# Game #39:The Orlando Magic (31-8) @ Los Angeles Lakers (31-7) [1/16]



## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

*When: Friday, January 16th 2008
Time: 7:30 PM Pacific (9:30 CT)
Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
TV: ESPN, FSN West
Radio: AM 570 KLAC*


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Extremely important game in my opinion. Orlando has been on a roll including beating us last time. They are potentially a finals matchup and have been under a lot of peoples radar this season.

Got to take care of business at home and hold on to the first place spot.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

We had better win this...


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## Prolific Scorer (Dec 16, 2005)

Appreciate the love on the Magic boards Darth Bryant!

Either way whoever wins I just want both teams to bring their 'A Games'...win or lose.

Should be a battle tonight, it's always fun to watch #24 in action.

Good luck tonight Laker/Magic fans!

But :sparta:


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Prolific Scorer said:


> Appreciate the love on the Magic boards Darth Bryant!
> 
> Either way whoever wins I just want both teams to bring their 'A Games'...win or lose.
> 
> ...


I'm one of those people that think the Magic have been severely overlooked by everyone including the Lakers.. That's what worry's me. I hope the Lakers step up tonight!

Good luck to you guys!

:cheers:


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

Another revenge game. Hopefully Bynum can stay out of foul trouble, and hopefully we don't give up more than 15 threes tonight.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

I'm not expecting Bynum to work miracles on Howard.. I mean Howard is the best center in the game today. But I do expect Bynum to play smarter defense than last time.. As well as get back to rebounding and boxing out.

Lately I've been very unhappy with Bynums score first, rebound second mentality. Although it's hard to fault him for something the entire team seems to do most of the time (except for Kobe, who has been stellar on both ends the last month). He really needs to get at least his average in rebounds tonight, none of this 2-3 rebounds and 18 points bull****.


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## Prolific Scorer (Dec 16, 2005)

Darth Bryant said:


> I'm not expecting Bynum to work miracles on Howard.. I mean Howard is the best center in the game today. But I do expect Bynum to play smarter defense than last time.. As well as get back to rebounding and boxing out.
> 
> Lately I've been very unhappy with Bynums score first, rebound second mentality. Although it's hard to fault him for something the entire team seems to do most of the time (except for Kobe, who has been stellar on both ends the last month). He really needs to get at least his average in rebounds tonight, none of this 2-3 rebounds and 18 points bull****.


To be honest with you, there were definately some questionable calls on Bynum in the first Magic/Lakers matchup.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Prolific Scorer said:


> To be honest with you, there were definately some questionable calls on Bynum in the first Magic/Lakers matchup.


True, but you gotta pay your dues and earn star treatment. Right or wrong, it's how the NBA is played. Howard put in his dues, now he is getting the star treatment. Bynum needs to put in a season of high level before he can expect anything near the same. 


But you are right, some of those fouls were total crap. And Bynum being 21, it's not hard to get in his head. After the first few fouls he just went down hill fast.


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

These guys can flat out bomb it from downtown, so we need to be careful packing everything in the lane. This is a very smart and unselfish team. I don't consider this a statement game. This is a 'play your best to win' game.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

It would be great if we could beat the Magic tonight and Cleveland on Monday and create a LITTLE breathing room in the standings. Tonight is the type of game where we need to see Championship-form Lakers come out and play, not regular season Lakers. Turn it up a notch and play your asses off on BOTH ends of the floor.


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

*Well neither teams played yesterday so nobody can complain about being tired, so i fully except both teams to bring their A game. Best of lucks, but like prolific said ..:sparta:*


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## Damian Necronamous (Jun 10, 2002)

I don't want to sound like the "typical NBA fan" who says that the Magic are overrated despite their record, _buuuuuut_....

The Magic are overrated despite their record. They are not as good as the Lakers. LA should win by 8-10pts on their home floor.


There, I said it.


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## Blue (Jun 21, 2007)

^ The Magic play with a chip on their shoulder. They arent bowing down to anybody(especially Jameer), but LA is a good team and I expect a close game like the last time that anyone can take. So we'll see who gets it. Been waiting for this one for a while, though.... Should be a very very good game.

:cheers:


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## Lynx (Mar 6, 2004)

I am very afraid about Lakers' perimeter defense in this game.


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## Chan Ho Nam (Jan 9, 2007)

cant wait for this game, i see Jameer running wild


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## sonicFLAME6 (Dec 19, 2006)

Lynx said:


> I am very afraid about Lakers' perimeter defense in this game.


