The real story of the NBA Finals' Game 3

I watched game 3 last night, listened to the horrendous commentating by Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy, listened to all of the sports talk shows today, and have not heard the first intelligent word, phrase, or sentence concerning the game. People in this country have next to nil basketball knowledge. Therefore, I'm here to provide for you a truthful account of the hows and whys of last night's game.

First off, too much has been made of Orlando's amazing shooting percentage, 62.5% from the field, 76.7% inside the 3 point arc. The argument has run like this..... 'The magic had to have the best shooting game in NBA Finals history just to beat the Lakers." Well, yeah, and in Game 2 it took the Lakers overtime to beat a team that didn't shoot nearly as well AND had over 20 turnovers. So what's your point?

Let me enlighten the "experts" on TV that the point they are missing is that this is the WORST defense in NBA finals history by both teams! Neither of these teams can guard a toilet see! The Orlando Magic shot such a blistering percentage because they had better offensive spacing in game 3 than in the first two games and were not guarded. It opened up early outside shooting opportunities and that opened up driving lanes for Rafer Alston and Turkoglu. When you repeatedly put pressure on the paint every trip, scoring becomes easy. Not a single expert has had the basketball knowledge to mention that little fact.

What they have concentrated on was Kobe Bryant. Was it his fault or not? Is he tired or not? Can he do it by himself or not? Well, the answers are Yes, it doesn't matter, and no! Yes it was his fault they lost! He played like shit! Kobe played bad! For you L.A. and Kobe fans who didn't have a heart attack from someone saying that, let me explain why. Kobe too twice as many shots as any of his teammates. Kobe made 7 of his first 9 shots, but then only made 4 or his next 16, one of which was a basket with a half second left that was meaningless. So he had essentially gone 3 of 15 after his first half flurry. Meanwhile, his teammate Pau Gasol went 9 of 11. I.e., he took 11 shots and made 9 of them. By not giving Pau Gasol the ball more, the Lakers are cutting their own throat. Gasol is the ideal center to run the triangle offense through. He's mobile and skilled. As for Kobe being tired, you're not tired if you go 3-15 down the stretch. Yeah, he's played more games than anyone in the last 24 months, but a few games ago he went for 40! 24 months of fatigue didn't suddenly catch up with him in 24 minutes of the second half. Obviously sports writers with 40+ inch waist know little about fintess and conditioning.

Furthermore, Dwight Howard has not fared well when guarding him. Howard is more athletic, stronger, and quicker, but Gasol is smarter and more skilled.

"The big strong guys are always taking from the little guys, but the smart guys, they take from every body." - Pete Carril

What the legendary Princeton coach was saying there, and his teams proved time and again, was that you didn't have to be the best athlete if you had skill and played intelligently. That's what Gasol does, and he can eat the Magic alive whether Howard or anyone else is guarding him. If I were Phil Jackson, we would have a rule, unless it was a fast break bucket, or a lay up, no one shot until the ball had gone through Gasol. If the Lakers did this, they would notice that they were beating the Magic by about 22 points a game! Kobe would get his points on less shots because he wouldn't have to work as hard for them, and this series would be over a lot sooner than it otherwise will be. Gasol is the ideal player to run the Triangle Offense through.

As mentioned, the defense by both teams in this series is atrocious. The help defense by both teams is rare if ever existent. What's more, I've seen more bad pick and rolls by the Magic lead to baskets than I can count, but the Lakers have struggled with the pick and roll throughout the playoffs. If the Magic could dress out John Stockton and Karl Malone for the next three games this series would get silly!

The Magic offense, as mentioned had better spacing for game three which was responsible for the easier shots of which they certainly made. However, they have one of the biggest and most athletic players in the league on the post, and rarely throw him the ball on the block. They typically throw it to Howard on a hi-lo weak side pin, or on the roll of a pick and roll. By doing so this rarely gives the other team time to double team him. Double teams on Howard would give the other perimeter players for Orlando open shots and driving lanes. Now, there is the problem that Howard is not nearly as skilled as Gasol. He is limited offensively. Largely because he has never been truly coached. His only real move is a running hook that he has worked on, but short arms often. He also drops the ball too low too often for guards to swipe at and he spends too much time and too many dribbles gathering himself due to poor footwork. It would behoove Howard to spend the summer watching footwork from old films of Kevin McHale, Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Hakeem Olajouwan. They did in 3 steps what it takes Howard to do in 5-7 steps. However, despite his offensive limitations, give him the ball enough on the post and he will command attention. After all Shaquille is still limited offensively, and very few teams choose to NOT double him, even though he's 76 now! But, Magic maintain the good spacing and you'll have a chance to win any game.

Lamar Odom has had a pretty good series. He's shooting a good percentage and making some plays, in fact, you might could argue that along with Gasol, he should be getting more touches in scoring range. However, again, this is due to bad defense and possibly scouting by the Magic. If Odom ever loses use of his left hand he will be able to neither brush his teeth or wipe his ass! Magic defenders, make Odom go right! He will not score!

Now, back to Mr. Bryant, the most beloved player of sports commentators since his Airness.... Here's some advice Kobe..... Instead of trying to go out and win this championship without Shaq and all of that other nonsensical media BS...... Go try to get a triple double! You have guys on your team that can flat score the ball! Derek Fisher rarely misses a big shot late in games. Odom finishes well, you have some decent shooters, and Gasol is the most underused scorer in the game. You don't have to shoot 25 shots a game, in fact, you're hurting your team! It was your fault that the Lakers lost that game. Get Gasol the ball more. He needs 17+ shots a game! Maybe 25, he shoots an incredible percentage and puts pressure on the paint. Putting pressure on the paint is the ONLY key necessity for a successful offense in basketball. Fall away jumpers from 22 feet don't put pressure on the paint.