Lakers vs. Magic Series Previews

[duncan228]

Capsule preview of the Lakers-Magic NBA finals (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-nbafinalscapsule&prov=ap&type=lgns)
By Brian Mahoney

A capsule look at the NBA finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic, which begins Thursday night (with playoff stats):

LOS ANGELES LAKERS (65-17, 12-6) vs. ORLANDO MAGIC (59-23, 12-7)

Starters:

Lakers—C Andrew Bynum (6.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.0 bpg), F Pau Gasol (18.2 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 2.6 apg), F Trevor Ariza (11.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.6 apg), G Kobe Bryant (29.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.9 apg), G Derek Fisher (7.1 ppg, 2.4 apg).

Magic—C Dwight Howard (21.7 ppg, 15.4 rpg, 2.2 bpg), F Rashard Lewis (19.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.6 apg), F Hedo Turkoglu (15.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.1 apg), G Courtney Lee (8.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg), G Rafer Alston (12.7 ppg, 4.4 apg).

Key Reserves:

Lakers—F Lamar Odom (12.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg), G Shannon Brown (5.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg), G Sasha Vujacic (3.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg), F Luke Walton (3.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.5 apg), G Jordan Farmar (5.1 ppg, 2.1 apg), F Josh Powell (2.0 ppg, 1.1 rpg).

Magic—G/F Mickael Pietrus (10.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg), G Anthony Johnson (4.3 ppg, 2.1 apg), G Marcin Gortat (3.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg), F Tony Battie (2.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg), G J.J. Redick (6.2 ppg, 1.9 apg).

Season Series: Magic, 2-0. It’s obvious why Orlando would love to have the injured Jameer Nelson back for the finals, since he averaged 27.5 points against the Lakers. He scored 27 in a 106-103 home victory on Dec. 20, then went for 28 in a 109-103 win at Los Angeles on Jan. 16. The Magic made 12 3-pointers in each game to overcome a pair of big performances from Kobe Bryant, who scored 41 points at Orlando and had 28 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in the rematch. Dwight Howard had double-doubles in both games, including a 25-point, 20-rebound performance at Staples Center. Rashard Lewis chipped in 19 points per game.

Storyline: The Lakers are back in the finals for the second straight year, but not against any of the opponents they were expected to face—because the Magic eliminated both of them. Orlando ousted defending champion Boston in the second round, then ended hopes of a Kobe Bryant-LeBron James showdown by upsetting top-seeded Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals. The Magic are seeking their first title in just their second finals appearance, while the Lakers are here for the 30th time and are looking their 16th championship.

Key matchup I: Bynum vs. Howard. Howard scored a career playoff-high 40 points in Orlando’s Game 6 clincher against Cleveland and seems to be unstoppable with just one player. The Lakers hope Bynum—who they didn’t have in the finals last year—can stay out of foul trouble and at least contain him, because double-teaming Howard means leaving one of the Magic’s 3-point shooting threats open.

Key matchup II: Odom vs. Pietrus. The sixth men both could play starters’ minutes in the series—Odom to match up with either Lewis or Turkoglu, and Pietrus to defend Bryant. The Lakers forward surges into the finals after averaging 19.5 points and 11 rebounds in the last two games of the conference finals, while Pietrus has become much more than a defensive specialist, scoring in double figures in eight straight games.

X-factor: Fisher. The veteran point guard has struggled with his shot during most of the postseason, and he could find himself open if the Magic have to help on Bryant. That’s what happened in the first meeting, and Fisher responded with 27 points, his best game of the season. He managed only nine on 3-of-11 shooting in the game at Los Angeles.

Prediction: Lakers in six.

[sook]

Great info, thnx duncan228

[MambaJuice2408]

Good analysis on the Odom and Pietrus. I agree though. Lakers in 6. The format in the Finals HUGELY favors the team with home court. I hate the format but i'm glad they aren't facing the Cavs w/out homecourt.

[duncan228]

Position-by-position matchups for the NBA finals (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-nbafinals-matchups&prov=ap&type=lgns)
By Brian Mahoney

A position-by-position look at the matchups in the NBA finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic.

CENTER: Andrew Bynum vs. Dwight Howard. The Lakers sorely missed Bynum last year against Boston, and they need him to play well now against Howard, because having to double-team Orlando’s All-Star means leaving one of its 3-point shooters open. But Bynum hasn’t regained his full mobility after returning from a knee injury and that puts him at a severe disadvantage against Howard, who scored 40 points in the Magic’s clinching victory over Cleveland and authored a 25-point, 20-rebound masterpiece last time he visited the Lakers. Edge: Magic.

