rafer alston is what got you there. he's in. they control the perimeter. i just don't understand stan's decision to do that. and i'm a big stan van gundy fan. i covered him, but i question veteran leadership and not going with rafer alston amongst the other things that i said. >> anita, you're one of five fans of stan van gundy. >> i'm one of the five. i admit it. >> you're one of the five. you laid it out there very well. i'm going to go with lack of execution on the orlando magic's part in every facet of the game. usually you look at the lakers and say they're a better team, but the lakers haven't played better this series. kobe bryant hasn't finished like we've expected him to finish. the lakers have had holes. there have been kinks in the armour. but the orlando magic just haven't taken advantage. courtney lee, if he executes and makes that layup, it's a tough play, it looks easier on tv, but you got to finish in that game. the free throws, the lack of defense on derek fisher, smoke the situation. guard that three-point line. the lack of a good shot la

. >> rafer alston, one of the stars for orlando, 8-12, 20 points. >> rafer usually has a question but probably twittering. >> first question on the left side. mark? >> rafer, stan left you -- what point down the stretch without a point guard. you couldn't take that as a compliment. how did you feel about and it how did you bounce back? >> he told us he was looking for somebody that maybe get out there and maybe find a rhythm, stick some shots the first two games, myself, jameer were struggling to do so. stan and i have a great relationship. he understands that he is just trying to coach to win games. i'm trying to play and help him win games and help the team. never one to take it personal. the first game i think i just said that it was a rhythm thing because i never had that done before. i never played like that, didn't -- second game i was able to find a flow in the game but not hit shots, and tonight i was able to make shots. >> rachel? >> you and i talk this morning about the conversation you had with stan. stan was just in here talking as well. he said that his great advice to yo

my former teammate rafer alston needs to play. >> jameer nelson is an all-star point guard, they're working him in because they expect a long series. rafer has to get used to playing his role. >> imposing stat in favor of the los angeles lakers. phil jackson-coached teams a combined 43-0 when winning game one of a seven-game series, all time. >> lamar odom -- he had a double-double in game one. kobe bryant put up big numbers. andrew bynum came up big and pau gasol had 16 and eight. l.a. leading the series 1-0. game two on sunday. >> after every nba finals game is over on abc, turn over to espnews for the post-game news conferences. >> coming up on espnews. more baseball. when we last saw carlos zambrano, he was using a bat to smash a water cooler. friday he used a bat to smash something else. >> no smashing involved when it comes to zack greinke this year -- at times unhittable, major league leader in e.r.a. coming for some reason greinke forgot to take his best stuff to toronto with him resulting in his worst outing of the year. plus, who would have ever thought it would end this way. we'l

and rafer alston can use his dribbling ability and get past fisher.he missed lay-ups, this time they converted inside the paint. they were making shots from everywhere in this game, but not taking the long shots, passing, being patient, and looking for the better shots inside. >> and orlando five difficult players with 18 points or more in game three in the victory. what does game four hold? we find out on thursday at 8:30 eastern on abc beginning with gmc nba countdown. >> and don't forget when game number four is over, you want to hear the stars this is where you want to be, "espnews." kobe bryant, dwight howard and as well as the coaches. as soon as the game is done. the live news conferences here on "espnews." >> st. jude the patron saint of desperate cases. he believed the faithful should persevere in the face of difficult circumstances. three weeks after announcing his wife, amy, has breast cancer, phil mickelson makes his return to the tour this week, the saipt jude classic in memphis. and amy will not be there with her husband, she will not be

