It's Friday, Time to Dance

I honestly don't have anything to add to this other than watch, listen and enjoy.



Can I get a translator up in here?

Magic About to Be Gone Fishin'

The game was in his massive hands. With 11.1 seconds left and the Magic holding a three-point lead, Dwight Howard stepped to the free throw line to ice the game. These are the moments that Shaquille O'Neal, the former center for both the Lakers and Magic, a notoriously atrocious foul shooter, referred to when he said, "I make them when it matters."

If only Dwight Howard could have made one when it mattered. Instead, he clanked both attempts. The Lakers grabbed the rebound, called timeout and set up their offense. Then Derek Fisher, who had struggled shooting the ball all night, hell, all postseason, hit a three, tying the game. Just another huge playoff notch to add to his belt.



Jameer Nelson, known as a gritty, tough, talented and, most importantly, smart basketball player, made a boneheaded play. Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson properly criticized Chester's favorite son. Jameer should know better. He usually does. In no way should he have let Fisher get off such an easy look from three. Yes, he contested, but he shouldn't have even let him get it off. It's a shame, because Nelson was having a strong fourth quarter, facilitating the Orlando attack, but in the end, his defense cost his team.

After Hedo Turkoglu hit dagger after dagger and Mickael Pietrus made Kobe work as hard as he ever has, the game was there for the Magic. This series was about to be tied. But poor free throw shooting and a mental lapse on defense were all the Lakers needed.

In overtime, Kobe took over, making the first two baskets and then finding Fisher again, wide open for three, to put an end to Orlando's hopes. Sure, the elbow to Jameer's chops helped free up space, but Kobe still made the right play, even if he got away with a foul.



That was all she wrote. Hedo missed a three, and Rashard Lewis, who completely failed to show up for the game, tapped the rebound out way too far, giving Pau Gasol a fastbreak dunk. Game over. And more than likely, series over.

The Lakers now hold a 3-1 lead. It just as easily could be 3-1 Orlando. But in games 2 and 4, the Magic made just enough errors to keep the Lakers in it. And that's all LA needs, one little crack.

In game 4, it was the foul shooting that really did Orlando in. Dwight Howard, who dominated in the first quarter, had a dreadful second half offensively and an even more dreadful performance at the line, where he went 6 of 14. 6-14. That's less than 43 percent. In the NBA Finals.

For the game, Orlando missed 15 free throws, shooting a combined 22-37 (59.5 percent). Even Turkoglu, a career 80 percent free throw shooter, missed five freebies (8-13). Make just one, one of those down the stretch, especially you, Dwight, and this series is all tied up. Instead, it's as good as over.

Dwight, you may never been a great free throw shooter, but you gotta "make them when it matters."

Boring Start, Awesome Finish … Except the Outcome

I have to say, it was pretty damn lucky that the Phils-Dodgers game started at the same time as the Lakers-Magic, because it allowed me to focus on the Phils early and avoid watching a 15-15 first quarter in an NBA Finals game.

That's 30 points for all you math majors out there. Not 30 apiece, as in 30-30. No, 15-15. In an entire quarter. In the Finals. Gross.



Truthfully, I watched more of the Phils game because this thing was looking so ugly, but I did tune in for the fourth quarter in its entirety. And I'm glad I did, especially for those final three minutes of regulation. With the Lakers up 84-81 with less than three to play, J.J. Redick hits a three to tie it. Then Rashard Lewis splits the defense in post to give Orlando a lead. Kobe answers. Turkoglu answers back. Then Pau ties it up again.

Finally, Hedo makes an incredible block on Kobe's game-winning attempt, leaving .6 seconds to set up the perfect inbound play that Courtney Lee clanks.

Really, the entire ending was fantastic, except for the part where Lee missed and the Lakers won in OT to go up 2-0. Rashard and Hedo were beasts for Orlando. Ditto Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Kobe for the Lakers. Dwight Howard was good, but the Orlando point guards were a complete mess. Maybe this whole Jameer thing wasn't such a good idea after all.

