season. so basically, the lakers have proven all season long that they come out the next game playing much better than the previous.

[TDDance234]

You have to think Kobe is wearing down. He's played for something like two straight years with very little time off...

However, the Magic aren't going to play like they did tonight. Pietrus isn't going to score 18 in game 4--and it's only a matter of a time before Alston goes back to pouting.

[Th3rd]

Paging Th3rd to defend Kobe Cryant. Paging Th3rd.

Paging TTL, Paging TTL, good game by the magic, they should have blown the lakers out by the way they were playing, but they didnt which is surprising.

series is still 2-1

so good game to the magic, but i never said the lakers would sweep them

[Hold My Own]

I dont like the chances of the Magic shooting 75% the rest of the series

[ToTheLeft]

I dont like the chances of the Magic shooting 75% the rest of the series

First of all, they shot 62.5% for the game. And of course they can't sustain that.

But they shot 41% in game 2 and were one of two Courtney Lee layups away from winning. So I don't know why people think the Magic have to shoot that well to win. They did what they had to do to win game 3. That doesn't mean they need to shoot 63% to win every game.

[thepostman]

orlando is a tougher place to play than people realize which is exactly why this is far from over

[thepostman]

orlando is a tougher place to play than people realize which is exactly why this is far from over

[flamesbball84]

Can these refs possibly be calling this game any more one sided right now? Lakers tap Howard and get called for a foul...

[flamesbball84]

this game proves exactly why the lakers made a mistake in not keeping ronny turiaf. mbenga and powell aren't even half as talented and tough as turiaf and don't match up at all with dwight howard. at least turiaf was athletic, strong, and big and could play good defense.

[flamesbball84]

i'm simply just convinced the lakers don't want to win the championship. they just don't seem to understand the idea that they have to be able to play defense to win games. you would think they would have learned from the mistakes they made last year in the finals, but apparently not.

[flamesbball84]

i just dont understand the illegal screen. they must just be told to call one out of every 10 or something because there is no other rhyme or reason for how they call it.

[ToTheLeft]

Lakers- 14 Rebounds

Howard- 14 Rebounds

To go with his 5 blocks, and the offense picked up at the end of the half... yeah, this guy can be legend status when he turns it on.

[Sly Fox]

Speaking of legends, the Russell-Howard halftime feature was extremely lame. Just because you drop a syrupy music bed below dialogue doesn't make the conversation anymore interesting.

[flamesbball84]

it's a shame the rest of kobe's teammates aren't showing up like he is.

[flamesbball84]

it's a shame the rest of kobe's teammates aren't showing up like he is.

ariza and the laker defense is taking me to task on this comment all of a sudden

[flamesbball84]

ariza is a monster right now. how in the world did monster get removed from my original post??

[ToTheLeft]

The no call on JJ's shot that led to an Ariza layup, then no call on Kobe throwing the elbow... huge momentum no calls.

[flamesbball84]

dwight howard expended too much energy int hat first half, particularly the first quarter. gotta absolutely love what he brought in the first half, but you need to have some of that rabid energy in the second half too - he's been no where near as active here in the second-half.

[ToTheLeft]

Man, if the Lakers got half the techs they deserved...

Seems like all the favorable calls are going the other way now, when it matters most.

[flamesbball84]

that kobe shot on pietrus was sick.

[flamesbball84]

pietrus is coming up HUGE right now

[ToTheLeft]

pietrus is coming up HUGE right now

On offense at least, haha. What a sick drive. He sees #24 and doesn't even care, he takes it strong.