The Wild Wild East!

Friday, May 01, 2009
By Jim Feist

Forget about the old Wild Wild West -- the real wildness in the NBA playoffs has been in the East. Orlando survived a one-game suspension to star center Dwight Howard to dispatch the pesky 76ers in six games. It featured a Game 1 where Philadelphia came from 18 down in the second half on the road to steal a win at Orlando, a Game 6 blowout sandwiched around a pair of back to back thrillers.

As an underdog in Game 6, without Howard or guard Courtney Lee, the Magic rolled, 114-89 in Game 6 to win the best-of-seven-game series 4-2. How could that happen? If you factor in the regular season, it happens more than you might think. It is common for role players to come off the bench and step in for injured stars and play well.

Hall of Famer Bill Russell used to point out that teams can get by without a superstar -- for a few games. It is long term that the loss of a star will be felt, as role players that are asked to do too much will begin to fizzle with the increased minutes. In the 1980 playoffs, star center Kareem Abdul Jabaar hurt and ankle and missed Game 6 of the Finals. Yet, as a road dog at Philly, the Lakers won behind a rookie named Magic Johnson playing center.

For Orlando, we saw this again in Game 6 as center Marcin Gortat (11 points, 15 rebounds) and shooting guard J.J. Redick (15 points) played great while stepping in for Howard and Lee. Plus, Mickael Pietrus added 14 points. They outrebounded the Sixers without Howard 41-36 and outscored them 46-29 in the paint. Fortunately, Howard was only suspended one game and will be back. But the loss of Lee bears closer watching, especially the longer they go into the playoffs. There's a reason Redick was moved from starter to the bench over the last two seasons. Let's not forget Orlando lost its top guard in mid-season, Jameer Nelson.

What stood out in the series was Orlando's attention to defense. After that Game 1 collapse, the next four games went under the total as the Magic played a slower, defensive style. The Magic will play the winner of the epic series between the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls, who meet for a Game 7 on Saturday in Beantown. And, boy, has that been a wild series, with a record four overtime games, including one double and one triple OT! Who cares who wins -- will either team have any energy left to face Orlando?

Both teams have blown several games, so whoever loses the series is going to look back and realize they really blew it. Chicago probably should have been up 2-0, blowing Game 2 in Boston, then let a potential victory in Game 5 slip away. The Celtics blew Game 1 when Paul Pierce missed a free throw that would have won it with seconds remaining, then they blew late leads in Games 4 and 6. What has been most noticeable is Boston's lack of defense and their lack of depth.

They were a great team defensively most of the season, but slipped down the stretch after Kevin Garnett went on the shelf. And in the playoffs, it has been even worse. The starters are logging ridiculous minutes because of the overtimes, plus the loss of big men Garnett and Leon Powe. It's difficult to make a case for either team against Orlando or Cleveland following this endless and exiciting series, but it sure has been exciting to watch.