Courtney Lee is No Robert Horry
NBA, Video June 8th. 2009, 9:45am
Series over? Probably. Of course, nobody would be talking about a sweep or crafting excuses to escape work and attend the parade if Courtney Lee’s layup at the end of regulation had gone down. Choke? Eh. He’s a rookie and it was a tough angle – tremendous pass by Hedo, though; terrific play call by Ron Jeremy SVG (even Kobe said so) – but in practice, he makes that probably eight times out of 10, so we see where TJ Simers is coming from. As the shot slid off the rim, we fell to the ground and slapped the carpet in anger. Who doesn’t want a competitive NBA Finals?
Really impressed with Stan Van Gundy last night. He’s willing to adapt – lots of Gortat and Howard together in the first half, and it worked defensively. And he’s up for trying new things on the fly – Redick at PG with Pietrus, Hedo, Lewis and Howard down the stretch. SVG’s come a long way since struggling early in the Boston series.
Lakers MVP of the game: Lamar Odom (19-8) and Pau Gasol (24-10). Odom’s free agent value keeps rising; Gasol remains an underrated interior force – an unkempt Rik Smits.
Magic MVP of the game: Rashard Lewis (34 points).
Oh-so-brief hero: JJ Redick, who made his first shot of the finals late in the fourth from the corner. It felt like Duke all over again … and then he missed an open three in OT and then turned it over. And anyone viewing in Chapel Hill erupted in laughter.
Refs: Bad. Both ways. Dwight Howard should vent today (Andrew Bynum hasn’t earned that right yet), and then avoid whining Tuesday night.
Joining the summer witness protection program if the Magic get swept: Courtney Lee.
106 Responses to “Courtney Lee is No Robert Horry”
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June 8th, 2009 at 9:48 am
I missed most of the game, so I can’t comment on the refs, but Lee should have made the lay-up. It was a tough shot, but he should have made it. Kobe was bailed out after not passing to a wide open Odom and shooting it with 4 dudes all over him. I like the Magic to win the next game though. Game 4 should be awesome.
June 8th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Except so much better.
June 8th, 2009 at 9:50 am
on the play with 9 seconds left by Lee, even a 2 year guy gets the cheap foul called. He got hit on the follow through.
Then Kobe should have passed it to three different dudes, so one of them could have made it, and you could have dogged him.
Then poor Lee blows the bunny. I feel bad for the kid.
June 8th, 2009 at 9:52 am
fuck JJ Redick
June 8th, 2009 at 9:53 am
you, being a stat man, should have looked up the career Smits had in Indy.
June 8th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Gasol and Odom dominated last night. Did anyone even notice Kobe was playing (besides the refs)?
Ive said all year that Courtney Lee is the Magics worst player. Two missed layups in the last minute will not change my mind.
June 8th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Gasol remains an underrated interior force – an unkempt Rik Smits.
Except so much better.
Not even a remotely fair comparison. Gasol is so incredibly fluid, and poor Smits could barely walk his feet hurt so much.
June 8th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Kobe’s ever so slight hold/push made the difference. Threw off Lee’s angle.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:03 am
I like how everybody says “perfect pass” when he ended up catching it on his way under the backboard. Maybe you say “good pass,” since Lee was so totally wide open.
It was a great play (SVG), a great idea (to catch Kobe cheating), well executed (good pass) and an unfortunate miss. But Courtney Lee didn’t lose the Magic that game. Lee shouldn’t have had the ball in his hands with 6 seconds on the shot clock and 15 in the game with no help.
