An interesting coincidence regarding two famous NBA playoff choke jobs

One of those classic chokes, of course, happened two days ago, with the Orlando Tragic gagging on 15 free throws in a pressure-packed Game 4 at home.  Anytime I see an NBA team blow a game by missing that many free throws, I'm always reminded of what I consider to be the preeminent NBA playoff choke job of this decade.  That, of course, was Game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals, which coincidentally featured the L.A. Lakers, and which even more coincidentally, featured Mr. Hedo Turkoglu.    In that awful 2002 finale, the Sacramento Kings, who two days earlier had been robbed by cheating referees in the famously rigged Game 6 in L.A., simply fell apart at the free throw line at home in Game 7.  Incredibly, the Kings choked on almost half of their free throws that afternoon, their wobbly knees leading to 14 misses in only 30 attempts.    I bring this up because Turkoglu, who missed five free throws two nights ago, including three out of four huge ones in the 4th quarter, was playing for the Kings that day, and wouldn't you know it, a much younger Hedo couldn't knock them down that day, either.  He attempted four free throws and went a sad 1-4.  All those misses by Hedo and his high-flying teammates were just enough to let the Lakers get the game into overtime, where they overpowered the mentally fragile Kings (or the Queens, as they've been known ever since).   I would do anything for someone at... [More]

Lakers-Magic - don't ignore the regular season stats

A lot of gamblers will mistakenly tell you that regular season results are meaningless when handicapping playoff games, but those guys are usually the ones who have no idea how to go about doing any research, not to mention probably being too lazy to bother.  The fact is, regular season results are a valuable body of evidence in revealing the true personality of a team.  And over an 82-game NBA regular season, certain tendencies, both good and bad, become so obvious in their repetition that they practically wave to you like an old friend.  And if you can find tendencies that continue into the playoffs, or better yet - become even stronger - well, now you've really got something.  Luckily for us, this year's NBA Finals pits two teams that have enjoyed stability and success for at least several seasons, and over the last two seasons, few major roster changes (with the exception of the rigged trade for Pau Gasol, who played in 59 games for the Lakers last season).   Both of these teams have developed a distinct character.  Everyone is more familiar with that of the Lakers because they get much more media coverage than any other team in the league.  Orlando's is more of a secret to the casual fan or bettor, but the Magic have quietly become the most dangerous team in basketball when seeking revenge, and no other team rights the ship faster following a loss than the Orlando Magic.   I hope the "experts" on ESPN don't harp on this ... [More]