and rafer alston can use his dribbling ability and get past fisher.edo turkoglu can take guys off the tribble. and the missed lay-ups, this time they converted inside the paint. they were making shots from everywhere in this game, but not taking the long shots, passing, being patient, and looking for the better shots inside. >> orlando with five different players with 18 points or more in game three in the victory. what does game four hold? we find out on thursday at 8:30 eastern on abc beginning with gmc nba countdown. >> and don't forget when game number four is over, you want to hear the stars this is where you want to be, "espnews." kobe bryant, dwight howard and as well as the coaches. as soon as the game is done. the live news conferences here on "espnews."she will also not week's u.s. open, but is never far from her husband's mind. >> i never felt this emotional. i never have been this emotional where if i'm driving alone or something, i will start crying. it is kind of a weird thing. i am looking forward to having a four or five hour mental br

the change of venue was great for rafer alston and pietrus. if you make the lakers chase it they have a better chance. >> i like the magic didn't get caught up in shooting 3-pointers. they took advantage of their assets. rafer alston can utilize his dribbling ability. and hedo turkoglu can take guys off the dribble. they were doing that. remember all of the missed layups in games 1 and 2 in this time they made 15 of the 18 shots inside the paint. they are making smots from everywhere in this game. being patient. >> orlando with 5 different player that is scored 18 points or more in game 3. what does game 4 hold? we will find out on thursday. 8:30 p.m. eastern on abc with the countdown. >> ♪ >> now on espn.com, j.a. adande writes: kobe bryant had a shot at the 3-0 advantage in the nba finals but bobbled. >> the sacramento kings found their man. they first offered the job to the lakers assistant. the kings hired 58-year-old paul westphal. he had coaching time in phoenix and seattle. will only earn 1.5-million dollars. >> usc head coach tim floyd

he quickly found out that dwyane wade is totally different from rafer alston and rafer alston is totally different from lamar odom and so on and so on. i think that's the way... one way i see his adjustment from then to now. and now he's more into being a little more uplifting as opposed to so negative as he was in miami. you see him rant and rave down the sideline, but i can tell you, the next day in practice and film session, he's more inspiring than he is... than what you see on the game floor. >> how much a role does he play in your ability to bounce back? what does it say to you after those tough losses, like a lebron shot or those plays in philadelphia? >> he is instrumental in a few ways. one, he tells us to keep believing, to understand that we're a good team. there's a reason we've gotten this far. and two, he's really big on taking the blame. you don't see that from a lot of coaches. if he makes a mistake, as you mentioned, the lebron shot, the glen davis shot, he quickly takes the blame and tells us he's failed us. we quickly turn around and tell him, we're the guys on the flo

it sounded like rafer alston was caught off guard. you have your all-star but now rafer also needs to help get you to this point along with anthony johnson, his backup. maybe a little bit better communication. like coach van givenedy said, maybe play him shorter spurts instead of 12 straight minutes. >> only one field goal made in game number one. they only took six shots. ism know he had a lot of shots because he got fouled a lot by the lakers. how do you keep them on the offensive end? >> i know everybody's been talking about dwight howard's offense. he needs to play better defense. he's the defensive player of the year. he didn't defend the paint well, didn't play the post-up well or the peacekeeper-and-roll. getting the ball early in transition. the players have to make what we call california as coaches on time, on target passes. when he's open, get him the ball on time. don't throw it at his ankles, don't throw it above his head. get it to him on time and on target. in the half court he has to do a better job, dwight howard, at a

alston and they say they want me to shoot. i know where my shots are going to come from and that's what rafer did tonight, and he was the key factor and also the player of the game for the magic, and he continues to play this well he is going to make the difference from the lakers stay honest and it's going to open up other looks for other guys. >> waiting to hear from phil jackson. before we got to him, though, last thing i want to ask you. you beat them in game one, they won the series. they have been resilient all season long. >> i wasn't -- i didn't think they had that type of resilience si. you talk about toughness and they came back against us, they were down against boston. no one thought they would close out the cavs and now they're in another situation and they're playing tough basketball, they played with a lot of heart andre iguodala. skip bayliss better be ready. now out to orlando, phil jackson addressing the media. >> example of the game that we wanted to play. they were able to come up with plays at the end of the half to take the lead. we told the guys at halftime, we're playing the way we want to play. >> them mak