Well, one half of the finals are set, as Kobe Bryant and the Lakers dominated the Denver Nuggets by 27 points in game 6 to win the Western Conference Finals. The next half will be covered when Orlando wins tonight, or Orlando or Lebron wins game 7 Monday night.
I say Lebron, because he is Cleveland.
Who else do they have after all?
They have Anderson Varejao.
Oh, yeah, him. He's kind of a softy if you ask me. Who else?
Mo Williams.
Ok, he was the one that threw the ball in for Lebron's shot in game 2. That's impressive. Really impressive...
How about their center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas?
That's a cool name. What's his line?
13 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.3 bpg.
Superstar? I think not.
So you see, Lebron James is the Cleveland Cavaliers, whether you want to believe it or not. And last time I checked, one person can't win a championship in a team game. That is why Orlando has a 3-2 lead on him. And why they will win tonight. And what's more, if it gets to seven games in the NBA finals, the Magic are your champions.
Which brings me to my next point. Instead of Kobe v. Lebron everyone was predicting (I laugh in your faces. I never believed that crap for a second.) It will be Kobe v. Dwight Howard/Rashard Lewis/Hedo Turkoglu/the Orlando Magic. But when it comes down to it, the Lakers aren't just Kobe. Close, but not quite.
Pao Gasol is a softy. He won't help. Much.
Andrew Bynum is still young, but he's got talent. I can see 15 or so points per game coming from him.
I like Lamar Odom. I don't know why, but I think he's got something going for him.
But the big show of the Lakers is, of course, Kobe Bryant. He's out to prove that he can win a title without Shaq, and this year's the year. If KG hadn't got hurt, the Celtics would have already won the East and game 1 of the finals would be tomorrow night.
But that is not important, this year is the Lakers' year. Unless, of course, it goes to game seven.
The reason why I think the Magic win if the series goes to seven games is the same reason I knew the Hawks would beat the Heat in game 7 of round 1 and the same reason I believe the Magic will win the Eastern Conference tonight.
They are a better team.
I have laid out the team members of the Lakers, so now it's time to get to the Magic.
Dwight Howard. Superman. He's going to be your biggest Orlando star for the next two weeks.
Rashard Lewis is going to be your clutch man. When a big shot is needed, he's the East's Robert Horry. He has proved that in the Conference Finals, and will continue his last-second heroics against L.A.
Turkoglu will get Orlando some clutch shots as well. He's the Ray Allen in this Big Three, not quite as good statistically, but he can still help.
I referenced Boston's Big Three. Howard, Lewis, and Turkoglu are Orlando's version. They aren't quite as dominant as Garnett, Pierce, and Allen, but they are about to make the NBA Finals, so that's got to amount to something.
My pick is the Lakers in 5, but as I am now saying for the third time, if it gets to that crucial winner-takes-all game seven, my team of choice is Orlando.
Thanks for reading my only NBA blog of the season. We'll do it again this time next year.
-cth
