Game 4 of these NBA Finals was a game of two halves - and two very different coaches.

In the first half, the Magic did exactly what was necessary to win the basketball game. In the second half, they did almost the opposite.

It was clear from the outset that the Magic had identified the only way they saw that they could win against the Lakers: hustle and effort. Out-hustle the Lakers on both ends of the floor, use Dwight Howard as the Windex Man, and stay aggressive on the offensive end with Turkoglu and Alston attacking the rim whenever a sliver of daylight welcomed them closer to the rim. Crisp ball movement lead to 4 wide open threes for Courtney Lee, who only nailed one of those shots to start the game, but it was obvious the strategy could work, and for the first half it did - sort of.

The thing is, even with the Magic drawing at least two fouls on Laker big men Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and a generally ineffective Lamar Odom, the Magic could only muster a 49-37 lead at the half. Dwight Howard's rebound total at the break was equal to that of the entire Laker team. And yet, if you're Phil Jackson walking into that locker room at halftime, you have to feel pretty confident.

Why? Rashard Lewis was a no-show. Stan Van Gundy played Dwight Howard all but 4 minutes in the first half, when the foul trouble on the Laker's top 3 big men could have been an opportunity to save Howard's strength for the second half while giving Marcin Gortat a chance to shred the likes of Josh Powell and DJ Mbenga down low. And if the Laker bigs, who were sitting on the bench with all that foul trouble, could come out in the second half and neutralize the effectiveness of a tired Dwight Howard, the game could be theirs if someone other than Kobe could hit some shots.

Just before the half, I commented to myself (since the only person in the room with me was my wife, and she was reading fan fiction online) that Phil Jackson had somehow managed to stay close in an abysmal first half through his usual patience - he did not give in to any temptation to put any of those big men in foul trouble back in the game, and allowed Kobe to try to just keep the team within striking distance until the break. And in the second half, it was clear his patience in the first half was rewarded.

Coming out of intermission, the Laker offense was crisp. Trevor Ariza lit a fire under his team, scoring 13 points in the third quarter, giving Kobe the help he sorely lacked in the first half. But the Magic came out in the second half looking much slower as a team. Dwight Howard was still running from end to end, but not quite as quickly as he did in the outset and for some reason, either fatigue or via a potentially questionable halftime adjustment, Rafer Alston wasn't looking to push the ball as hard as they did before the break. This allowed the Laker defense to recover quickly, stopping the ball movement that is the hallmark of Orlando's offense when running well. When it stagnated, Magic PG Rafer Alston began massaging the ball a little too much, prompting Stan Van Gundy to give in to the ultimate temptation that would lead to his undoing.

Instead of calling a timeout to coach up Alston and get his team flowing offensively, he substituted for him. Enter Jameer Nelson, the former starting point guard who missed most of the second half of the season due to surgery on his shoulder.

Nelson's game does not include much in the way of crafty moves toward the bucket, so with Alston absent, it left Turkoglu as the only Magic player capable of creating off the dribble. And as with every other appearance he's made in this series, Nelson's decision-making was erratic. In particular, he was late on several entry passes to Howard, who was still getting solid post position on Laker defenders even if he was getting to his spots a second later than he had been in the first half, and although Nelson logged 26 minutes of total time on the floor, he only mustered a box score of two points, three rebounds, three assists and one turnover.  Plus, his failed rotations are what left Laker guard Derek Fisher wide open from three to hit two key three pointers in regulation and overtime that sealed the deal for the Lakers.

Despite the errors of the head coach, the Magic still could have won this game. If they shoot better than 22-37 from the free throw line, they win - in fact, if Hedo Turkoglu makes his 4 key free throws he missed in crunch time, this team wins. If Rashard Lewis can hit anything from the field (and, for that matter, if he takes more than 10 shots in 4 quarters and overtime) they probably score enough to win. If they don't commit 17 turnovers, leading, in part, to 19 Laker fast break points, they win. And, I will submit to you if someone in a white jersey runs the floor hard enough to follow up Mickael Pietrus' missed layup late in the 4th quarter, the outcome of the game may have been different.

(Contrast that play with a very similar play in the first half where JJ Redick slips on his way to an uncontested layup and is able to toss the ball over his head to a trailing teammate who is able to finish the play. Where was the trailer in the second half?)

If you live by the jump shot, you die by it, both offensively and defensively. The Orlando Magic have to do some soul searching between now and game 5 to see if they can find the strength and energy to play a full 48 minutes on both ends of the court with the same energy they were able to muster in the first 24. And they have to decide which point guard they believe can lead this team toward winning three games in a row against a very determined Kobe Bryant and the rest of this highly talented Laker team.

Unfortunately for them, they have no more room for error. One misstep, and it all could be over. While I am not totally ready to write off Orlando in game 5, I think it's pretty safe to say their days are numbered.