Pause is the culprit says Alston

Saturday, June 6, 2009 -- Orlando Magic was guided to the NBA finals by Rafer Alston. It was Alston who in Game 1 assisted the team to take the lead at the end of the 1st quarter. However, after the conclusion of the 1st quarter, he sat for a long time. When he returned to play, his rhythm had disappeared and Orlando’s lead had also vanished. This situation did not change and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Magic by a score of 100-75.

Remarks by Alston and the Van Gundy

Stan Van Gundy acknowledged that it was an erroneous decision to have Alston sitting throughout the 2nd quarter and making Jameer Nelson play for 12 minutes. Regarding this decision, Alston remarked that anybody observing the game can understand that it was an odd state to start the game and not touch the court in the 2nd quarter. However, Alston denied that there would be any meeting between himself and the coach regarding this decision. Alston was determined to prepare for Game 2 as he had been preparing for all other games in the playoffs.

In the 1st quarter, Magic had a 24-22 lead as Alston struck 4 points on 2 of 4 shooting. Van Gundy said that the error he made was that he permitted Alston on the court too long during the 1st quarter. He might have overplayed and become weary. Alston commented that after sitting for a long period of time in the 2nd quarter, he had to restart play in the 3rd quarter. So, he had to catch up with the rest of the guys as these were already settled into some rhythm.