The Backcourt Battle
T.J.’s been outdone by Jameer (E. Oriol)Once the seeds were set and we knew that the Magic and Raptors would be squaring off in the first-round matchup that nobody really cares about, Andrea Bargnani and Rasho Nesterovic got a little bit clammy and started to pace through dark hallways in fear of being alone in the paint with Dwight Howard. But on the flipside, many people predicted that the combination of T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon would shred Jameer Nelson to bits.
“The media has been coming back to me saying that, basically, we’re going to lose because their guards are better than our guards,” said Nelson. “Myself, Carlos, Keyon, and the rest of the guards, we take it personal.”
Well Mr. Howard has lived up to his end of the bargain, scaring the bejeezus out of everyone in a Toronto uniform with 54 points and 42 rebounds through two games. And at the same time, Jameer has proved everyone wrong. He matched Calderon in game two – as both guards put up 18 points and roughly five boards and five dimes.
And taking a look back to game one, Nelson was better than Toronto’s entire platoon: Ford and Calderon collectively shot 4-20 from the field for 14 points. Jameer was 7-13 for 24 points with 7 assists.
Of all the point guards putting in work so far during the playoffs, Jameer is way down on the list. CP3, Nash, Parker have all been leagues better than him, but he’s providing the rock-solid presence that Orlando needs at the point. At end-of-quarter or end-of-game situations, the Magic put the ball in Hedo Turkoglu‘s hands and keep Nelson quarantined on the corner of the floor. But he doesn’t have to be a game winner to be a difference maker. As long as he continues to get the upper hand on Toronto’s duo, the Magic will steamroll into round two.
And even if he falls off, they’ve still got that big guy in the middle.
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April 24th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
GEE...straight audacity & unmitigated gall says:
Wonder what the “Jose got snubbed in the All-Star” fans will say to this article.
Perhaps he will do better in Toronto.
April 24th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
control says:
“T.J’s been outdone by Jameer”. That quote is like stating that the sky is blue. TJ has fallen off, big time. TJ+Mitchell is losing this series for Toronto, they could probably win if it weren’t for those two. I guess Dwight has had a small something to do with it, guy is just a pure beast. He’s averaging like 4 blocks a game so far, but he changes or intimidates at least 10 shots a game.
I hope BC puts TJ on the first thing smoking out of Toronto the first second he can in the off season.
One suprising thing about this series, Hedo is alot better than I thought he was. He actually looks like a legit All Star Snub. If he gets that FG% up a few points, he’d be a lock for next years All Star game.
April 24th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
doc says:
Who cares.They all stink and if its not about Dwight in this series its not about nothing.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
word says:
TJ loves to jack up shots though.
April 24th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
E$ says:
I can’t wait to get T.J. back in the states. Raptor fans were all on T.J. last year & before that, then he gets hurt (kill yourself Al Hortford) & now they want Jose. Orlando is playing at a high energy, but let’s see what happens when they go to Toronto. What happen to fans that stuck by the team & it’s players, so what if you don’t like all the players. I don’t like everyone @ my job, but yet I show up just like those players do everyday.
April 24th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
nbaroundtable says:
We’ve seen the good Jameer these first two games. The one SVG pines after, preaches for. The one who makes the Magic offense so difficult to stop. The difference? His penetration. When Jameer looks to get into the paint Orlando is a different team. We haven’t seen enough of this from him all season long. Good to see it now.
TJ Ford is taking a lot of criticism and it’s crap. He’s going to be a steal for whoever acquires him in a trade. Very good point guard.
April 24th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
K Dizzle says:
TJ and Jose got em tonight.
TJ put Arroyo into the seventh level of hell defensively
and Calderon got his groove back, playin like his all-star snubbed self(that’s for you, Gee lol)
Great showin by the Raps. I’m givin no love to Sam Mitchell who decided to finally get back to the startin lineup that played 70 games together by insertin Moon into the lineup like he shoulda the first 2 games. Stop overcoachin and sit down
April 24th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Bobby B says:
@ K Dizzle:
I still can’t believe Mitchell won COY last season. Firstly, he didn’t deserve it. Secondly, it pretty much forced Toronto to re-sign him. i.e., the organization would have looked stupid if they didn’t offer the COACH OF THE YEAR a new contract.
I wonder how good the Raptors would be with a good coach that didn’t always fuck around with lineups and rotations.
April 25th, 2008 at 1:30 am
maddskizzle says:
Jameer, Carlos, Keyon… Welcome back to Earth.
April 25th, 2008 at 4:55 am
kally says:
WOW. he is a humor guy,many friends like to chat with him online on tall dating site ____Tallconnect.com____,He often told us some funny jokes. Seems he is famous on that site,especially some hot models talk with him positively.
April 25th, 2008 at 8:06 am
E$ says:
I guess it’s all good now? It ain’t over til it’s over