Versatility the Key for Magic, Lakers

Full disclosure: I love the future! Were I a grizzled, seasoned pro, I’d understand that history moves in cycles, and that the more things change, the more they eventually end up the same. More on that later. But enough about me. For all we can say about the underdog Magic, or the predestined Lakers, what fascinates me most about this match-up is what it could mean for the way GM’s, coaches, and even players think about the direction of the game.↵
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↵As much as the Magic have been cast as some sort of uber-traditional “big man surrounded with shooters” squad, that’s hardly their game. For starters, over the course of these playoffs, we’ve established that Dwight Howard is not, and may never be, a traditional, sedentary post player. He’s at his best in motion, whether by land or by air, usually off the pick and roll. Sometimes, this approach enables him to get in position such that either his strength allows him to approximiate back-to-the-basket “moves”; more often, though, motion is the name of the game, and his speed and hops lead to one of those earth-crushing dunks. At his best, as in parts of the Cavs series, you see some of each. ↵
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↵But for now, Howard is not the Next Great Big Man, unless you’re willing to alter your definition of the term. He’s more gigantic young Amare than Baby Shaq—which is not necessarily a bad thing in this system. Don’t forget he’s also the Defensive Player of the Year, the league’s leading rebounder and shot-blocker. So it’s not like his size and intimidation factor are null. It’s all about how Stan Van Gundy uses him at the other end. And from there, a host of weirdness follows.↵
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Take Rashard Lewis. Is he an over-sized three, requiring a banger next to him? That’s what conventional wisdom would say. And yet the Magic are fine with him as their power forward, primarily because he wreaks havoc just by virtue of his one go-to move: A high-percentage three that draws out big men and arcs easily over smaller defenders. That’s not to say that the world needs to go out hunting for more Lewises. However, this creative use of a player in all his individuality, and—chicken/egg alert—putting him in a system that turns him into an all-around asset, transforms him from someone else’s bad fit or liability into a key actor.↵
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↵Why has Hedo Turkoglu been able to maximize his talents in Orlando? Silly rabbit, because they asked him to. He handles the ball. He’s the designated closer. No one’s sure, at any given time, whether he’s a Lewis-esque forward, with more willingness to go inside, or the team’s most important true distributor. Remember, it’s he, as much as Rafer Alston, who runs the pick-and-roll with Howard. And even when All-Star Jameer Nelson held down that position, Turkoglu still had a significant role in these decidedly PG-ish duties. Statistically, his numbers are down slightly from last season, but you could make an argument that it’s his sheer strangeness that allows the Magic to throw off intruders, makes Lewis into a cipher, and turns “big dude plus shooters” inside-out.↵
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↵Which brings us to the Lakers. Their Triangle has never become a part of the mainstream, even if bits and pieces of it have been unwittingly absorbed by other teams, probably to their detriment. But it’s also old news, and demands highly specialized personnel. Kobe Bryant is the prototypical post-Jordan shooting guard; Andrew Bynum, way closer than Howard to the 2009 version of the classic center. But in Gasol, Odom, and to some degree, Trevor Ariza, you have three players whose flexibility is their greatest asset. This has caused problems in past series, since Gasol is never a pure post banger; Odom can’t provide instant offense off the bench, on call; and Ariza is really skinny. ↵
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↵However, while both the Magic and Lakers are ingenious system teams, Orlando allows its most versatile players to blur boundaries and bleed roles. The Triangle leaves room for this; however, it’s not the priority. In this series, though, Phil has to embrace what is, in his basketball philosophy, a well-meaning footnote. This might have to be when the Triangle’s outline starts to wiggle a bit, even if this occurs only as a case-by-case player rebellion. Because while the Lakers probably have the resources to not be confounded by Orlando, they need to realize that’s where the battle will be decided. ↵
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↵Otherise, they’ll get ambushed like Cleveland did. And then we’ll spend an entire summer dissecting the Magic and seeing teams go after a team with biggie smalls and smaller bigs in an effort to approximate this floating chess match of a game-plan.↵

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