I refuse to dog Courtney Lee.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:05 am
I’ll dog Dwight Howard, though. Last possession, 35 secs left, tie game. Get your smiling ass on the low block, draw the double, but split it going to the hoop and get a shot up while getting fouled. If you’re the Big Man in this league, that’s your play.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Now I’ll dog Kobe. Pass it, you greedy fucker. You’re getting the MVP trophy. Odom, wide open, Ariza, wide open, Fisher wide open. You – one against 4, including 3 6-10 guys. Pass the ball.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:06 am
not only did lee get held by kobe, but gasol rattled the net
not going to get a call on that play on the road.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Tony Battie, JJ Redick and Adonal Foyle beg to differ
June 8th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Kobe played mediocre for him (although he’s staying away from 10 for 30 nights, which is big for them when he can rely on the Pau and Lamar). I thought the Lakers defense was actually pretty damn good, scrambling all over the place..they’re giving up some open threes, but it’s impossible not to. Lewis was freaking beastly last night, and Turk had a great second half.
Officiating disrupted that game for three quarters badly. Too many whistles.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:08 am
still got a great look for him…about a 13 foot jump shot, you can’t account for guys coming from behind. great block. He killed Hedo off the dribble there.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Agreed.
I like the no PG look for the Magic (Rafer is returning to form) but not with Redick. Lee-Pietrus-Hedo-Lewis-Howard should be the lineup. I’d also like to see them go big with Pietrus-Hedo-Lewis-Gortat-Howard with Hedo running the point.
And while Kobe definitely broke down Hedo at the end of regulation, it did seem like his length was giving him problems.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Gasol vs. Smits (thru 8 seasons)
June 8th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Feel bad for Lee. Could have made Kobe the “Dog of the Series” by being a ballhog, then getting beat backdoor for the game winner.
Nice of Orlando to miss all the wide open shots for the 2nd game in a row… Where was that in the EC Finals?
June 8th, 2009 at 10:14 am
I see NickP has a fan
June 8th, 2009 at 10:14 am
I agree with this. He has looked pretty soft in the first 2 games.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:15 am
There is nothing worse than watching Pau Gasol.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:17 am
soft?
June 8th, 2009 at 10:18 am
irish think they can get all 3 at home?
June 8th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Van Gundy is a choke job.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:20 am
how is lee at fault for missing the shot prior to the last-second one?
shot clock was down, he was off balance … good shot, just didn’t fall.
why not blame Hedo/Lewis for not getting the ball in that spot?
(feel free to call Lee the Nick Anderson of the series for the buzzer shot, tho)
June 8th, 2009 at 10:21 am
@irish
No, fuck Rafer Alston. That guy makes Paul Shirley look like Micheal Jordan. I have no idea how they run him out there in the NBA Finals. He should have stuck with the And 1 all stars where he was decent.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:21 am
hold on, i’ve got to get the door, Megan Fox and Jessica Biel just arrived
June 8th, 2009 at 10:21 am
No way, he’s making lineup adjustments that seemed to slow the Lakers down, he’s drawing up great plays with the game on the line… that’s such a Bill Simmons knee-jerk reaction (and I usually like your posts).
June 8th, 2009 at 10:22 am
hypothetical: If Lee’s shot goes in, does it get nearly the same amount of coverage as LeBrons did?
June 8th, 2009 at 10:22 am
I dont know what Dwight has been doing, he should be killing Gasol and instead has reverted back to the guy with absolutely no offense moves outside of dunks and putbacks. Surprising how bad he looks when not playing against a 7 foot marshmallow (Ilgauskus), Sideshow Bob, or the corpse of Ben Wallace.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Yes, soft. All the power moves that we’ve seen from him throughout the regular season are missing. There have been multiple times where all he had to do is drop step and power up. Instead, he’s throwing misguided hook shots and throwing the ball away.
He’s even posting up soft. There were times where he was being pushed out to the elbow.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Yes sparty, but only because Kobe was guarding him.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:24 am
No way, he’s making lineup adjustments that seemed to slow the Lakers down, he’s drawing up great plays with the game on the line
exactly cursed
June 8th, 2009 at 10:24 am
He doesn;t look soft, he looks nervous. I apologize for wanting to get Howard the ball more earlier in the playoffs. Turkoglu and Lewis need to tocuh the ball as much as physically possible. Howard fumbled WAAAYYYYYY to many inbounds passes. SVG made sure he clogged up the middle and got his fast guards to be aggressive on D early. Anyone notice that regulation ended at like 10:45 last night, game was real sloppy but went by pretty quickly considering it was an NBA finals game.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:24 am
if only he hadn’t hit 6 three’s in this bloody game
June 8th, 2009 at 10:25 am
guess we are watching different games. Who is your team NGNG?
