Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics: It's a Coaching Loss, Not a Player Loss

I consider myself somewhat of an analyst; when my friend watches the game with me, he's watching the ball but I'm watching the movement on the floor. So, I have to constantly explain why a foul wasn't called or when a four-second violation happened.

Last night, however, I got livid. I was okay with most of the game between the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics, the execution, and especially Dwight Howard's offensive play until the fourth quarter.

That's when everything went wrong. Ray Allen exploded in the fourth, knocking down 13 points in one quarter after being held to 11 in little over three.

Jason Richardson went on a 5-0 run to keep the Magic close; on defense, however, he did everything but. Looking like a college player trying to push through a screen instead of going around it, he allows two straight three-pointers by Ray Allen. And after getting frustrated that the screens are doing what they're intended to do, he draws a foul trying to push them away.

Redick was praised in the '09 run for keeping up with Ray Allen and helped in this game with keeping him to 11 points. He's smart with screens and does not have a problem running Allen off the three-point line or contesting them well. After the 5-0 run, I told my friend that Redick needed to get in the game right away.

Unfortunately, Van Gundy left Richardson in the game, who allowed six points in approximately 30 seconds from Allen and then fouled Paul Pierce for the three-point play. At that point, the game got out of reach: while the score shows a three-point loss, it was truly a five-point loss.

That's right, Richardson gave up eight points in the fourth quarter to give the Celtics the win. And what does he say after the game?

"I knew (Pierce) was going to go to the pump fake and he got me in the air. I’m a veteran and I should know better than that. But he threw the bait out there and I bit on it."

That's a slap in the face. He didn't even explain why he failed to keep up with Ray Allen or what allowed him to get frustrated enough to push Garnett on the same play that gave Allen a wide open shot on the previous possession. 

Honestly, I cannot say that I would be a better coach than Van Gundy, or even that I should to be on his coaching staff. However, it's a shame for such a coaching mistake to go unnoticed and when the players get blamed for execution. It's a known fact that Richardson comes from a team that doesn't focus enough on defense. Why leave him on a tough assignment in the fourth when a tried and true player can do better?

Hopefully, this game will show Van Gundy that he needs to go back to what worked so he can write this one off as a learning experience. The game would more likely have gone to the Magic, but all the bloggers and analysts are going to talk about how the Magic aren't as elite as the other teams in the East until their next big matchup.

It's just one of those games.