Coming into the Eastern Conference Finals, the Orlando Magic were on a 14-game win streak. After convincing sweeps of their opponents through the first two rounds of the playoffs, Orlando is now down 3-0 to the Boston Celtics. Nobody could have seen this collapse coming. I picked the Celtics to win the series, but I thought it would be a dogfight that would last seven games. Now, Boston Celtics fans are gleefully rummaging through their closets and garages for their brooms.
The Magic collided with the Celtics at the top of their game, and haven’t been able to put together a full 48-minutes of good basketball yet. What is the most concerning point with the Magic’s performance is that the one thing they can control – effort – has been sorely lacking during numerous stretches throughout the series so far. Their performance has been nothing short of embarrassing so far, with sloppy play, indecisive offensive execution, and lack of tenacity on defense.
Before the series, I highlighted two players who would be key to Orlando’s success: Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis. Both have fallen short of expectations and are big reasons to why the Magic’s season is now in jeopardy.
Howard’s best game came in game two during the Magic’s most-spirited performance, where he put together a 30 point, 8 rebound performance in an Orlando loss. However, this strong offensive game was sandwiched by two 3-10 shooting performances, including a 7 point scoring output in game three. More and more, we are seeing how Howard’s lack of refined post moves has made him an unknown quantity on any given night. If he isn’t getting the ball deep in the post or dunking back offensive rebounds, Howard can easily fade into the fabric of the game. Howard has also failed to grab more than eight rebounds over the past two games. As long as Howard continues to contribute these types of pedestrian outputs on the glass and on the offensive end, the Magic have no chance of winning against the focused Celtics.
And then there’s Lewis. The $118-million dollar man. I had raved about his hot shooting-streak in the playoffs and his ability to stretch opposing defenses. Coming into this series, Lewis was averaging over 16 points per game and shooting an impressive 46% from downtown (24-52). Against the Celtics, Lewis has been passing up shots, missing the shots he is taking, and playing an altogether uninspired series. Just how bad has it been? Lewis hasn’t scored over six (yes, six) points in any game this series, is shooting just 25% from the field and has only made one three-pointer out of his 13 attempts. Lewis has received big minutes too, so lack of playing time can’t be pointed to as a culprit for his drop in productivity.
Interestingly, the poor play of both players is almost certainly related. Both Lewis and Howard feed off of eachother’s strong play. When Howard dominates the paint, opposing defenses are forced to send double-teams to slow him down, freeing up perimeter players (like Lewis) for open shots. Boston has committed to playing Howard man-up, only sending double-teams when absolutely necessary. Howard hasn’t been able to take advantage of this luxury, allowing Boston’s perimeter defense to stay on their own defensive assignments. This has forced Orlando into inconsistent one-on-one play which has led to a stagnant offense.
The Magic are a team that is just one-year removed from the NBA Finals and had one of the best regular seasons in the league. Yet their startlingly bad series begs the question of whether Orlando might need to make some changes to their current roster or perhaps their coaching staff. As a veteran team, Orlando’s difficulties can’t be blamed on growing pains or other similarly hollow excuses. While it is entirely impossible that the Magic just caught the Celtics in a perfect storm of chemistry and focus, there is no excuse for their ongoing inability to match Boston’s intensity in this series on a consistent basis.
Do you have faith that the Magic will return to contending form next season or do you think that this series is telling of trouble brewing in Orlando?
