Orlando Magic Game 1 Effort was Pathetic

Somebody needs to tell the Orlando Magic they are playing in the NBA Finals. You could never tell, not only by their play on the court, but with their body language and emotion too. The normally fired up, intense, and persistent Magic did not show up in game 1 of the 2009 NBA Finals.

The Lakers built a decent lead throughout the game, but it is not like the Magic have not been down by more than 15 before this postseason. They came back from large deficits against Cleveland and Boston multiple times, even on the road. But the same drive and determination to climb back into the game and make a solid run was MIA in game 1.

Sure, the Magic did not shoot well from the field, especially from the 3pt line, but it is no excuse. Drive the ball to the basket and get fouls. It worked well in the first half, as Andrew Bynum picked up 3 early fouls.With the great three point shooters the Magic have, there should be lots of lanes to drive to the basket. Dwight Howard cannot take on two seven foot defenders. The Magic need to get the Lakers in foul trouble, or drive the line and make one of the Laker bigs commit, then dish the ball to Howard or throw an alley-oop to him.

The main thorn in the Magic's side in game 1 was Laker superstar Kobe Bryant. Mikael Pietrus is a good defender, but he cannot guard Kobe by himself. He contested many of Bryant's shot attempts very well, but that is not enough to stop Kobe. You must double team him and make his teammates beat you, and besides Derek Fisher, the Lakers do not have players who have big game experience.

The Magic may have to adopt their own version of the "Bad Boy" Pistons "Jordan Rules." Only make the rules for guarding Kobe Bryant. Kobe is not a big guy, and has no where near the physique of a Lebron James.

When he drives to the hoop, you must not only foul him, but foul him hard. Also, once the whistle is blown for a foul, and he continues his path to the basket anyway, keep bumping and annoying him. James Posey used this approach last year for the Celtics in the NBA Finals against Kobe and it was quite successful.

If Kobe thinks he could get hurt or lose his energy and focus by driving to the basket, he becomes a far less dangerous player as a jump shooter. You do not want to purposely hurt him, but you must do what you have to do to win.

This is for the NBA championship. Not many players have won one, let alone played in one. Do what needs to be done to win the series. Nobody remembers who lost and how good they were that season, just the winners, and what they did to make their team play harder, smarter, and better that series. Losing is bad enough, especially on this stage, but losing when a team did not put forth their best effort is just embarrassing and unacceptable.