Stan Vandy Gundy’s coaching acuity seems to have shrunken about a core of indecision. Maybe there is some truth to Shaq’s madness. Being a “master of panic” can be synonymous with indecision.  In game 2, his scratch-lotto esque lineup played almost the entire 4th Quarter with no true PG. Rafer Alston sat on the bench watching Turkoglu try to push the ball up the floor. After losing game 2, Rafer “Skip to My Lou” Alston had a terrific game 3 en route to a Magic victory. Then once again in game 4, SVG benched Alston for much of the 4th Quarter, and watched the Magic and oft-injured PG Jameer Nelson choke the game away.  Not sure if SVG has checked the Magic program lately, but Alston has about 3 inches on Nelson.  Maybe Alston could have gotten a hand in Derek Fisher’s face at the end of game 4.

The Orlando Magic may be the most resilient group of players in the NBA we have seen in recent memory. They have already shown on a number of occasions, of note being Cavaliers game 2 of the Conference Finals, that they have the proclivity for excellence following heartbreak. But is the uncertainty and vilification that now surrounds SVG holding this team back? The Magic have 3 legitimate all-stars on their team, one of them, Howard, being arguably the best in the NBA not named Kobe or Lebron. This is a great team that has been on the wrong side of the fate of two or three shots, but they have also have had a hand in digging the 3-1 hole they now face. No team has ever won the finals from a 3-1 deficit.

Opposing forces are at work for the Magic; SVG’s indecision, and the resilience of the players. And we all know what happens when opposing forces act upon one another.

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Somewhat enigmatic in our rhetoric. Didn’t really come up with a definitive prediction. So we are going to just take a guess. We’ve been pretty solid guessing winners throughout this series, as well as the playoffs.

Magic 97 Lakers 89