Despite being a relatively unknown NBA reserve, Orlando Magic backup center Marcin Gortat (pronounced MAR-chean GOR-tat) sure is making a lot of news these days.

First, Stan Van Gundy praised Gortat’s NBA Finals performance, saying that he "had the best all-around game" of any Magic player in Game 1. Truth.

A few days later, Marc Berman of the New York Post reported that Knicks president Donnie Walsh was eyeing a center with his $5 million mid-level exception during free agency, and the 7-foot "Polish Hammer" was at the top of his list.

And today — well, today we learn Reebok is calling him. But not for reasons you might expect.

Representatives of Reebok, with whom Gortat inexplicably has a cheap shoe contract with, were apparently not happy to see a recent photo of him in a Polish newspaper that prominently displayed his Michael Jordan logo tattoo on his lower right leg.

Jordan is of course an offshoot of Nike and, at last check, Nike isn’t Reebok. Polish pickle, anyone?

According to Tim Potvak of NBA FanHouse, Reebok called and asked Gortat either to wear higher socks to cover the MJ ink, or to apply makeup over it so it will not be noticed for the rest of the NBA Finals.

Gortat’s respone?

"Ha!"

In so many words …

"’They called and said I had to do something about it, but that ain’t going to happen,’ Gortat said after Tuesday morning’s workout.

‘I’ve been wearing it 4-5 years now, and it helped me get to the NBA. They didn’t say anything about it when I signed the contract, so it’s not going anywhere. I don’t think they are paying me enough to take it off.’ [...]

‘I’ve heard from other people that even other players, if they don’t know my name, they know I’m the big white guy with the Jordan tattoo,’ he said. ‘I like that. Reebok will have to get used to that.’"

To paraphrase Dylan at Bootlegger Sports, what a hilariously clever response. On the NBA’s biggest stage, Gortat’s not only shown that he’s a competent big man that someone will unquestionably overpay in free agency, but that he’s also loyal to the richest shoe manufacturer in the world. Genius!

Yes, you might as well start placing your Nike "Air Gortat" orders now. They’ll be all the rage come October.

For more of Y! Sports daily NBA playoff coverage, bookmark Ball Don’t Lie and follow us on Twitter.     

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A look around the league and the web that covers it. It’s also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren’t always listed in order of importance. That’s for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: DraftExpress. Jonathan Givony at Reebok Eurocamp: Ron Artest could be a free agent target for both Greek powerhouses, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, this summer.
PF: Wicked Good Sports. Reggie Miller has Janet Jackson’s nipple clamp tattooed around his belly button.
SF: Denver Stiffs. Before suggesting more offseason moves, DS explains the Nuggets’ salary situation.
SG: RandBall. San Antonio Spurs demand accountability, even from their Silver Dancers.
PG: Sports Radio Interviews. David Stern thinks hoops may be back in Seattle within 10 years.
6th: ClipperBlog.com. Breaking down Blake Griffin’s mechanics with David Thorpe. Fun read.
7th: NBA Playoffs 2009. This is how you sell a man some jewelry …
8th: Sactown Royalty. Q. How can we explain a team’s performance in a completely visual way? A. Ziller.
9th: Hooped Up. Ms. Eva Longoria-Parker does "GQ Mexico."
10th: Court Surfing.
Holly MacKenzie: "What sets apart the special players in the NBA are
the things you cannot teach. These are the things that Jonny Flynn has."

Got a tip/link for Ball Don’t Lie? Hit me up at jeskeets@yahoo.ca or follow me on Twitter.

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Los
Angeles Lakers at Orlando, Game 3 (Los
Angeles leads 2-0)

It’s been the same story for either team, all season long.
Which team shows up?

Good Magic? Bad Magic? Goofball Lakers? Gameface Lakers?
Somehow, the NBA’s biggest Goofus and Gallants made their way to the Finals,
and they’re still playing according to script.

Kind of. The Lakers, over their last four postseason games,
have pretty much hit their stride. After a season of taking offensive
possessions off (while still managing to rank amongst the best offensive teams
in the NBA) and making poor decisions on both ends of the floor (while still
remaining, say it with me, one of the
best defensive teams in the NBA), they’ve become consistently great, again.
They’re the constant, in this equation.

Orlando,
you may have noticed, is different.

Contrary to what Avery Johnson just told me on ESPN, the
Orlando Magic never were "an offensive team." The Magic were 11^th in
offensive efficiency during the regular season, and though they feature a pair
of offensive-minded small forwards surrounding Dwight Howard on the inside,
it’s amazing how mainstream media types still completely and totally flip the
script on the NBA’s best defensive team.

That said, the Magic were and are far, far better than the
team that scored only 110 points over the first 72 minutes of this series.
Hell, every team is better than that. And yes, the Lakers continue to be
underrated defensively, but as it is with the Magic being bad, no team is that good defensively.

So you knew there was room for improvement going into Game
2. As expected, we got a better, closer game out of it, but how to explain an
overtime Magic loss (with a chance to win in regulation, with five points
spinning out of the rim in the five-point OT loss) with all those Magic
turnovers? And continued poor (to put it mildly) play from the team’s guard
corps?

Well, defensively, the Magic improved. They returned to their
roots.

Save for letting Derek Fisher fly free a few too many times,
the Magic paid attention to the three-point line, only allowing the Lakers to
hit 5-15 from behind the arc. 15 points in 15 possessions? Not so good. Not so
average, unless you’re the
Clippers. Even they aren’t that bad.

