After battling through three rounds of playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers have made it to the NBA Finals again, this time against the Orlando Magic.
Solid shooting gave the Lakers the edge in Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Final. LA was led by Kobe Bryant, who put up game highs of 35 points and 10 assists.
While Bryant has led every game for the Lakers, the Magic have proved that an all star is not enough to beat them after taking out the LeBron James dominated Cleveland Cavaliers.
Orlando has also had a star of its own in Dwight Howard. Howard’s “Superman” persona has been so extensively solidified these playoffs that a giant cape has been hung on the side of Amway Arena, and Superman shirts are sold in the Magic’s team store.
Howard’s defeat of his Team USA teammate James ended the expected Kobe vs. LeBron final, but created a new and intriguing tale of the tape.
In the end, the results will be the best judge of a better team, and all we can do until Thursday is ponder how things will go…
How the Lakers could win it:
Depth.
If the Lakers can go beyond “the Kobe show” and continue to see involvement from their big men like Pau Gasol, Orlando will have a tough time slowing down an explosive offense.
The Lakers need to feed of the hunger from last year’s disappointing finish and end this season as a team in strong fashion.
How the Lakers could lose it:
All Kobe or not enough Kobe. There is a huge difference between the best in the world and his backup Sasha Vujacic, who shot a field goal percentage of .286 against Denver.
If Kobe is too tired from three long previous rounds or traveling coast to coast this coming series, too much bench time will be costly.
At the same time too much of Kobe will slow scoring down, exactly what Orlando will want.
LA also needs a huge defensive effort in the paint. Without it, they will give up far too many points to Howard.
How the Magic could win it:
Dwight Howard and a team defense.
He has been phenomenal for Orlando the entire postseason, and seems unstoppable in the paint. After throwing down 40 in game 6 against Cleveland, it doesn’t seem like much will slow him from getting to the hole.
LeBron ran circles around the Magic, but the Cavaliers not wearing the number 23 were held to a field goal percentage of 43: a testament to Orlando’s overall defensive ability.
How the Magic could lose it:
Inexperience. With so little experience in the NBA Finals, Orlando cannot afford to be swept up in the moment, and need to focus on getting the job done for four more wins. This is Orlando’s head coach Stan Van Gundy’s first finals appearance, compared to the Lakers’ Phil Jackson’s 12th.
The wild cards:
LA’s Trevor Ariza and Orlando’s Rashard Lewis. Ariza has solidified his postseason ability so far as to replace Lamar Odom as a starter.
A strong shooting percentage from him like his .581 against Denver will hurt the Magic, and a strong paint presence on defense will be needed to slow Howard.
Lewis has been putting in more playing time than any other Orlando player, and has scored over 18 points per game and pulled down eight rebounds in Game 6 against the Cavs.
A big series from him will make the Lakers’ job a lot tougher.
Whatever the outcome of this series, it will definitely be an entertaining one.
Kobe vs. Superman: the showdown
Published: Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Updated: Tuesday, June 2, 2009
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