For Magic C Dwight Howard, who has been criticized for his poor play this series, getting eliminated from the playoffs isn't all that bad.
"I had a lot of free time in between this series and our series with the Hawks, so I started getting into World Cup soccer. I'm starting to become familiar with the rosters and the groupings."
Howard added: "Did you know the US roster is going to be cut to 23 on Tuesday? It's a good thing we'll be eliminated from the playoffs by then, I want to see that."
Magic backup C Marcin Gortat, a native of Poland, is disappointed that his national team did not qualify this year. "It's disappointing. Especially considering our poor showing last World Cup. I wanted to get some revenge against those flag-waving Germans."
"But you have to realize," Gortat said. "I'm still European. Meaning, I'd much rather watch soccer than play basketball any day of the week."
Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy seemed annoyed at the possibility of having to watch the World Cup. "If I wanted to watch a bunch of guys kick a ball around, I'd watch game tape of our offense."
Never one to hold his tongue, Van Gundy added, "And **** my brother Jeff, who's not even coaching and gets to go to the Finals."
Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, also an avid soccer fan is looking for a little help from the Lakers. "It's clear we're going to sweep our series," Rivers said. "We've done our part. Now the Lakers just need to sweep their series, then one of us gets swept in the Finals, and hopefully with the way the schedule works out, we won't miss anything."
When asked about which team is more likely to get swept in the Finals, Rivers responded, "It's going to depend on who wins Game 1."
"You know Kobe grew up in Italy right," he said with a smile.
The opening round of the World Cup kicks off June 11th with a match between South Africa and Mexico.
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