POWER FORWARD: Pau Gasol vs. Rashard Lewis. Intriguing matchup of All-Stars who hurt teams in different ways, Gasol from inside and Lewis from the perimeter. Gasol was a disappointment against Orlando in the regular season, averaging just 12 points and 8.0 rebounds, but a repeat of those struggles seems unlikely the way he is playing now. Lewis will continue to cause matchup problems with his 3-point shooting, as he did against Cleveland’s big forwards, so the Lakers may often use Lamar Odom to defend him away from the basket. Edge: Even.

SMALL FORWARD: Trevor Ariza vs. Hedo Turkoglu. Ariza, a former Magic forward, is no longer just a slasher, shooting 50 percent from 3-point range in the postseason. He made two key steals on inbounds passes against Denver that helped the Lakers pull out victories, and his athleticism is a key to their defense. Turkoglu had awful shooting efforts in three of the final four nights in the conference finals, but still finds ways to impact games with his passing and rebounding. Edge: Magic.

SHOOTING GUARD: Kobe Bryant vs. Courtney Lee. Bryant will likely be guarded often by Mickael Pietrus, the Magic’s best perimeter defender. Bryant had a 41-point game and a 28-point, 13-rebound, 11-assist effort against Orlando during the regular season, and he’s desperate to come through in the finals after Boston’s defensive schemes made life miserable for him last June. Edge: Lakers.

POINT GUARD: Derek Fisher vs. Rafer Alston. Both will get open shots when their defenders have to help on other players, but neither has consistently made them in the playoffs. Alston is shooting 38 percent and Fisher only 36 percent— 23.5 percent from behind the arc. Still, Alston has had a few strong performances, more of them than Fisher. Edge: Magic.

RESERVES: Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Josh Powell vs. Mickael Pietrus, Anthony Johnson, Marcin Gortat, Tony Battie and J.J. Redick. Orlando doesn’t go as deep but has received reliable play from the guys it calls on, winning games when Johnson and Gortat had to start after suspensions to Alston and Howard. The Lakers’ bench was supposed to give them an edge against Boston and instead was a disappointment, but with Odom looking sharp at the end of the conference finals, this is their chance for redemption. Edge: Lakers.

COACHES: Phil Jackson vs. Stan Van Gundy. Van Gundy has been criticized by his former center (Shaquille O’Neal) and his current one (Howard) this season, but hard to find any fault with him these days after leading his team to consecutive series victories over higher-seeded opponents. Jackson tries again for a 10th title, which would move him ahead of Red Auerbach, and his experience and calm on this stage remain one of the Lakers’ biggest assets. To win it, he’ll need to find a way to solve the matchup problems the Magic created for their opponents in the East. Edge: Even.

[1Parker1]

Eh, this is basically the Lakers championship to lose. I agree with whoever it was that said that the playoff format greatly favors the home team, even more so than in general. The road team basically has to win at least one of the first two games in order to even have a chance and it's a lot to ask them to win 3 straight home games.

Either way, this series could have had a different outcome perhaps with a healthy Jameer Nelson with the way he was playing, but there's no one that can guard Kobe and the Lakers have the length to neutralize Lewis and Hedo.

Lakers in 6.

[Ghazi]

team w/ home court:

08 Boston wins
07 SA wins
06 Dallas wins
05 SA wins
04 LA LOSES
03 SA wins
02 LA wins
01 LA wins
00 LA wins
99 SA wins
98 UTA LOSES
97 CHI wins
96 CHI wins

etc etc

[duncan228]

Will the Magic upset the Lakers? Almost (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=Magic-Lakers-090531)
Orlando handled L.A. twice this season, but the Finals might look a little different
By J.A. Adande
ESPN.com

Supposedly, last year taught me a lesson: Unlike the message in those mutual fund warnings, past results in the NBA are indicative of future results. In particular, we saw during the 2008 NBA Finals that regular-season outcomes do matter when it comes to postseason matchups. The Celtics' 2-0 sweep of the Lakers was a pretty good indicator of what was to come when the teams met in June, as Boston took the title in six games.

And now the Orlando Magic, who went a combined 6-3 against Boston, Cleveland and the Lakers during the 2008-09 regular season, are two-thirds of the way toward validating those numbers in the postseason, having already dispatched of the Celtics and now the Cavaliers.

And yet … I'm still picking the Lakers to beat the Magic in seven games in the NBA Finals.

For starters, a couple of observations about those two regular-season games, which the Magic won 106-103 in Orlando on Dec. 20 and 109-103 in Los Angeles on Jan. 16.

One, Jameer Nelson was the leading scorer for Orlando in both games, torching the Lakers for a total of 55 points. He was another one of those quick point guards who have torn up L.A. throughout the season. But Nelson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in February and won't be around to exploit the Lakers' biggest weakness. Midseason pickup Rafer Alston has had some effective games during the playoffs, but he won't lead the Magic in scoring this series.

Two, the Magic shot 40 percent or better on 3-pointers in both games, exceeding even their regular-season average of 38 percent. And they will have good shooting nights in the Finals. But will they have four of them?