This just in: Fisher/Radman asked, what is perimeter defense?


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

No team has beating us twice, and I fully expect that to remain the same tonight.


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## Blue (Jun 21, 2007)

Happy to be as close as we are. Playing terribly so far....


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Good start for Bynum and Kobe so far..


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Isn't ironic.. Bynum sits down, and literally a second later Howard draws a foul on Gasol and hits two free throws?


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Damn Ariza can't finish anything tonight.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Defense wasn't the best Ive ever seen from the Lakers.... Especially towards the end of the second.. But holding the Magic under 50 isn't to shabby. 

Impressive half from Kobe, and nice to see Bynum taking it to Howard.


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## Lynx (Mar 6, 2004)

Kobe needs to have a control on the ball. He has been turning the ball over lately.


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## Blue (Jun 21, 2007)

Kobe is killin it just like last time. We need to slow him down a lil bit if we want any chance to win one.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Lakers playing so sloppy right now.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Not to mention Lakers stopped doing what got them the lead.. Not going inside enough.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Kobe to Odom.. What a beautiful sequence. But wont matter much if we can't play defense.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Kobe is going ****ing insane right now....


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## Blue (Jun 21, 2007)

Sloppy pass by Dwight. Two sloppy rebounding efforts lead to two back to back 3's for LA. Looks like this one is gonna come down to the wire.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Seriously, when Bynum sits down Gasol in the paint vs Howard is embarrassing almost. Howard looks like he's practicing dunks, while Gasol just stands there or runs out of the way.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Damn, Odom almost got posterized.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

I know Kobe needs rest, but god damn it's scary when he's sitting and the games this close.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Odom is playing like a beast off the bench. I love watching Odom play this aggressive.


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## Laker Freak (Jul 1, 2003)

Am I seeing things or did Anthony Johnson just drive baseline and throw it down with two hands?


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Excellent. Fisher just in time to totally kill the game.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Bynum missing that rebound.. Then Howard getting the two hand jam.. Bynum should be ashamed of himself.


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## Affirmative Action (Aug 15, 2007)

bynum has no pride in his game whatsoever.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Affirmative Action said:


> bynum has no pride in his game whatsoever.


I'm not sure what happened. Contract maybe? I don't know. I'm the biggest Bynum fan on the planet.. But his defense and rebounding has made it very hard to defend him lately. He just seems to be waiting for his turn to score.

If this team wanted Eddy Curry or some other scoring only scrub, they would have went after him. Bynum was supposed to be the anchor.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Holy ****, Kobe got robbed. WOW.


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## Laker Freak (Jul 1, 2003)

That Kobe mugging looked like a makeup call for the Nelson double dribble.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

A tech for Gasol??


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## DNKO (Dec 23, 2008)

Very effed up move, Gasol. Very unprofessional. 


Great game. Gonna be a wild finish.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Wow.. What hustle from Odom!!!!!


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

DNKO said:


> Very effed up move, Gasol. Very unprofessional.
> 
> 
> Great game. Gonna be a wild finish.


Don't be a D-Bag. Gasol held Howard, Howard elbowed in the head twice. So GTFO with that ****.


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## DNKO (Dec 23, 2008)

He got the best of him. If there was less time on a clock, that would be a huge dumb *** move.

You dont react to things like that, unless you're 100% that refs don't see it.

You don't push him in front of the refs.

Tight game.

Magic need a new gameplan. No way in hell the team that lives and dies on long range jumpshots can prevail in any best of 7 series.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Lakers let another three attempt.. Wide ****ing open. Unbelievable.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Couple bad shots by Kobe... ****.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

DNKO said:


> He got the best of him. If there was less time on a clock, that would be a huge dumb *** move.
> 
> You dont react to things like that, unless you're 100% that refs don't see it.
> 
> ...


An elbow is an Elbow. Two of them is two of them. Gasol got caught up in the moment, and did a pathetic attempt to hit?Push? whatever that ***** response of his was. They went to the replay, should have been the a double tech if anything.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

It's a shame when Kobe has such an amazing game... To see him take those last few horrible shots.. When he had the opportunity to find Odom, or Vladi wide open. 

Hopefully he can bail us out.. But it's looking bad now.


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## Affirmative Action (Aug 15, 2007)

kobe played a perfect game for the first 3 quarters then he started playing like an idiot is the reason you guys are losing.