June 8th, 2009 at 10:25 am
HA!
June 8th, 2009 at 10:26 am
Refs arent allowing Howard to run helpless defenders over this series. Without that, he will have to settle for his gross hook shot.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:26 am
Gasol had his hands in the cookie jar on that missed tip by Lee:
http://www.theworldofisaac.com/2009/06/goaltending-on-pau-gasol.html
June 8th, 2009 at 10:27 am
@Maggs- Rafer has been playing like shit. I hope he is gone after this. good to see you back commenting
June 8th, 2009 at 10:27 am
SVG’s been great, guys are just missing shots. That bench went from huge last series to non-existent, 1-8 from 3 last night. Pietrus needs to put the Kobe shoes back on.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:28 am
But in regards to Van Gundy… Why is JJ dribbling around and attempting to be a factor on offense. Cut that shit out.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:29 am
I’m a Bulls fan, but I THOUGHT the Magic could take down the Lakers.
Maybe Jersey is right. Maybe it’s just nervousness. At any rate irish, you can’t truthfully say D-Ho is playing like D-Ho from the season or any othe series. Yes, the Lakers are longer than any other team they have faced in the playoffs, but he shouldn’t be looking like this.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:29 am
I don’t think D-Ho is nervous at all. He’s had 32 tweets, 56 blog posts and filmed 1 commercial since they eliminated the Cavs.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:29 am
JJ Reddick with the ball late in the game is great coaching. I like the Courtney Lee call. But not enough plan B’s for Stan.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Of course I did. He was a 7′4″ guy who could shoot but not rebound. A poor man’s Z.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Rik Smits = Yao Ming – and I’m complimenting Yao Ming here.
Rik Smits played for a team where he played a lot of high post, like Gasol, and his passing was similar. And he was underrated, which is similar.
But he was slower, much taller, and completely different. He also didn’t get a lot of rebounds because he played the majority of his career with Antonio and Dale Davis, both rebounding machines, and he played a little further away from the basket than you’d expect from a 7′4″ guy. Plus he never played a complete season after his 2nd year in the league. He had hurt feet. He had great feet, but they were always hurt. Like Yao Ming.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Of course I did. He was a 7′4″ guy who could shoot but not rebound. A dutch man’s Z.
He learned very early in the Philly series that they will call every potential offensive foul, 3 second violation and travel will likely be more likely be called in the playoffs than they were during the reg season.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Mark Eaton > Rick Smits
June 8th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Mark Eaton > Kareem
June 8th, 2009 at 10:37 am
no crack before 11 am. that’s a rule here.
yao’s the best center in the NBA – for now, he owns Dwight head to head – and the dunking dutch oven isn’t in his class.
smits was a fine center in his time. tough to rebound when the davis brothers are inhaling anything on the glass
June 8th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Rik Smits never had the same game once Randy Wittman left the Pacers.
/Hernia’d
June 8th, 2009 at 10:39 am
TBL loves injury prone centers
June 8th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Mark Eaton > Olajuwon
June 8th, 2009 at 10:40 am
If the Cavs had Mark Eaton they roll to a championship.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Randy Breuer > Randy Wittman
June 8th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Chuck Nevitt
June 8th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Those were points 49 and 50 for Eaton that game.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Can Dwight go left? He has the left spin wide open all game and didn’t even attempt it once. Hasn’t Pat Ewing coached him to feel where the defender is? I feel bad for the kid right now. He is getting eaten up out there.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Awesome, Sleepy Floyd!