Meanwhile, there are some other factors I'm focusing on.

The first is the Stage Fright Factor, the adjustment to playing in the Finals for the first time, as all of the Magic's top players will be doing. They'll see that this is not just another game. It will hit them the moment they step into the arena, with the banners and bunting hanging everywhere, the giant stickers on the court, the multitude of cameras affixed to the backboards, the reporters swarming around, the NBA Entertainment cameras in their faces from the breakfast table to the trainer's room.

I consider the Stage Fright Factor to be worth one game. Here's what has happened in Game 1 the past 11 times a batch of Finals newcomers faced a group that had been there before:

2007: Cavaliers lost to Spurs
2002: Nets lost to Spurs
2001: 76ers beat Lakers
1997: Jazz lost to Bulls
1996: Sonics lost to Bulls
1995: Magic lost to Rockets
1993: Suns lost to Bulls
1991: Bulls lost to Lakers
1990: Trail Blazers lost to Pistons
1988: Pistons beat Lakers
1986: Rockets lost to Celtics

That's a 2-9 record for the newcomers. (Roll the Nick Anderson free-throw clip.)

And we know another big Game 1 stat: Lakers coach Phil Jackson is 43-0 when his team wins the first game of a series.

Back to these two teams. Expect the Lakers to foul Dwight Howard and stick to the plan more diligently than the Cavs did. He shot 15 free throws in the first game against the Lakers and 16 in the second. In this case, it's actually a blessing for the Lakers that Andrew Bynum has not been more effective in these playoffs; if he uses all six fouls against Howard, the Lakers won't lose a vital part of their attack.

But the Magic can use Marcin Gortat and Tony Battie in addition to Howard to counter Pau Gasol and Bynum. They'll be able to throw Mickael Pietrus on Kobe Bryant, as Pietrus did a stellar job of covering LeBron James.

The big question about the Lakers -- which version will show up on any given night? -- won't be an issue when they face the Magic. It sounds strange to say this about a team so reliant on the outside shot, but it's the more consistent of the two squads. Five of the Magic's seven playoff losses have come by four points or fewer, and four of them have come on shots in the final two seconds. If they fall behind early, they fight their way back in. And now that the Magic have improved their fourth-quarter shot selection, they won't make the same mental errors that doomed the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.

Magic versus Lakers brings less hype than LeBron versus Kobe but more intrigue. There's more to them than just one superstar. Do you concentrate on stopping Howard or worry about the outside shooters? Do you play Hedo Turkoglu for the outside shot or the drive? Go big to try to pound them inside, or go small to cover all their shooters?

And finally, should we go with the Magic's record versus the Lakers … or the Lakers' success against everyone else?

I'm going against the regular-season stats and focusing on what the Lakers showed against the Nuggets. They finally played defense. Gasol got a little edgier, Bryant got a little more generous with the ball and Jackson got some signs of life from the role players. If Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, Shannon Brown and Luke Walton can pop up and get some podium games (which happen when role players excel enough to be invited to the interview room), they will supplement the game or two that Bryant will win on his own and propel the Lakers to a championship.

[Dim Tuncan]

2002: Nets lost to Spurs ? Wrong year
2001: 76ers beat Lakers ? Nope.

This JA Dundee guy needs a fact checker.

[La Peace]

76ers did beat lakers game one of those finals on our return trip. The only game we lost in that post-season. It was the lakers second straight championship.

The Nets played the Lakers the year before and lost (lakers third), and then lost to the spurs game one of the next year. They were the returning finals team and lost.

The years are wrong however.

[duncan228]

Most intriguing Finals storylines (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/scott_howard-cooper/06/01/finals.storylines/index.html?eref=T1)
Scott Howard-Cooper
SI.com

Wanna buy some used puppets?

There went that Kobe-LeBron mini-series of a marketing campaign, to great snickering from central Florida. Or at least that's what it sounded like over the crying jags around the ABC offices.

It's Lakers-Magic in the end, not Lakers-Cavaliers, Presented by Nike. Better yet, in place of the dream matchup for ratings, it is deservedly Orlando in L.A. on Thursday for Game 1. A best-of-seven series that remains star driven in the absence of LeBron James should still be captivating, and definitely will have its own storylines.

No flukes here. Kobe Bryant is great, Dwight Howard is in the constellation, the Lakers have been a predictable representative for the West since training camp and the Magic so convincingly dispatched the supposed best team in the East that Cleveland's elimination is an emotional bruising for an entire city.

And, look. There's Shaquille O'Neal.

Yes, there are still storylines. Among them:

Road trip!

