That's Mickael Pietrus, going with two hands in the back to Pau Gasol as he throws down a dunk near the end of the Lakers' overtime victory in Game 4. The game had already been decided by then, so there was really no reason other than frustration for the hard foul.
The play was ruled a flagrant at the time, and after review, the league has determined that no further action will be taken against Pietrus. And really, that's the correct decision.
The Larry O'Brien itself is plenty of motivation for the participants in the 2009 Finals. But there will also be a few individual goals driving those involved.
Dwight Howard: Everyone marks Kobe as the NBA's preeminent love-him-or-hate-him player, but D-12 earns a fair amount of vitriol, whether for his lack of refinement in the post, his Shaq II free throw stroke, his alleged faux-choir boy persona or the sentiment that slam dunk stardom has rendered the D.P.O.Y. publicly overrated. Let's just say those Patrick Ewing comparisons (ahem) would disappear with a ring.
Hedo Turkoglu: Like kindred spirit Lamar Odom, Hedo will be a free agent signing his last long-term, high-dollar deal this summer. A marvelous turn which began in Game 7 against Boston could land Hedo near the top of the offseason ledger, above everyone but Carlos Boozer. Turk needs a good Finals series to keep that hope alive, though.
We turned the 10-minute cooling off period after the Magic-Cavaliers Eastern Conference finals into a 10-hour cooling off period. But there was some mulling to be done.
Which is what the Cavs will be doing all offseason, by the way.
Dwight Howard didn't win this one with his thunderous dunks, or his natural shot-blocking ability, two skills in which he led the NBA this season.
He won it with his free-throw shooting.
Seriously. No kidding.
The Magic took a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference final Sunday night with a 99-89 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, riding the free-throw shooting – yes, free-throw shooting -- of Howard.
Howard, who shot just 59 percent from the line this season, hit 14 of 19 free throws, including eight of 10 in the fourth quarter to preserve a lead the Magic held throughout the second half.
Much of the year, Orlando's reliance on the three-point shot earned scorn from observers, who (en masse) dubbed the style as likely to fail in the playoffs. As recently as Game 5, Dwight Howard himself questioned the strategy to keep taking threes with a lead -- it was seen as a risky move. You live by the three, you die by the three ...
... or so they said. The Magic took more threes than anyone but the run-and-gun Knicks this season, but still finished with the sixth-best shooting percentage from deep. The threes weren't tics of the inside-out offense Stan Van Gundy employed, waiting to be turned off when the circumstances warranted. The threes made up Orlando's offensive identity. Without shooting them, the Magic die. Sunday's Game 7 win is a great example of how the threes work for Orlando.
Kendrick Perkins received a flagrant-one foul for this elbow that landed to the throat area of Orlando's Mickael Pietrus, during the fourth quarter of the Magic's Game 3 win on Friday.
Despite the fact that the league has generally been wildly inconsistent in terms of what does and does not deserve an ejection or suspension in this post-season, this play seems to be the kind that will result in Perkins being suspended for Game 4. And if that's the case, the Celtics are going to be in some serious trouble.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
I must admit, I didn't see the acquisition of Mo Williams as a game changer for the Cavs. Mo is proving me wrong every night. Adding a reliable scoring threat like Mo has made the Cavs an absolute nightmare to contend with. Tuesday night he exploded on the hapless Sacramento Kings with a 43 point, 11 assist, 8 rebound performance. Mo was especially hot from three, knocking down seven of his twelve attempts.
NBA Essentials provides the must-see links, quotes and videos of the day.
* Mickael Pietrus could miss as much as a month with a fractured right wrist. Pietrus said before Wednesday's game in Chicago that he could be out "two to four weeks," although he'll have a better idea when team doctors examine him. -- Orlando Sentinel
* George Karl, speaking after his 900th career win: "My favourite story is I've never seen this in pro ball but after we clinched the playoffs, Lonnie Shelton and World B. Free, picked me up, put me on their shoulders and carried me off the court. I've never seen a pro (basketball) coach put on their shoulders so it was a pretty cool moment and incredible ride." -- HoopsAddict
* Vince Carter was ejected with 6:48 remaining in the second period of the Nets' 83-75 loss ... after a verbal confrontation with official Derrick Stafford. Carter became incensed because he thought Stafford called him "boy." No one heard what was said by Stafford, who like Carter is African-American. But reporters on the far end of the court, where the incident occurred when Carter disagreed with an out-of-bounds call, maintained they heard Carter saying, "Don't call me, boy," to Stafford. -- NorthJersey.com
Hill, who has one home in Orlando and is renovating another, would embrace a reunion despite feeling the Magic didn't try to keep him after his star-crossed seven-year career ended in 2007. He signed a two-year contract with the Phoenix Suns.
The Magic could trade, say, J.J. Redick for Hill in a transaction that might make sense for both sides.
Most tallied a downgrade as the Magic lost Carlos Arroyo and Keyon Dooling over the summer while picking up Anthony Johnson and Mickael Pietrus. Pietrus, for one, has done well to buoy Orlando's stature. Johnson? Eh. But now the injuries (which avoided Orlando all of 2007-08) come, and things are dicey in the Magic backcourt.
Kyle Hightower of the Orlando Sentinel reports that Pietrus will miss three to five weeks with a torn ligament in his thumb. Keith Bogans broke his thumb last week and hasn't played since. Jameer Nelson has a hip flexor injury, and will be out at least another week. Hedo Turkoglu is your backup point guard (!) and none other than J.J. Redick will start at the two against the Pacers.
Injuries to starters always hurt the team, but this is most fortuitous of circumstances: if Johnson goes down at this point, then rookie combo guard Courtney Lee is getting the start, which isn't good. I don't need to tell you how important Rashard Lewis, Hedo and Dwight Howard are. And hey, you could do worse than Redick off the bench. If there's been one thread through J.J.'s nascent NBA career, it's been a lack of opportunity. Injuries beget opportunities, and Redick probably won't get a better one than he'll see beginning tonight.
The Larry O'Brien itself is plenty of motivation for the participants in the 2009 Finals. But there will also be a few individual goals driving those involved.
We turned the 10-minute cooling off period after the Magic-Cavaliers Eastern Conference finals into a 10-hour cooling off period. But there was some mulling to be done.
Dwight Howard didn't win this one with his thunderous dunks, or his natural shot-blocking ability, two skills in which he led the NBA this season.
Much of the year, Orlando's reliance on the three-point shot earned scorn from observers, who (en masse) dubbed the style as likely to fail in the playoffs. As recently as Game 5, Dwight Howard himself questioned the strategy to keep taking threes with a lead -- it was seen as a risky move. You live by the three, you die by the three ...
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
Some big fish have made the trade rumor chum bucket this week, but (the excellent) Third Quarter Collapse points out an earnest offering by Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. Schmitz said there's interest from the Magic in reacquiring Grant Hill. 
Most tallied a downgrade as the Magic lost Carlos Arroyo and Keyon Dooling over the summer while picking up Anthony Johnson and Mickael Pietrus. Pietrus, for one, has done well to buoy Orlando's stature. Johnson? Eh. But now the injuries (which avoided Orlando all of 2007-08) come, and things are dicey in the Magic backcourt.
