Halftime Hype

As I've voiced earlier, these playoff have belonged to the young'ns, to use a Civil War term. Whether it was Birdman flapping his wings or Derrick Rose hitting clutch shots, it has been a new generation of newcomers who have taken over professional basketball. However, until the Finals came around, we, fans of the game, weren't able to watch the talent of All-Star point guard, Jameer Nelson. Needless to say, Jameer Nelson won't ever go down in history books - at least, not yet - and certainly not as an "All-Star." Ok, he can score and pass. There are many point guards who are capable of doing that. Is his performance really that impactful on the outcome of games? We've seen former street baller, Rafer "Skip to My Lou" Alston outperform the opposing PG and guide the Magic past challenging opponents, namely the Cavs. We have yet to see him fully shine and show his skills to the nation.

Personally, I think he's still holding on to his college success. While he's a good shooter in this league, having shot better than 50% on his field goal attempts this year, he really hasn't distinguished himself from other players on the court. I'll admit, his college accolades are rather impressive; in 2004, he won: Oscar Robertson Trophy, John R. Wooden Award, and Naismith College Player of the Year. Those awards, though, are given to the best players, who later turn out to be great marketers in encouraging players to go to college when they perform brilliantly in the NBA. Just look at some of the All-Star players of have previously been presented with the John R. Wooden Award: Marcus Camby in '96, Tim Duncan in '97, Antawn Jamison in '98, and the list goes on and on. Do you honestly belive that we can compare Jameer Nelson to any of these players?

And the fact that he isn't truly All-Star caliber, is only one of the things that bewilders me about the man ; the problem is that he's getting a little too much playing time now. Despite the fact that his minutes have been decreasing with every game (23 in Game 1, 17 in Game 2, and 11 in Game 3), I believe that if he plays less and the Magic stick with the system they've been using for the last four months during Nelson's injury, they will have a much better shot at winning the title. Take a moment to reflect on how much Rafer Alston has provided for this young Magic squad: equal quickness and ball-handling in comparison to Jameer, clutch play, and a valuable amount of momentum. The last thing the Magic need is to change around their line-up and replace a stable guard with one that has been absent for a player whose last game prior to the NBA Finals was on February 2. The Magic really can't afford to believe in Magic right now.