The Lakers have home-court advantage, which coach Phil Jackson said all along would be an important factor in the title pursuit. They wouldn't have had it against the Cavaliers, and this way get Games 1 and 2 and, if necessary, 6 and 7 at Staples Center, thereby avoiding the potential of two long hauls. Los Angeles to Orlando just once, as opposed to L.A. to Cleveland to start the series, Cleveland to L.A. for the middle set in the 2-3-2 format and likely L.A. back to Cleveland for the closing block.

Except that the Magic are very good on the road -- 27-14 in the regular season followed by the series-clinching win in the first round against the 76ers, followed by the Game 7 win in the second round against the Celtics, followed immediately by the Game 1 win in Cleveland. Orlando went to Staples on Jan. 16, scored 65 points in the second half and won 109-103.

Andrew Bynum, now more than ever

His play, or lack thereof, affects the Lakers' chances and the Lakers' rotation and the Lakers' depth. No surprise. Same storyline as every series, with no way of knowing which Bynum they'll get.

It's just that this time, L.A. needs him. The Jazz were without Mehmet Okur for three games in the first round, Yao Ming is more shooter than crushing inside presence and he missed the last four games of the second round anyway, and Nenê is the fourth or fifth option for Denver, depending on who's on the court.

Howard, though, embarrasses people. People like Bynum.

• Dec. 20 in Orlando: Howard had 18 points (he took only six shots, making four) and 12 rebounds in just 31 minutes. Bynum had three points and one rebound in 12 minutes, though that was long enough to get five fouls. Magic win.

• Jan. 16 in Los Angeles: Howard had 25 points and 20 rebounds in 40 minutes. Bynum had 14 and three in 33 minutes. Magic win.

The Lakers can talk all they want about a size advantage with Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom playing together. But if Bynum gets rolled again, they're out of true centers at the very wrong time.

Kobe Bryant vs. his legacy

Three championships, but zero without O'Neal. (Not that Shaq would ever mention it.) Bryant has always wanted to put his mark on history. Doing that requires a title as The Man. The next few weeks are not all on him, but what happens will partly determine how he is viewed the next couple of decades.

A team has to lose in the Finals before it can win in the Finals

Simply. Not. True.

It's a myth, a reach of explanation on why some newcomers have lost. A cop-out.

While the Lakers having played last June -- sort of -- is undoubtedly an advantage in experience, the Magic are not in a deep hole because they're here for the first time with this group. The Celtics of 2008, the Heat of '06, the Pistons of '04, the Lakers of '00 all won without first losing.

Phil Jackson vs. history

Nine titles as a coach for Red Auerbach, nine for Jackson. As if anyone who's ever driven through Boston wasn't already rooting against the Lakers.

Jackson could break the record or could be about to walk away. He said just before the playoffs that "I have every expectation to return," but has not said officially he will exercise the 2009-10 option, and there is no reason to think an announcement would come during the championship series. Unlikely or not, it has to come into play on some level that these could be the final games for one of the all-time great coaches.

The potential return of Jameer Nelson

Forget that the All-Star point guard would not be in game shape and, in the real concern, that this is the absolute worst time for Magic coach Stan Van Gundy to be blending players into the lineup. If Nelson does play for the first time since Feb. 19 shoulder surgery -- the Orlando Sentinel reported the Magic are exploring the possibility in a switch from the original timetable that he was done for the season -- imagine the emotional lift.

Beating the more-experienced Celtics in a Game 7, making the Cavaliers look like the underdog, reaching the Finals six years after finishing with the worst record in the league and getting Nelson back? One energy boost after another.

[Ghazi]

Mahoney's wrong about the 4's. Pau is superior enough to Lewis that Pau > Lewis is fair.

[NewJerSpur]

LET'S GO MAGIC....that's all for now.

[pauls931]

I´ll just say the same thing over and over. It all comes down to Dhow staying in the game. Bynum might slow him a bit, but he´ll wear out. Gasol can´t guard him, Odom can´t, no way in hell walton can either. However that´s 4 guys to repeately jump into him on offense trying to draw fouls.

[DollarSlice]

Here's the Inside the NBA guys making their picks for the finals. (http://www.nba.com/video/channels/tnt_overtime/2009/05/30/nba_20090530_inside_3.nba/?cid=playoff1)

[JoeTait75]

- Orlando is going to miss Jameer Nelson for the first time in this postseason. He's exactly the kind of slashing PG the Lake Show have the most trouble with. Rafer has done a nice job for them in Jameer's absence, but he's streaky, and all you really have to do is stay in front of him and not give him uncontested looks. Derek Fisher is capable of doing that at least.

- Dewey Howard can't guard Pau. He just can't. Pau can take him away from the basket and either shoot over him or beat him off the dribble. Now, Pau can't guard Dewey either. But Bynum can- if he stays out of foul trouble.

- Lamar Odom is about as perfect a counter for Rashard Lewis as you can find, because he can guard him away from the basket. Rashard won't be able to post him up either. If he couldn't post up Wally Sczcerbiak, he won't be able to post up Lamar.

