Call it Rafer madness for Magic’s Alston in NBA Finals
Rafer Alston blamed his dreadful second half in Game 1 on Stan Van Gundy’s decision to play All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson for the entire second quarter.
In fact, Van Gundy admitted Friday that giving Nelson extended minutes for his first game in four months was a mistake, but the Orlando Magic head coach refused to accept his starting point guard’s “excuse” for why Alston played so poorly.
“The mistake I made was leaving (Nelson) in too long,” Van Gundy said the day after the Lakers’ 100-75 victory to open the NBA Finals. “We’ve got to give Jameer shorter stints. I may have overplayed him and he got tired. As far as Rafer, having that affect his play in the second half, that’s up to him. If I’m looking from the outside, that sounds like an excuse to me.”
Nelson, sidelined since February after having right shoulder surgery, made his playoff debut in Thursday night’s second quarter, with the Magic leading 24-22. Nelson played all 12 minutes and although he proved that he is healthy, the Lakers outscored Orlando 31-19 in the quarter and seized control of the game.
Alston, who was acquired from Houston when Nelson injured his shoulder, shot 2-for-4 in the first quarter only to miss all five of his shots in the second half.
“I’ll give you a good excuse,” a grinning Alston said. “I sat 12 minutes real game time, I sat about 30 minutes real life time. So there’s an excuse.
“It was odd. I mean, I think everyone can see that. That’s unusual to start the game and then you don’t even touch the court in the second quarter. But there’s no pouting, there’s no getting mad, there’s going to be no coach and Alston meeting about it. I’m going to go out here and get ready for Game 2 (tomorrow night) and prepare myself like I have been all playoffs.”
The Magic’s problems run deeper than Van Gundy splitting minutes between his two point guards. Orlando made just 23 field goals in the game, or seven more than Kobe Bryant. Dwight Howard shot 1-for-6, Rashard Lewis was 2-for-10 and Hedo Turkoglu was 3-for-11. Orlando’s top three scorers combined for 33 points.
Whether it was Alston or Nelson running the point, Magic players were getting good shots. They just weren’t making any. Orlando was also outrebounded 55-41.
But the difference in Game 1 was Bryant, who set his career scoring mark in the Finals with 40 points, including 36 through three quarters. Bryant, who has lost his last two Finals, is three wins away from his first championship without Shaquille O’Neal. He will go down as one of the greatest players in league history even if the Lakers fall to the Magic. But one more title would cement Bryant’s legacy.
“The last two times we’ve been to the Finals we came up short,” Bryant said Friday. “This time around we’re just really locked in.
“I’ve been pacing myself all year waiting for these playoffs to come around. The table is set.”
Call it Rafer madness for Magic’s Alston in NBA Finals