Still, Orlando had a shot to win it, but Lee couldn't get the job done on honestly one of the most beautifully designed inbound plays I've ever seen.



I'll blame the mask. I hate those things.

The Story No One's Talking About: Hedo's Revenge

Tonight, the NBA Finals finally begin. Seems like the conference finals were weeks ago. With the emergence of Dwight Howard, Kobe going after his 4th ring and first without some big fella named Shaq, Jameer Nelson's will-he-or-won't-he return story, the enigma that is Lamar Odom, the match-up between Rashard Lewis and Pau Gasol, and the absence of LeBron James (not to mention handshakegate) getting so much attention, there's a story that's quietly flying under the radar. A story of revenge. A story of redemption. The story of Hedo Turkoglu.



We all remember the famed 2002 Western Conference finals that pitted the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings against one another yet again in the playoffs. It was Mike Bibby's coming out party, as the then-young point guard carried the Kings to a game 7 against the two-time defending champion Lakers, where in that deciding game, literally no one on Sacramento showed up save for Bibby. Had he gotten just a little bit of help from Chris Webber or Peja Stojakovic down the stretch, perhaps the Kings could have been remembered as champions, not chokers.

Of course, the lasting image of that series is Robert Horry's game-winning three in game 4 after Vlade Divac tapped a rebound right to him.



Take a long, hard look at that photo and tell me what you see. Yes, under the basket is a young Hedo Turkoglu — then in his second season in the NBA at age 23 — looking on helplessly while guarding Rick Fox, as Chris Webber couldn't quite get to Horry. That shot shattered all of Sacramento's dreams, and Turkoglu was among the bunch left stunned:

"It's the luckiest thing I've ever seen in my life. Vlade hit the ball and it went straight into his hands and he was wide-open. The whole game, he was going for offensive boards, but at that moment he was waiting right there. You could never see this type of game in your life."
-- Hedo Turkoglu, on Robert Horry's Game 4 game-winner

Until this season, that's the closest Turkoglu, now 30, had ever gotten to the Finals. While certainly not the team's best player with the likes of Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Bobby Jackson, Vlade Divac and company on the squad, Turkoglu was an integral part of the rotation, evident by his presence on the floor in the waning moments of game 4.

During the regular season, Hedo averaged 24.6 minutes, 10.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2 assists, nearly a steal and a half a block a game, while shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 36.8 from three and 72.6 from the line. Turkoglu struggled in the playoffs, but nonetheless, he was a regular in Rick Adelman's rotation.

And in those Western Conference Finals, Turkoglu averaged 34 minutes a game and 10.7 points, playing some truly horrendous games and some really good games. Take for instance game 1, where Hedo went 0-for-8 from the field, putting up a goose egg in points, followed by a 4-for-8 for just 8 points in game 2. Then he had two excellent games in games 3 and 4, scoring 14 (6-13 from the field) and 18 points (8-15).

In essence, it was a learning experience for Turkoglu, one that ended in a painful lesson. While the media has seemingly forgotten about it, I'm sure Hedo hasn't.

Back in 2002, he had to watch as Kobe and Derek Fisher celebrated with Shaq and Horry and all the rest of the Lakers after a tough 7-game battle. Don't think that won't be extra motivation for the quiet Turkish assassin who has been a driving force in Orlando's run to the Finals. All he'll have to do is peer across the court at Kobe or Derek Fisher to remember the agony of defeat at the hands of the Lakers. Watch out for Hedo. He has more reason than anyone to want to bury the Lakers.

So About that Kobe-LeBron Finals

Things weren't supposed to be this way. Not by a long shot. The NBA was supposed to come down to two teams, two men really: LeBron vs. Kobe. After all, the Cavs and Lakers finished the regular season with the two best records in the NBA, rolled through the competition to their respective conferences' No. 1 seeds, and it was destined — this year's MVP matched up against last year's MVP for all the marbles.

