CLEVELAND – There`s a reason Cavaliers small forward LeBron James attempted 115 free throws in his first nine playoff games, while Orlando center Dwight Howard took just 105 in his first 13.
At least there is according to Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who said NBA officials have followed the rule book and called things tighter on the perimeter while letting players continue to bang inside.
“This is no complaint at all with the officiating,” Van Gundy said Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena prior to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals. “Those guys go out and referee the rule book.”
Van Gundy said that approach has been “good for the game” and “taken away a lot of the contact on the perimeter,” but it hasn`t helped the 6-foot-11, 265-pound Howard much.
“It`s tough on inside guys, especially as the playoffs progress and it gets more physical,” Van Gundy said. “Dwight just has to continue to adjust.”
Van Gundy entered Game 2 expecting the Cavaliers to send Howard to the line much more frequently than they did in Game 1, when the Magic center attempted just two free throws.
“That`s been a basic strategy when he gets the ball around the basket – just to hammer him,” Van Gundy said. “We saw it all year.”
Cavaliers coach Mike Brown would rather his team foul Howard, who shot 59.4 percent at the line during the regular season,  than give him an easy hoop, but he`s not a fan of resorting to the “Hack-a-Shaq” approach.
“It`s not really me,” Brown said. “The last time I tried it was against (current Cavalier) Ben (Wallace) up in Detroit. Ben looked at me with this one look and I said, ‘I`m not doing that again.`”

No disrespect

When James had 26 points at halftime of Game 1, Van Gundy told his players they were acting like “Witnesses” to the Cleveland small forward. Howard and Magic power forward Rashard Lewis made mention of that in their postgame press conference on Wednesday, but Van Gundy wanted to make it clear he was not poking any fun at James or his Nike campaign.
“I certainly didn`t say anything to mock LeBron James,” the coach said. “I have nothing but the highest respect for LeBron James.”

No question asked

James, who earned first-team All-Defensive honors, planned on defending whichever Orlando perimeter player got hot in Game 2, but he didn`t plan on asking Brown`s permission. The small forward said he took a similar approach when it came to defending great players during the regular season.
“I just take him,” James said. “I don`t need to ask.”
The one player James did not plan on defending was Howard.
“(I tried that) a couple times in practice with the USA team,” he said. “It didn`t work out too well.”

No regrets

James took some criticism nationally for his decision to pass rather than shoot in the closing seconds of Game 1, but he doesn`t regret his choice.
“I`ve made game-winning shots and I`ve made game-winning assists,” he said. “I made the right play.”
Forced under the basket, James threw the ball out to Mo Williams, who kicked it to Delonte West, who missed a 3-pointer from the left corner.
“This is a team game,” James said. “I play it the right way. I`m going to continue to play it the right way the rest of my career. It`s not my fault if you don`t like the way I play the game.”

Poor Magic

Van Gundy sounded a lot like Rodney Dangerfield between Games 1 and 2, repeatedly claiming his team gets no respect.
“I don`t think most of the nation knows we`re in this series,” Van Gundy said. “It`s the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James series and who they`re playing against is incidental. We`re really incidental to this playoff series to most of the national media, the fans and everything else. But it doesn`t matter. This is not the BCS where people get to vote for who the best teams are. We actually get to play on the court to decide that.”

Tell it like it is

Van Gundy came out and said what almost everyone who watches the NBA on a regular basis already knows.
“The great players are going to get calls down the stretch,” he said. “That`s just the way it goes. There are people in Cleveland who don`t think LeBron gets calls, but they`re damn sure Kobe (Bryant) does.”

Don`t move to front

Cleveland`s Brown doesn`t plan to try to front Howard in the series, and he used two dunks by the Orlando center in Game 1 to explain why.
“The two times we did get a little too high on him, I can make those passes to him,” Brown said. “I can make those passes to him with my eyes closed.”

Watch parties

The Cavaliers will host “Watch Parties” at The Q for Game 3 (Sunday) and Game 4 (Tuesday) in Orlando. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and those 16-and-under must be accompanied by an adult. Vouchers for the Game 3 party can be picked up by those 18 and older at participating Papa John`s Pizza outlets. They must be redeemed for a ticket at The Q. Game 4 tickets can be picked up at The Q box office. The first 10,000 will be free. Remaining tickets will be $5 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com. A portion of the proceeds going to the Cavaliers Youth Fund.
Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061or rickn@ohio.net.

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