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## DNKO (Dec 23, 2008)

My lord...potential epic ending?


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Jesus Christ...


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Kobe choked it away... I guess asking for 4 clutch games in a row is a little much. But man, having this game would have been nice.

But props to the Magic. They showed up. Exposed the Lakers weakness on defending the three and burned em.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Affirmative Action said:


> kobe played a perfect game for the first 3 quarters then he started playing like an idiot is the reason you guys are losing.


Kobe stopped doing what gave the Lakers the advantage.. When he was getting double teamed he passed the ball to the open man.. 

In the last 3 minutes he wanted to be the hero. Even with being triple teamed at times he tried to shoot the rock and bricked. His last shot was wide open, but he was cold. I think Kobe had a spectacular game, but if he had stuck with what got him the triple dub in the first place, this game might have a better ending for Laker fans.


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## DNKO (Dec 23, 2008)

Upset.

BUT! I wouldn't get too upset if I were a Laker head.

Seeing my first Magic game, I don't see them as any threat in playoffs.

I just don't believe that a team that shoots that much, can get away with that in playoffs.

In season, sure, but playoff games don't resemble season games in any way.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

First time in 20 years... The Magic have swept the Lakers.


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## Lynx (Mar 6, 2004)

I told you our perimeter defense would let us down.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Lynx said:


> I told you our perimeter defense would let us down.


Although I agree that was the main problem..

Kobe's decisions in the fourth were very poor. If Kobe had played smart like the first three, this might have ended differently. It's a sad thing to, when Kobe had such a spectacular game up until then.


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## Affirmative Action (Aug 15, 2007)

Darth Bryant said:


> Kobe stopped doing what gave the Lakers the advantage.. When he was getting double teamed he passed the ball to the open man..
> 
> In the last 3 minutes he wanted to be the hero. Even with being triple teamed at times he tried to shoot the rock and bricked. His last shot was wide open, but he was cold. I think Kobe had a spectacular game, but if he had stuck with what got him the triple dub in the first place, this game might have a better ending for Laker fans.


i posted the same thing on the game thread.


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## Shamrock32 (Jul 28, 2007)

What a huge, huge shot by Nelson. Hell, what a huge game by Nelson. You've got to hand it to Orlando for the way they've grinded tonight. I thought the Orlando defense was as impressive as I've seen it in a while, and they did a good job of closing those defensive possessions out with boards. And my goodness they are shooting the ball unbelievably as of late. I do wonder how long they can keep this kind of shooting up, especially when we're deciphering their chances in a slowed down seven-game series, but you've got to tip your hat to them right now.

Kobe got multiple good looks down the stretch... just came up on the wrong side of a shooting streak.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Not to mention we are so soft. Bynum was supposed to add that toughness this season. But really, he's playing just as soft as Gasol at times. Especially lately.


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## azn kobe jr (May 6, 2006)

I still am sore over the ref's calling on a bunch of plays, like Fisher's 3 pointers.

8 games lost, this one hurt for me.


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## Prolific Scorer (Dec 16, 2005)

> Seeing my first Magic game, I don't see them as any threat in playoffs.




Priceless




Anyways great game Lakers


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

DNKO said:


> Upset.
> 
> BUT! I wouldn't get too upset if I were a Laker head.
> 
> ...


*The magic did it inside and out so.. That's just what you think so i really dont have much to say about your opinion but WE'LL SEE. good game tho.*


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## DNKO (Dec 23, 2008)

Prolific Scorer said:


> Priceless


I have to see how they respond against a team that plays harder D and when long distance shots are not falling.

I'm not taking nothing away from them. They won. And they're the top dogs of the league.


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## Cap (Nov 5, 2003)

What's interesting is that Radman can have some of his best games of the season and yet, in the end, they have no impact on the outcome of games. He still made two terrible (non) closeouts on Lewis, which were drained.


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## Wilt_The_Stilt (Jun 7, 2002)

Why didn't Phil play Powell? He might have helped in the rebounding department. And why didn't he try Ariza on Nelson?

I would have liked to see a Gasol-Powell-Odom-Kobe lineup with Fisher or Sasha at the point. It would have improved our rebounding and we still would have had the quickness to play decent defense on their perimeter bigs.


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## sylaw (Nov 7, 2002)

Lynx said:


> I told you our perimeter defense would let us down.


What perimeter defense? Guys have been getting incredibly wide open looks on us all year. I don't see it changing unless they suddenly decide that it's a problem.


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