- L.A. has enough tall perimeter defenders (Kobe, Ariza, Luke) to make things difficult for Orlando's tall perimeter shooters. The Magic shot the lights out from long range against the Cavaliers, but most of those makes were on wide-open looks, which they won't get against the Lake Show.

- L.A. has the size to score on Orlando's halfcourt defense (their strength) and the speed to murder them in transition (their weakness.)

I originally liked Orlando in this series. But not having Jameer Nelson is really going to hurt them. Lake Show in six.

[Artest93]

So the finals format is 2-3-2 ?

[ginobili's bald spot]

So the finals format is 2-3-2 ?

Yup

[duncan228]

Ball Don't Lie.

NBA Finals Preview: Orlando Magic vs. Los Angeles Lakers (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/NBA-Finals-Preview-Orlando-Magic-vs-Los-Angele;_ylt=AnQwmZ9ztQQJBWJnQf9CLpq8vLYF?urn=nba,1 67453)
By J.E. Skeets

Two of SB Nation's finest, Josh Tucker from Silver Screen and Roll and Ben Q. Rock from Third Quarter Collapse, breakdown the 2009 NBA Finals, which starts this Thursday night in Los Angeles.

Silver Screen and Roll (http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/): Here is what you need to know about the recent history of the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers: On one hand, the Magic beat the Lakers in both regular season meetings; on the other, both games were very close, and Jameer Nelson led the Magic in both games, averaging 27.5 points while shooting a combined 20-34 from the field and 7-12 from beyond the three-point arc. Other lineup changes, particularly for the Lakers, also make this matchup different.

All of which means that the past tells us essentially nothing about the future of this matchup.

But it's more than that. During the regular season, teams have little time to prepare for their opponents. The length of the season and the fairly rapid pace of the schedule force them to stick to a more general approach. Any adjustments for a specific team are minor and made on the fly.

The playoffs, on the other hand, are all about specific matchups — and assuming that the teams close out previous series with enough time to prepare for the next one (which both teams did), there is usually ample time to make much more significant adjustments, with the singular goal of beating a specific opponent.

That ability to prepare for one's opponent in ways that weren't possible in the regular season is vital to the Lakers, especially against the Magic. Against many teams, the objective is simple and the necessary adjustments are minimal. But the Magic are not your average team. Their unconventional style of play forces teams to adapt to them, to make significant adjustments to account for Orlando's unusual mismatches.

This means that the Magic pose a serious problem during the regular season, but one for which the Lakers can be better prepared going into the Finals.

Fortunately, these Lakers will have had more than just five days of down time to prepare them for the Magic. They also have the previous three rounds of postseason play, which I believe prepares them for the Magic much better than Orlando's previous opponents have prepared them for L.A. The Lakers' biggest weaknesses are lightning quick, penetrating point guards, physically tough front lines, and three-point shooting. However, the Lakers have already faced plenty of each, and have experience in making the necessary adjustments. Rafer Alston is not Aaron Brooks, and he has struggled against the Lakers in the past. Meanwhile, aside from Howard's monster dunks, Orlando is more of a finesse team than others the Lakers have played, and I would give L.A. the overall "toughness" advantage at this point.

Three-point shooting, as it has been for every team the Magic have faced, will be a problem for the Lakers. Nonetheless, the Lakers had the third-lowest opponents' three-point field goal percentage in the regular season (34.5%), and the second-lowest in the postseason (31.3%). In fact, the Lakers are actually shooting better from long distance than the Magic in the playoffs, while also forcing their opponents to shoot worse.

Meanwhile, don't expect the Lakers do double very much on Dwight Howard. By and large, Phil Jackson will live with Howard getting his, rather than allowing him to create for his teammates and initiate a flood of three-pointers. Much like playing the Lakers, allowing the Magic’s star player to dominate is actually preferable to allowing their entire offense to get going.

Speaking of matchups, a lot has been made of the matchups problems the Magic create for the Lakers — but not much has been said about the other side. Of course, Kobe Bryant is an obvious problem for any team — and Courtney Lee is not Shane Battier or Ron Artest. Aside from the obvious, however, there are other matchups that will also be difficult for the Magic.

The Lakers bigs present as much of a challenge for the Magic to defend as Howard does for the Lakers. In fact, this will be the first time that Howard and the Magic have faced a team with an All-Star front line — Elton Brand didn't play in the first round, Kevin Garnett didn't play in the second, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas is essentially a freakishly tall spot-up outside shooter. Pau Gasol, on the other hand, is an All-Star forward/center, Lamar Odom has near All-Star skills, and Andrew Bynum requires attention when he is on the floor. If Howard pays them the attention they deserve, L.A.’s slashers (Kobe Bryant, Trevor Ariza, and Lamar Odom) will get good close looks at the basket; if he comes over to contest, Gasol and Bynum will be open for a quick pass inside. Against so many players capable of doing damage in the paint, Howard will struggle more than ever to stay out of foul trouble.