Someone forgot to tell the Magic and Nuggets to go along with the script. After Orlando's 116-114 overtime victory last night, the LeBrons are on the brink of elimination, down 3-1 to a Magic team that needed six games to put away the 76ers. And the Lakers, who were supposed to have a cakewalk to the Finals, are deadlocked 2-2 with a Denver team that is quite honestly pushing L.A. around.

Now it looks like Superman vs. Melo just may replace Kobe-LeBron.



If you watched last night's game, and game 3, and the whole series thus far really, you'll notice one big thing: The Magic are playing brilliantly as a team, while the Cavs are simply relying on LeBron to carry them through. The Cleveland team that once looked so much like a singular unit, with LeBron the clear leader, all the sudden looks like a team full of scrubs begging its superstar to do it all. LeBron is suddenly all alone, and even he is no match for the Magic.

And who would have saw that coming after Orlando struggled with, quite frankly, a not-so-good Sixers team? Not me. But this isn't the same Magic team that couldn't hit an open three if their life depended on it in the first round. No, this is the Orlando squad that challenged the Cavs and Celtics much of the season, the Orlando team that is lethal from three. The stroke is back, and Cleveland has no answers. None.

Dwight Howard has been a beast. The questions of his intensity, of his desire should be fading rapidly. Dude has been killing anyone and everyone Cleveland has thrown at him. Ilgauskas? Too slow. Anderson Varejao? Too small. Ben Wallace? Joe Smith? No chance. Dwight is eating their lunch.



Try doubling him. Go ahead. Look what happens. The Magic, already up 2-1, go bonkers from three. Skip to My Lou goes 6-12, Rashard 2-4, Turk 2-5, and Pietrus 5-11, as the Magic drain an absurd 17 threes on 38 attempts. That's 44.7 percent in case your counting. Even the superhuman LeBron can't do anything about that, especially when that big fella inside goes off for 27, 14 and 3, along with 4 assists that helped his teammates get those threes.

I was just reading in Sports Illustrated how Doc Rivers said if the Magic are hitting their threes, they're almost unguardable. He's absolutely right. With Dwight Howard posing a problem for anyone inside, you almost have to double him, meaning you have to leave one of the excellent three-point shooters on Orlando open. Pick your poison: leave Rashard, Hedo, Rafer, Pietrus, Lee? No option is a good option.

Just look at the numbers. LeBron continued to just play otherworldly basketball, dropping 44 points, 12 boards, 7 assists, a steal and block, but he was virtually all alone. Delonte West had a decent game, scoring 17 points on 7-15 shooting and dishing out 7 assists with no turnovers, but the rest of the Cavs were awful. Yeah, Mo Williams did get 18 points, but he shot just 5-15 and has really been a complete no-show for Cleveland in this series. No one else did dick.

Meanwhile, Howard got help from all over the place. Rafer kept pace with the big guy, playing by far his best game of the postseason with 26 points and those 6 threes. Rashard chipped in with 17 of his own, including a dagger of a shot down the stretch, Hedo added 15 points to go along with 7 boards and 8 assists, and Mickael Pietrus was a beast in the 4th quarter, draining treys to keep Cleveland at bay. He finished with 17 points on 5 threes and 2 free throws.



It's abundantly clear that right now, Orlando is the better team. No one is playing better basketball than LeBron, but suddenly the rest of Cavaliers look lost. And with Denver looking more and more like the aggressor beyond Kobe, these series are starting to mirror each other. If the Nuggets can pull it out tonight, the scenario would look identical: Denver playing much, much better as a team as Kobe plays the best, just like the Magic, collectively, are beating the insane level LeBron is playing at.

Everyone wanted to see LeBron-Kobe. What we just may get is Orlando-Denver. And that isn't a bad things. Seriously.

I just wish Jameer was healthy so he could be out there for the ride.

A Split, a Sweep, a Draft, and an Epic, Epic Collapse

Another wild weekend for Philadelphia. Things started out well enough on Friday, as I was in attendance at the Wachovia Center to watch the Sixers defeat the Magic thanks to the game-winner by Thaddeus Young, and the Phillies won thanks to a grand slam by Shane Vicotrino in the ninth that propelled the Phils from a 3-0 deficit in the final inning to a 7-3 victory.



