Rook Rises to the Occasion
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April 23, 2009
ORLANDO -- When Courtney Lee was selected by the Orlando Magic with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, he never quite pictured this.
Brought into a rotation at the start of the season that featured Keith Bogans, Mickael Pietrus and J.J. Redick, Lee figured with hard work and dedication he would be lucky to find some spot duty on the court during his inaugural campaign.
It never crossed his mind that he could be the leading scorer on a 59-win team in the middle of its postseason run.
But on Wednesday that's exactly what happened.
Lee erupted for a career-high 24 points against the 76ers and led the Magic to a much-needed 96-87 Game 2 home victory over Philadelphia, evening the series at 1-1.
"He was tremendous today," said Magic Head coach Stan Van Gundy. "Today he played at both ends. I thought that he really, really worked hard and he just seems to be playing more free and looser than the other guys."
After Orlando let an 18-point, third-quarter lead slip away in a Game 1 loss on Sunday, Lee made sure history would not repeat itself in Game 2.
With the Magic watching another 18-point advantage start to disappear, their rookie burst into action midway through the fourth quarter.
After Philadelphia pulled within five, Lee buried a 17-foot jump shot with 8:34 left to extend Orlando's lead. Shortly after, he followed with a deep trey to put Orlando up 10, once again giving the Magic some breathing room.
"I'm very proud of him," Magic All-Star center Dwight Howard said about Lee. "Most rookies would have not wanted to be in this situation, but he's got the ball and he’s not afraid; he’s been working."
Unlike most teams Orlando has played throughout the season, Philadelphia brings its double-teams on Howard from the guard position. While other squads might choose to leave Hedo Turkoglu or Rashard Lewis open on the wings, the 76ers remain defensively diligent in preventing Orlando's sharpshooters from getting open looks beyond the arc.
Instead they choose to sag off the Magic's guards and challenge either Lee or Rafer Alston to knock down open looks.
"When they sag off me that’s what they're saying," Lee explained of Philadelphia's defensive tactics. "They want me to shoot the jump shot. A lot of teams are going do that knowing that (Howard) is so dominant down low. So I just need to be ready and prepared to knock down jump shots."
With Philadelphia likely to stick to its defensive game plan, Howard believes the Magic will need more performances like this out of their rookie to win the best-of-seven series.
"He's been playing great and in order for us to win this series and go far and deep into the playoffs, he's going to have to play like this every night and I believe that he can do it," the Magic's Superman said of his rookie counterpart. "I've been telling him all season, if we're going to win, it's going to come on him to come out every night and play the way he’s been playing."
Still to Lee, this entire season has been one sensational surprise.
"Yeah, I definitely didn't imagine this," the Magic’s rookie reflected. "Things are going so well."
If this is how his first season is turning out, just imagine what he has in store for the rest of his career.