And what of Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis? Ariza is taller than Delonte West and quicker than Wally Szczerbiak, and Walton was surprisingly effective against Carmelo Anthony, who is quicker than Hedo and equally lethal from distance. Rashard Lewis will find Gasol (when he plays power forward) and Odom more than capable of meeting him on the perimeter, and they both have the foot speed and size to defend him in the post.

Perhaps the biggest issue here is that this is the first team the Magic have played that is this good across the board. The Celtics were an injured shell of their former selves, and the Cavs were essentially a one-man team. The Lakers, on the other hand, are healthier and more physically talented than either the Celtics or Cavs, and they play in an offensive system that makes it difficult to stop them simply by focusing all defensive energy on one or two players. L.A. has not one, but two players who command a double team, and a whole host of other players who can take advantage when that double team comes. In the last two games against Denver, the Lakers have been taking better advantage of the doubles on Kobe and Gasol than ever. If they don’t come, the Lakers stars will run wild.

Lakers in 6 very tough, hard-fought games, and a victory in Staples Center thanks to unanticipated home court advantage.

*********************

Third Quarter Collapse: (http://www.thirdquartercollapse.com/) The Orlando Magic have two fairly big concerns in their NBA Finals matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, despite being one of only two teams to sweep them this season. First and foremost is the presence of Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom in L.A.'s rotation. The Magic have toppled some tough opponents so far in the playoffs, but none had the interior presence the Lakers have. Consider the post-oriented bigs with whom Orlando contended in the first three rounds of the playoffs: Samuel Dalembert, Theo Ratliff, Kendrick Perkins, Anderson Varejao, and Ben Wallace. Hardly a murderer's row on offense, which is why Dwight Howard, the Defensive Player of the Year, is going to have his hands full. He'll also look to carry the Magic's offense, as he did when his team eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals. Getting Bynum in foul trouble, as he did in the regular-season meetings, needs to be a top priority. Force the Lakers to play Gasol more at center, and maybe even give D.J. Mbenga a few minutes.

The second concern is that the Lakers, as Kelly Dwyer alluded to after they routed the Denver Nuggets to advance to the NBA Finals, have an intimidating efficient offense. Gasol is adept in the post, and a deft passer. Bynum contributes down low every now and again. Trevor Ariza, whom the Magic dealt to Los Angeles because of his lack of a reliable outside shot, is sinking treys at a 50% clip in the postseason. And, of course, Kobe Bryant is lethal from the perimeter and on the drive. They have options, the likes of which the Magic have not seen. It appears to me that their ceiling is higher than Orlando's. Further, the 6-foot-8-inch, lanky, athletic Ariza seems engineered specifically to shut down players like Hedo Turkoglu. If he stymies Turkoglu, and if Rashard Lewis has one of his occasional off-nights, the Magic are in deep trouble.

But none of this is to say Orlando doesn't have its advantages. I maintain that the power forward matchup of Gasol and Lewis actually skews in Orlando's favor, since Gasol is ill-equipped to chase Lewis on the perimeter, while Lewis has become a well above-average — but not elite — post defender. Howard can and will score against Bynum and Gasol, provided he can stay out of foul trouble himself. And as erratic as Rafer Alston is, there's no doubt in my mind he'll get the best of Derek Fisher in this series. Depth, too, favors the Magic. Mickael Pietrus has come up big in each of the Magic's last two playoffs rounds, while Marcin Gortat continues to provide quality minutes in relief of Howard. J.J. Redick only played 7 minutes total in the Conference Finals, but appears to be a better matchup against the Lakers, and could knock down some timely three-balls against the likes of Sasha Vujacic and Shannon Brown. The Lakers, in contrast, have not gotten much out of their reserves save for Odom.

Before the Conference Finals started, I said I was off the Magic's bandwagon. I didn't believe they had what it took to handle Cleveland. After watching them control that series, I'm a believer again. A stronger one, anyway. Los Angeles is an excellent team, the odds-on favorite to take the Western Conference from very early in the season, and it's playing its best ball right now. Then again, so are the Magic. This series is a toss-up, in the truest sense of the term. I'm torn between "Magic in 6" and "Lakers in 7," so I'll go with the former, hoping I'm as right about this series as I was wrong about the Cleveland one.

Magic in 6.

[duncan228]

Kobe vs. Superman: Who has the edge? (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/bryant-howard-team-2437860-game-james)
Ding column: Dwight Howard is a goofball, and Kobe is driven.
Kevin Ding
The Orange County Register

He has climbed to the cusp of the championship by lifting the Orlando Magic into the NBA Finals against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, yet this will not be Dwight Howard’s first time this season holding up his hand and asking to “put a ring on it.”