Unfortunately for me, I didn't get to see a single second of the Phillies' comeback, but as I said, I was in the 12th row at the Sixers game, so I was doing all right. Although, I had no idea that would be the case when I headed down to the game with two of my roommates, silver fox and uncle jellyfish, especially on our way there. Honestly, if you headed down to the sports complex area in south Philly Friday, you know there was absolutely no traffic at all. None. We made it down there easily, and the parking lot even looked empty at the Wachovia Center.

I became disheartened and fearful that the building would be nearly empty. Turns out, I was wrong. The place filled up quickly, and the crowd was into from the start. And my section was fantastic. Now, I generally don't like people. Truly, honestly, I'm just not a fan of them, and I typically don't enjoy when strangers try talking to me, unless of course they are attractive females. So when I sat down in my seat and this older gentleman began to chat me up, I was annoyed. Being my standoffish self, I didn't really respond much, but the guy knew basketball and was really into the game, so I quickly began to enjoy his presence. But not as much as the guy in front of me.

This guy was pretty tuned up, and he was all sorts of into the game. He was griping like Sammy Dalembert after a foul call, and every time Dwight Howard touched the ball, he'd scream, "HE TRAVELED! THAT'S A TRAVEL!" Every time. I swear. He was great.

Of course, Thad was the hero at the end, but it was Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller who carried the load, as they have really all season for the Sixers.



The game was tremendous, but it was also infuriating to watch. It was the antithesis of games 1 and 2, where the Sixers fell behind by 18 both games and made a comeback, one that succeeded, the other that came up short. Well, on Friday, it was the Sixers who built a 17-point lead in the 3rd, only to see Orlando, led by Dwight Howard's beastly night (36 and 11), come storming back. Thanks to some horrific free throw shooting by the Sixers (18-26), especially by Louis Williams (2-5) and Andre Iguodala (9-13), it took a last-second bucket from Thad to win the game.

The thing that pissed me off was that it was the scorers who were missing free throws, a guard and a small forward who shot 79 and 72 percent from the foul line this year, respecitvely. Meanwhile, Howard, who was a dismal 59 percent free throw shooter this year, went 12-14. That's inexcusable for Philadelphia's guard/small forward to be that much worse than Dwight Howard. But hey, the Sixers won, we got a celebratory cheesesteak, and the Phils' victory made the night a complete success.

And then there was Saturday. At the crack of 3, the Flyers came out and looked determined to send the series back to Pittsburgh for a deciding game 7. After holding off an aggressive Pittsburgh start, the Flyers scored twice late in the first, first on a goal by Mike Knuble, then on a beautiful shot by Joffrey Lupul on a great pass from Claude Giroux.



The Flyers continued to roll, scoring a beautiful power play setup as Simon Gagne hit Danny Briere in stride, and Briere buried it to make it 3-0. I was thoroughly enjoying myself as Arkansas Fred, The Charles and myself ate a ton of candy, pizza and hoagie at our friend's house, watching the Flyers on the high def and the draft on the smaller TV.

And to make things even better, Daniel Carcillo took down Max Talbot seconds after Briere's goal, and the place was roaring:



Now, as you can hear, Eddie Olczyk thought Carcillo took the bait and made a huge mistake by fighting Talbot immediately after going up 3-0 in an elimination game, giving Pittsburgh a little jolt, even if he did win the fight. At the time, I thought Enzo was out of his mind, especially with the way Carcillo handled Talbot and the fans roaring.

Turns out, Olczyk was absolutely right. Fourteen seconds after Carcillo and Talbot went to the box, former Flyer Ruslan Fedotenko scored, and the Penguins got the shot of life they were looking for. I guess that's why Enzo gets paid the big bucks and I just watch. Mark Eaton and Sidney Crosby each scored to tie the game, then Sergei Gonchar put Pittsburgh ahead in the third, and Crosby's empty-netter ended the Flyers' season. It sucked.