June 8th, 2009 at 10:48 am
Thats ridiculous, the play wasn’t called for JJ, it was just good defense and ball denial by the lakers. JJ was only in there because Raefer couldn’t hit the rim and Pietrus has awoken from his 2 week dream where he couldn’t miss and has remembered that he F’in sucks.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:51 am
he F’in sucks
bitter Cavs fan. Better than Wally S shooting air balls in elimination games
June 8th, 2009 at 10:51 am
The difference is the refs. Vs the Cavs, they let him do whatever the F he wanted. He was riding on the perimeter all series.
Now they’re calling that shit, and he can’t stay on the court.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:53 am
True, but that’s still not much of a compliment. Wally blows.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:53 am
dont blame the refs, man.
the magic are getting the same looks they did against cleveland – they’re just not makin them. cavs and lakers both doubled dwight, and he kicked out to the gunners. they’re just missing now.
i’d say the lakers doubles have been slightly more effective (7 turnovers last night) and they aren’t letting him get as deep in the lane to spin and get easy scores. i think that’ll change in orlando (as it did in the cleveland series)
June 8th, 2009 at 10:54 am
No, in fact if he gets the ball anywhere except the left block he is more likely to turn the ball over than actually score. I know its a wild idea but the Lakers are actively trying to keep him off that one spot, Mike Brown thinks this is insane.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Move out of the trailer park
June 8th, 2009 at 10:55 am
/accurate’d
June 8th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Wally blows
He makes Brent Barry look like an All Star
June 8th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Exactly no plan B’s. They didnt think there was a possibility for Double teams. You get doubled rotate that ball. around the perimeter like they did against Cleveland. They acted like they didnt know what the fuck to do.
Did you see the big European shoot a 3 and Air ball that shit?
June 8th, 2009 at 10:59 am
I love Brent Barry. Would much rather have him than Wally.
The Spurs missed him this year.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Hell yes I’m bitter, if Pietrus shoots his season avg of 35% for 3 instead of the 47% he did in the ECF its a whole different series. Now all of a sudden he’s a fouling machine that can’t hit a shot.
I never blame refs, but it has to be mentioned that there were some incredibly weak fouls on the Magic with a few minutes left last night, Kobe got 3 non-touch fouls and an offensive on Hedo that was trash.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Pietrus fouled out in 23 minutes. This is an insult to the Cavs who watched him get away with molesting LeBron for 6 games.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:03 am
I think your perception of what constitutes an offensive foul is skewed because you see LeBron getting away with clearing out with his off hand 100% of the time.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:04 am
@NickP- i said Brent Barry because of that comparison you made to Rashard Lewis before. What is up with your fan Mr Papag?
June 8th, 2009 at 11:08 am
It goes both ways. LeBron got away with 6 charges a game in that series.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Hell yes I’m bitter, if Pietrus shoots his season avg of 35% for 3 instead of the 47% he did in the ECF its a whole different series. Now all of a sudden he’s a fouling machine that can’t hit a shot.
maybe cleveland should have guarded him, or at least run out when he was shooting a wide open 3. Or were they too busy choreographing their NBA championship dances?
June 8th, 2009 at 11:09 am
@irish: Not sure what’s going on there. I don’t think he knew.
I remember that comment. I meant it. Rashard will still be a nice player (great shooters tend to age very well), but I just don’t think he’ll be worth his salary. Then again, most old players aren’t.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:11 am
And Pietrus is fouling out because Kobe is forcing the refs to blow the whistle. He gets calls, we all know it, he knows it, and he simply has to look affected by Pietrus, and he gets the call. A lot of those calls were shit, but Kobe gets calls.
Lebron drives to the basket like a north/south running back. If a guy bounces off of you and you are seemingly unaffected, why would the ref blow the whistle? So they spent the whole series baiting Lebron to shoot 27 footers, or drive 1 against 4.
Let’s stop talking about the Cavs, though, as they sucked.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:14 am
So you’re saying Lebron doesn’t get enough calls? I agree.
Kevin Martin averaged more free throws than Lebron. All that needs to be said, imo.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:16 am
So you’re saying Lebron doesn’t get enough calls? I agree.