No, not by demanding a trade for a better chance to win or delivering inspirational speeches to his teammates about championship rings.

On the Magic’s team plane, Howard will recruit the flight attendants to break into dance with him and stay in step as he channels Beyonce and mimics her best booty shakes in the music video for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).”

That’s just who Howard is: a complete goofball who is a 6-foot-11 entertainment center when he’s not breaking backboards or being named NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Check out in his own words, written for an NBA.com blog, just how giddy he was after Orlando beat the Lakers at Staples Center back in January in what Howard called “like the funnest game.”

“After that game I was just so amped up, jumping up and down, just going nuts. I was so excited and felt like I could’ve played three more quarters. But we headed out for Denver and we got in there at like 5:30 in the morning and I’m STILL amped up about the game and I couldn’t sleep until like 8, 9 o’clock. And I’m trying to sleep but I kept thinking about the game and we had to play Denver that night. So come gametime I was just so tired and I’m trying to fight through it.”

That excerpt leaves out Howard calling it “a dream come true” to tour the Warner Brothers studio the day before and how his lactose intolerance cleared out the limo on the ride back to the team hotel.

Contrast all that youthful energy careening in all directions with Bryant’s all-revealing one-word reply to a question about whether winning this championship would mean more to him than his previous three NBA titles because he is the clear leader of this Lakers team:

“Probably.”

It is certainly a contrast when you look at the two superstars in these NBA Finals, Howard and Bryant, big and small, ages 23 and 30, one riding this wave beyond the playoffs’ second round for the first time and the other still smarting from dropping the gold ball last year in Boston.

Asked if Howard, a fellow starter on the gold-medal USA Basketball team last summer, is truly as goofy as it seems, Bryant said: “Probably more so, actually.”

Then Bryant pivoted and changed direction with his answer in a way you wouldn’t expect.

“But he’s extremely competitive,” Bryant continued. “Everybody handles things differently. When he steps on that court, he competes. He might be laughing and joking around, but he’s a competitor.”

If Bryant says Howard is an extreme competitor, then it’s safe to say he is. The 40 points and 14 rebounds that eliminated LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night would also argue in that favor.

Truth be told, Bryant lets out his lighter side publicly more than ever – and not just through a puppet in a TV commercial, either. Just his two trips to Oklahoma City this season showed that, although neither was as funny as Bryant likening teammate DJ Mbenga to Sloth, the deformed character from the 1985 movie “Goonies.”

First trip in February: Bryant exits the locker room after the game to find a group of Thunder ballboys with a variety of memorabilia they’d love for him to sign.

Bryant signs a lot of stuff until one kid reluctantly submits a pair of Bryant’s first personal sneakers … made by adidas, with whom Bryant had a lot of issues before jumping to Nike. “I’m not going to sign those Nazi sneakers,” Bryant says, cracking up all the other ballboys who had told the kid so beforehand. (Bryant does ease off by telling the ballboy to bring something else next time the Lakers are in town and he’ll sign that.)

Second trip in March: Bryant is talking to some reporters after the game when – with two rounds of the NCAA tournament completed – a somewhat nervous local with too much Blake Griffin on the brain asks if Bryant filled out an NCAA tournament.

Bryant says, “No, I meant to and didn’t get around to it … and it’s a shame. I had every game right, too!” The reporter stands there in awed silence until it dawns on him that Bryant is screwing with him.

For the record, Bryant declares that James and Carmelo Anthony were “the two funniest guys” on the Olympic team, which might be the harshest form of insult one can make toward Howard.

James and Anthony are gone now, though, courtesy of Howard and Bryant … and the question is whether Howard (and his adidas endorsement) can fill James’ shoes as a worthy rival to Bryant in this series.

It’s hard to criticize what James did this season, but the net effect was this: Both Howard and Bryant outdid James in one area: preparing and allowing their teammates to be clutch in the postseason.

James is obviously a willing passer. Even so, maybe he did too much for Cleveland all season long. There’s no doubting that the Cavaliers wound up overly dependent on James creating everything, and in fact no NBA MVP has led his team to the league championship in this team game in the past six years. (San Antonio’s Tim Duncan, not really a do-it-all type, was the last MVP to win in 2003.)

Howard sets the outer table for Orlando’s 3-point marksmen by being the focal point of his team’s offense early to draw in opposing defenses. His passing has improved dramatically in just the past year.

He certainly isn’t shy about speaking up, as seen by tying Bryant for the NBA playoff lead in technical fouls with five, two shy of an automatic one-game suspension.

Being a competitor is not enough. Having skilled teammates is not enough. Winning a championship requires an entire team lifting its competitive level to meet the moment. Given that, no matter how great Howard’s ability to overwhelm is, Bryant’s ability to orchestrate will resonate more.

This is about who laughs last, and this time it’ll be Bryant.