Coughing up a 3-0 lead at home in an elimination game, and doing it by surrendering five straight goals, is simply and utterly inexcusable. Heads should roll. A team that had six 25-goal scorers, a team that made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, a team that had all the talent in the world, lost in the first round, two of the losses coming by coughing up leads. Clearly, the players aren't going anywhere, with the exception of perhaps the goaltender, and I have to say, Marty Biron didn't play all that bad in the series, but he was awful Saturday.



There's no excuse for him not to have covered the puck on Fedetenko's goal, and even though it was deflected, he should have caught the puck that he got his glove on before Crosby's first goal. And the goal by Gonchar, while definitely an impressive shot, should have been stopped. You can't give up goals from that far out when your team is grasping for its life. It was pretty pathetic that both Ryan Parent and Kimmo Timonen backed off Gonchar, but Biron had an unobstructed view of Gonchar and the puck. He simply couldn't stop it. We may have seen the last of Marty Biron as a Flyer. Then again, maybe not, seeing as there are no goaltenders out there at all.

Anyway, one guy who should be gone is John Stevens. To allow his team to play terrible down the stretch, lose home ice advantage, watch the once potent power play fall apart, come out flat in game 1 of the playoffs, choke away two leads, continually fail to play good defense, see no improvement from the beginning of the year to end in the faceoff circle and just basically underachieve, the guy should be fired. A first-round exit isn't good enough. At all. Get a coach in there that will use Claude Giroux on the man advantage, a guy who can motivate Jeff Carter in the playoffs, and a guy who can, you know, actually coach up his players to teach them defense and winning faceoffs.

It was a terrible thing to witness, and there are things that have to change. The Flyers' centers should work all damn offseason on winning faceoffs, because they were dreadful at them this year and it cost them big time in the playoffs. Pittsburgh manhandled the Flyers in faceoffs and controlled the puck much more as a result. Also, the Flyers should target a lethal faceoff guy, a guy that can be trotted out there to win every important faceoff the way Keith Primeau did for the Flyers.



And some guys should really look at themselves in the mirror. Jeff Carter had a fabulous season, but he was terrible in this series. He came up small, missed some golden opportunities, and really, just got taken off his game by getting roughed around a little. He needs to find a way to use his big frame a little more aggressively. Scott Hartnell needs to harness his agitator status and take a lot less penalties next season. Players like Braydon Coburn and Matt Carle need to communicate better on defense, and as a whole, the Flyers have to become better with the puck, stop turning it over and get crisper on their passes. The first course of action is to fire John Stevens. I hope it's the step the Flyers take.

Luckily, the Phillies came from behind again and won, and Chan Ho Park did this:



In all honesty, I was consumed more by the draft, and I was completely underwhelmed with the Birds trading up two spots to get Jeremy Maclin. My line of thinking was they needed a running back more, and if you were going to get a receiver, why not just trade the pick for Boldin? But as the Eagles' draft unfolded, I have to say, I like it, especially the more I think about it.



Maclin is a stud, and he'll definitely make the Eagles better. And I loved the pick for LeSean McCoy. Seeing as the Broncos took the guy I wanted more than anyone else real early, McCoy was the next back I wanted. Donald Brown wasn't doing it for me, but McCoy, I've seen him play and he's exactly what the Eagles look for in a back. Add in the Cornelius Ingram pick, and I'm pretty pumped now. Ingram is a huge target that could solve the Eagles' red zone problem, assuming he is healthy. And with the trade for Ellis Hobbs, it leads me to believe the Eagles still may not be done.



In all honesty, I'd be shocked if they didn't trade Sheldon Brown now. May I suggest shipping off a future pick, Kevin Curtis and Brown, perhaps, for Boldin? Or how about making a play for Julius Peppers? Braylon Edwards? Probably not, but I would think the Eagles are going to try and move Brown somewhere. Either that, or make his trade value completely deteriorate by making him ride the pine like they did with Lito. That would suck.

Either way, I'm cool with the Eagles' offseason, except for, you know, completely being dicks to Dawkins. But getting Peters, Andrews, Sean Jones, Weaver, Hobbs and the draft, it looks like a hell of an offseason. Which may or may not be done.