The team zoned and forced Trevor Ariza into being a bit of a
slasher, and more of a decision-maker. Not the best roles for Trevor, who
missed 10 of 13 shots. The Magic hoarded defensive boards and took in plenty of
offensive rebounds, which allowed the team to shoot just as many field goals
(+1) and free throws (-1) as the Lakers in spite of that massive turnover
disadvantage.

Teams usually just don’t go from being out-rebounded by 15
to winning the battle by nine over the course of one game, but that’s what
happened with Orlando.
And while you might disagree with me, to these eyes, it looked like Orlando’s effort and
energy improving, rather than the Lakers falling off. Though, as you’ll
remember, the Lakers seemed to get quite a few loose balls in Game 1, and those
things are always coin flip situations that you can’t really blame players for.

The rest of the rebounding? Yes, you could blame the Magic
for that following Game 1. Stan Van Gundy seemed to have no qualms about doing
just that in interviews coming after the first contest in these Finals, and I
had no problem listening to it. He was spot on.

So, with all those attributes in play, with the recorded
history of the Magic being able to dominate glass, to work the defense, to hold
the best (when at their best) offensive team in the NBA to a poor offensive
night, we can bank on things sustaining in Orlando, right? For at least Game 3,
correct?

That’s up to the Magic, as it usually is. You hate being as
flip or cliché-driven as this, but it’s up to them to flip the switch. And if
they bank on the home crowd flipping things for them, they’re out of luck. The
Magic crowd will be loud, boisterous, and up to the challenge; but they can’t
grab any loose balls. They can’t find Lamar Odom in transition. They won’t be
the ones who are to blame if Luke Walton tips a missed free throw back out.

Feeding Dwight Howard more often? That’s the popular tag,
but Howard had his chances over the first two games, and failed. He’s turnover
prone, he’s always been turnover prone, and I don’t see why things would change
between Sunday and Tuesday.

Of course, playing at home and wearing the white uniform
will help relax things, but it’s not as if the Lakers traded Andrew Bynum, Pau
Gasol and Phil Jackson to the Cavaliers for Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson
Varejao, and Mike Brown on Monday afternoon. Regardless of setting, matchups
are matchups. Especially with Lamar Odom helping on the baseline. Goodness,
he’s great at that.

And what if the Lakers aren’t the constant? What if they
give way to the typical Game 3 Finals blowout win from the home team? That’s
not the end of the world, but if the Lakers do fall back a bit, it doesn’t tell
us that a 109-81 win for the Magic suddenly means Dwight Howard has learned to
meet the ball on entry passes, or go over either shoulder properly for the
hook. It means some things bounced the home team’s way early on, the Lakers
relented, and the open shots at home turned it into a one-sided affair.

Knowing how history often works in these situations, that’s
what I’m banking on. At some point, you can’t shake human nature.

The Lakers know that, really, all they need is a game in Orlando. Worst case
scenario, they drop all three to a team they’ve outscored by 21 points over
four contests so far this season, and they head back to Los Angeles with two to play at home for the
win. Not that I see that as anywhere near likely, it’s just something to consider
while the Lakers try to trick their brain into thinking that a game that isn’t
a "must win" actually is a "must win." All while their counterparts are playing
desperate, heated basketball.

None of the greats have been able to trick themselves like that.
Not Jordan’s
Bulls, not Magic’s Lakers, not Russell’s Celtics. Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers did it against the Nets, but
the Nets of that era weren’t a great team. The East of that era dissolves any
attempt at comparison.

This isn’t to say I wouldn’t be surprised if the Lakers put
the boot down in Game 3 and pull out the win, I’m just telling you that you
can’t get too down on a team if they don’t. And that a one-side blowout win for
the Magic isn’t a turning of the tide. Moderation, people.

Such are the vicissitudes of holding serve on the home
court, the 2-3-2 lineup, and competitive spirit versus real world application. It’s
all about mind games at this point, because as unpredictable as these two teams
are and have been, the physical pairings are more or less sussed out.

Enjoy it. This should be a loud, anxious game.

BDL live
blog around 9 p.m. EDT tonight, featuring TV’s J.E. Skeets, Trey Kerby, Matt Moore, and yours truly tap-tap-tapping
away from Amway Arena in lovely downtown Orlando, Florida.

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"My whole thing — while I understand where you’re coming
from with the whole ‘fort’ idea — is just that it’s a common courtesy. I put
my headphones on because you ‘just don’t
get’ Philip Glass, I think you should return the favor and allow me
unfettered access to the aisle. Access that, and you cannot deny this, I was
given by way of my ‘aisle seat’ designation on my ticket. It’s only fair. Stop
laughing at Machine.

"Listen, everyone’s already off the plane. Phil already talked the security guards down, and away from Kobe. Sun Yue’s got all
our bags already in the lobby. I’m tired of messing around with you. I have to
get to my room, plug in my internet machine, and click the jump for BDL’s Finals chat, at 3 p.m., EDT.

"Nothing? Still? I miss Chris."

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=c4618386ea" mce_href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=c4618386ea" >BDL Finals Chat</a>

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Michael Grange of the Globe and Mail:

"Bryan Colangelo said one of his goals this off-season was to make his team tougher. He just did [...]

According to NBA sources the team is expected to announce this afternoon a deal sending sharp-shooter Jason Kapono to the Philadelphia 76ers for bruising forward Reggie Evans."

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star confirms the report and drops some numbers:

The deal also gives Toronto some financial flexibility.

Evans is owed $4.6 million next season and $5 million in 2010-11 on his contract.

Kapono’s deal will pay him $6.2 million this coming season and $6.6 million the season after.

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