I’m saying mature. Sell the calls you need. Shoot some pull up jumpers. Don’t just barrel toward the basket with no plan other than to beat everybody in the whole world and then wonder why the refs aren’t giving an out of control guy the benefit of the doubt time and time again.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:18 am
His integrity is too important to start playing like a pussy.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Kobe shoots free throws at the end of close games. Lebron barrels toward the basket or chucks a 3.
Dwight Howard lets Courtney Lee try and create. Go get the ball, big boy.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:20 am
in the nba, 29 is old?
June 8th, 2009 at 11:20 am
His integrity is too important to start playing like a pussy.
The guy sells poorly constructed Chinese lawnmowers. He’s not exactly brimming with integrity.
At least get a 10 foot pull up. That shot will be open for Lebron every minute for the rest of his life.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:22 am
He wasn’t even touched on 2 of the fouls, the 3rd one there was minimal contact, so he has that going for him. I agree Dwight should have been more aggressive at the end of the game, even it he was struggling.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:24 am
No its not.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Lakers D has been good. Enough with Dwight needs to step up, he had 7 TO and got blocked 3 times. He is a key part of the offense but needs to hit the open man when they try and double him. If they can get Gasol gaurding Rashard out by 3 point land they need to take it all day. Problem is O town has not answer for him on the Defensive end either Rashard or Gortat. Gasol and Odom can both beat their men off the dribble and are both good passers and Dwight can only be on one of them.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:26 am
No, but Rashard will be making $24 million when he’s 33.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:29 am
it’s closer to old than it is to young.
better barometer is total games played…KG has over 1,000 games played, kobe has over 1,200 games played. while KG and kobe have been around forever, they’re still around 29 years old, but both clearly aren’t as athletic as they once were.
i’d say the 29 is the nba equivalent of a 55-year old normal dude.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:31 am
@Nick- $22 mill non-guaranteed at that age
June 8th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Thats fucking ridiculous.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:34 am
bo…it’s really not if you think about it. shard’s been in the league 10 or 11 years and will probably be done in another 5. being 55 years old assumes you’re pretty much 2/3 through your career, much like shard is now.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Large expiring contracts have a TON of value in the nba, even if the player does not.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Who gives a shit if his contract is bad in 5 years? You the guys who didnt want to give Posey the extra year?
June 8th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Spence hes has peaked. Who peaks when they are 55?
June 8th, 2009 at 11:42 am
normal people in regards to their career.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:44 am
nobody in the nba at age 33, short of jordan/lebron/kobe are worth $24 mil.
and even then, it’s pushing it.
lewis is a main reason why these guys are in the finals, though. if not for a lee layup …
June 8th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Pornstars?
June 8th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
personal fouls: ORL – 24 LAL – 25
June 8th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Spence hes has peaked. Who peaks when they are 55?
I’ll let you know in a few years. I’m still climbing
June 8th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Posey’s overrated. He would have made little difference in the Magic series. We needed a better rebounding PF, not a perimeter “stopper.”
June 8th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
TBL Godfather, I can’t remember the last time you contributed more horseshit than in this statement. Ah, still sour grapes and bitter about Lebron I guess …
June 8th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Yeah, TBL Godfather, that’s also why Kobe “got the call” on that ball that went out of bounds off his thigh right …he was at the Staples Center …dude what were you drinking when watching the same game?
June 8th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
TBL Godfather the rest of the comments are pretty good as usual, but just get rid of your Lebron bitterness like most of those who come on here and put down the Lakers after a win every single time! Most are just Cleveland and not coincidentally OSU or Big 10 homers for that matter anyway.
June 8th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
The Magic are getting some of the same looks, but not all, not even close to all. First, Pau has done a great job (I can’t believe I’m saying this) off keeping D-Ho further out than 5 feet. Look where he’s getting the ball…nowhere in position to score, and he can’t just face up against Pau the way he did against Z.
Also, the Lakers helter skelter trap sporadically defense has confused Orlando and hampered their execution. They have no idea where the doubles are coming from.