It’s the first week of June and that means it’s time for the NBA Finals. (Full Schedule) Despite the universal assumption that a Kobe V. LeBron battle of the titans was going to happen, and much to the chagrin of David Stern and the Nike puppet campaign, the King and his jesters court were ousted by a hero turned super villain (at least in Cleveland) – Dwight “Superman II” Howard and his Orlando Magic.
The Magic have lived up to their name this postseason, surprising everyone outside of Florida by continuously beating teams that they were supposed to lose to and showing they weren’t afraid of a little adversity. They dealt with losing hard-fought games at the buzzer (LeBron, Big Baby, Iguodala and Thaddeus Young all did it to them these playoffs) that would have shaken most teams into losing confidence. They handled a semi-controversy when Dwight called out Stan Van Gundy and they went into two of the most difficult road arenas in the NBA and won critical games (games 1 and 7 in Boston, game 1 in Cleveland to break the Cavs 8-game undefeated streak.) So far the Magic have overcome every challenge placed in front of them, leaving them with just one last adversary: the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers have had their fare share of stumbles and troubles this postseason too. Just as vaunted a regular season team as LeBron’s, everyone expected LA to cruise to the finals and there was quite a commotion out West when they were taken to 7 games by the injury-ravaged Houston Rockets and pushed around by the Denver Nuggets. As one of the most talented rosters in the league and with last year’s MVP Kobe Bryant at the helm, they eventually took advantage of their experience and personnel to make all the right crunch-time plays and are looking to make up for last year’s 6-game embarrassment.
Which leads us to this showdown; seven possible games, two teams with two superstars and two coaches looking to break stereotypes and records, pushing to either create or cement their legacies. Make no mistake, just because it’s not 23 against 24 doesn’t mean there isn’t a whole lot on the line.
Phil Jackson can break his 9-championship tie with Red Auerbach and set a new coaching standard for titles. Kobe can finally start to get the giant “can’t win without Shaq” monkey off his back and prove he’s an actual champion level leader, while Van Gundy and Dwight can go a long way toward silencing all their own critics with yet another huge upset.
And that upset is far from impossible. As much as the Lakers have been tested so far, they might face their biggest challenge with Orlando, who not only boasts a ferocious interior presence in Howard, but gives LA some of the same match up nightmares that faced Cleveland and Boston. Word even has it that All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson will play. Who’s going to guard Lewis and Turkoglu? Gasol is too slow and Ariza can only stick to one of them. Walton? Please. If Odom is on his game (a huge if) then LA has a much better chance, but either way it’ll be tough. Especially when Dwight is dominating inside, which will create space for the endless supply of 3-point shooters on the Magic.
Of course that’s only if Orlando keeps hitting its threes, which so far they have been able to do with consistency. It’s hard to see Lewis, Turkoglu, Pietrus and Alston suddenly losing their touch, especially with all the confidence they’ve gained so far. They’re shooting a respectable 37% outside the arc so far as a team (down only one percent from their regular season stats) and Lewis and Pietrus are each shooting at or above 39%. Spacing the floor against a Lakers defense already prone to breakdowns could do wonders for the Magic.
On the flipside, Howard will face his most difficult frontcourt opponents yet as he’ll see something he hasn’t seen so far these playoffs – young, tall and athletic guys capable of staying in front of him and dishing out some hard hits. Bynum, although largely invisible thus far, has a chance to bother Howard and will definitely give out fouls. Odom and Gasol are nowhere near as strong, but their size and relative quickness shouldn’t be underestimated. The pressure will be on Howard to keep hitting his free throws and prove his worth as a go-to bigman.
Speaking of dominant centers, who do you think Shaq is going for? You know he doesn’t want Kobe to win a ring and tie his total, but I can’t imagine he wants the “Master of Panic” and Dwight to get the last laugh and do what he couldn’t in Orlando and win a ring. Anyone down to ask him?
For the Lakers, their keys to victory obviously involve great production from Kobe, but if they want to win their 15th championship they’ll need a lot more from everyone else. Here’s a nifty position by position breakdown of each team’s roster. Their struggles against Denver quickly changed when Odom decided to actually show up and Gasol’s extra touches and fouls blocks in the paint showed a side of them rarely seen. Whether Lakers fans want to admit it or not, their team is notoriously known for being soft, specifically Gasol, so if they want to beat Orlando they’ll need the Pau that doesn’t inspire these Kotex parodies.
In all seriousness though, one of the biggest keys to how the series will swing revolves around how Orlando defends Kobe. Pietrus is their best perimeter defender and in spite of LeBron’s amazing numbers, Pietrus did a great job on him in each game. If Pietrus can stay in front of Kobe and lure him into going solo into Howard and the Marcin Gortat/Tony Battie combo, then they have a good shot. The Magic swept the season series with the Lakers even though Kobe had a 41-point game and a 28-point, 13-rebound, 11-assist effort against them, so there’s a chance Orlando can use the same winning formula that Boston perfected last year.
Whether he admits it or not, this year is a monumental one for Kobe’s legacy. If he loses, he undoubtedly will take a big hit in the “greatest players” debate, and if he wins he moves toward joining the NBA’s all-time upper echelon. That’s a lot of pressure and physical play for anyone to handle, even Kobe, and his 13 years of wear and tear may play a factor.
Given the multiple matchup problems Orlando creates with their 3-point shooting and Dwight’s emergence as a true superstar, this series can and most likely will go at least six games. The Lakers are the favorite and should win it all if they play to their potential, but that’s apparently easier said then done for them, so don’t be stunned if the Magic are the first to four wins. It would only seem fitting if the team that plays not too far from Disney World could start their own NBA version of the popular slogan and bring a title home with them.
- Will.
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