Eventful Saturday either way, and it culminated with getting very, very drunk.

Yesterday was very nice in the afternoon. For the first time all year, a Phillies starter didn't give up a home run, as Jamie Moyer continued his dominance against the Marlins.



The Phils exploded for 13 runs, and the game was never in question. Hell, they were in such command that the Marlins brought in Cody Ross to pitch the ninth. That was fun. The sweep brought the Phils to 9-8 and a game and half within Florida for the division lead. And with Park's home run and Moyer's 1-for-1 with a walk and HBP, the Phillies pitchers are hitting better than Jimmy Rollins. Someone wake Jimmy up please.

The Phils provided some relaxing relief early, but there'd be none of that late. The Sixers decided to go back to that strategy of falling behind and coming back, which they did thanks to Andre Miller just taking over in the 4th, but, as has happened so many times this year, the Sixers lost on a heartbreaking shot at the end of the game, this time by the Turkish assassin.



I have to be honest with you, I have no idea how the Sixers are staying with Orlando. I thought this was going to be a 4-1 Orlando win, but the Magic had to use everything they had to even the series 2-2. I still don't think the Sixers will win, but they are doing a hell of job staying in every game. Iguodala didn't have a very good shooting game last night, but he's becoming a legit threat, and if Orlando can't straighten out its three-point shooting, the Sixers can stay in this series.

I never thought I'd say this this season, but the Sixers have a chance now to win more playoff games in 2009 than the Flyers. Who would have guessed that two months ago?

This Time, the Comeback Falls Short

I really don't have a whole lot to say about last night's game, so here are the highlights:



I will say this, Andre Miller came out completely on fire, scoring at will, but as I've said before, when Andre Miller comes out shooting a lot, it hurts the team.



Sure, he was on fire and helping the Sixers keep pace with Orlando, but he failed to get anyone involved early on. And I mean anyone. Thaddeus Young was the only other Sixer to do any damage in the first quarter, and most of his points were on cleanup duty. It's just a fact for this team: When Andre Miller decides he's going to be a scorer and throw his distribution aside, the Sixers don't win.

Miller's line may look impressive from last night, 30 points, 7 boards, 12-20 shooting, but he only handed out 3 assists. Three. From your starting point guard. Who averages 6.5 on the year. Andre Miller didn't play his game, didn't do his job properly, and the Sixers suffered for it.

For a while there, this game looked like deja vu from game one. The Sixers fell behind by 18 again in the third quarter, and again, they mounted a comeback, this time led by Andre Iguodala, to cut it to 5. At that point, I was beginning to wonder if maybe, just maybe the Sixers could pull it off two games in a row, especially with Dwight Howard ineffective and in foul trouble.



But it was not to be. Courtney Lee, who had a very strong start in game one, bested that performance, going off for 24 points last night and keeping the Sixers at bay. And down the stretch, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu found ways to score, never allowing the Sixers to really threaten late. The bad news for Philadelphia is Lewis and Hedo did it by going a combined 2-7 from three. Once they start knocking down their shots, and they will, the Sixers will be in big, big trouble.

Here's the thing about that fourth quarter: Dwight Howard fouled out with about three minutes left to play, leaving absolutely no shot-blocker inside for the Magic. Yet the Sixers, a horrible shooting team that actually plays best when getting to the rim, didn't go inside. Like, at all. With Howard out of the game. Instead, they settled for low percentage jump shots, not a good thing for a team that can't even make high percentage, open jump shots, and essentially took themselves out of their game. It was pretty pathetic strategy and makes you wonder what, exactly, Tony DiLeo was telling his guys out there.

Still, it's hard to harbor any ill will. The Sixers come back home tomorrow tied up 1-1, which is better than I thought would happen. The good news is, even with Orlando pulling away late last night, the Sixers proved through two games they can play with the Magic. The bad news is Orlando has been ice cold from three, and they're actually one of the better three-point shooting teams in the league. Oh, and the Sixers lost when Dwight Howard had a pretty bad game.