[duncan228]

No. 3 Orlando Magic vs. No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers (http://www.cbssports.com/nba/postseason/matchups/nba%20finals)
Ken Berger
CBS Sports

Season Series: Magic won 2-0.

Berger's Take: A classic case of a seasoned, experienced playoff team on a mission against a team on the rise that hasn't been there before. How big a factor will experience be? Huge. Orlando has the ability to give the Lakers matchup fits, though not to the extent they did against Cleveland. The difference will be this: No matter which team seems to have the edge from game to game, the Lakers have been through this enough not to panic or lose their psychological edge. In the end, it comes down to two key factors: 1) Who slows down Kobe Bryant; and 2) Do the Lakers defend Orlando's 3-point shooters better than Boston and Cleveland did. As to the first point, the answer is, "Nobody." Kobe can taste his fourth title -- and the all-important first one without Shaquille O'Neal -- and he showed in the Denver series that he will do what's best for Kobe. If that means scoring, he'll score. If it means trusting his teammates, he'll do that. One way or another, he won't let the Lakers lose. As to the second point, the answer should be a resounding, "Yes." The Lakers are a system team offensively, but are flexible with their defensive schemes. So they will learn from the Cavs' futile attempts to double-team Dwight Howard, which left too many shooters to account for with garden variety defensive rotations. The Lakers won't fall into this trap. If they're smart and disciplined enough to do it, they'll stay with the shooters, play Howard 1-on-1, and hope for the best. Which should be good enough.

Key Matchup: Kobe vs. fill in the blank. The Magic will try all sorts of combinations to slow down No. 24. They'll start with rookie Courtney Lee, who has the emotional chops but not the size to stop Bryant from posting up and shooting over him. They'll try Hedo Turkoglu, who has the size but not the quickness to keep Kobe from beating him off the dribble. They'll try Mickael Pietrus, but not only does Kobe speak more languages than "Air France," he has way too many moves, too. First and foremost, this series is about whether the Lakers' defense and whether they can stop Orlando's 3-point shooters from bombarding them. An equally important part of the equation is whether Orlando can stop Kobe. The Magic struggled at times with Andre Iguodala, then kept Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in check, and finally let LeBron James shoot himself into oblivion. Kobe, though, will prove he's still better than all of them -- at least in a best-of-7 series.

X-Factor: Jameer Nelson. There are rumblings that the Magic point guard could possibly return from a shoulder tear that has sideline him since February. I'm not buying it. It's true that Nelson, if healthy, would make the Magic a lot more dangerous than Rafer Alston and would give them yet another deadly 3-point shooter to array against the Lakers' defense. But bringing Nelson -- primarily an offensive player who needs to be in rhythm to be effective -- back after such a long layoff doesn't make a whole lot of sense at this point. Orlando plugged Alston in after the trade deadline and had months to adapt to his style. You don't mess with the point guard position in the middle of a championship run. There are similarities to the Celtics' toying with the idea of getting Kevin Garnett back at some point in the postseason. But Garnett's usefulness would've shown up primarily on the defensive end, where the impact of rhythm and rust wouldn't be nearly as profound.

Magic win if ... Howard utterly dominates against the Lakers' expected strategy to defend him 1-on-1 and if they can constantly put the Lakers in the uncomfortable position of defending Hedo Turkoglu in high pick-and-roll situations. Turkoglu isn't adept at beating traps, but if he consistently makes the Lakers pay by finding an open shooter, Orlando will be in business.

Lakers win if ... they stay home on Orlando's shooters, use their length and discipline to close out on the 3-point line, and have enough fouls to spread around against Howard without losing Pau Gasol's playmaking ability and potentially devastating work around the basket.

Prediction: Lakers in 7.

[duncan228]

Phil Jackson’s summation: “I feel very good about this series” (http://lakers.freedomblogging.com/2009/06/02/phil-jacksons-summation-i-feel-very-good-about-this-series/18093/)
Kevin Ding
OC Register.com

EL SEGUNDO — There is an unmistakable confidence emanating from the Lakers’ training facility the past two days as preparations for the NBA Finals have kicked into full power. The Lakers feel great about being tested in the playoffs this time and how they came together for the end of the Western Conference finals, with Phil Jackson raving about how the team showed an “ability to adjust to team ball” to blow by Denver instead of force-feeding Kobe Bryant in desperation.

Jackson detailed how he was uneasy about Detroit’s momentum in 2004 and how the Lakers didn’t seem fully to understand Boston’s defense in 2008 entering those NBA Finals.

And Jackson said simply about this upcoming matchup with Orlando: “I feel very good about this series.”

Jackson said he has focused on details more than last year to make sure the Lakers are better prepared. One difference is that the Lakers are teaching more about defense (because of how potent Orlando is on offense) than last season, when they focused more on defense (because of how good Boston’s defense was with Kevin Garnett a killer roamer).

[Laker-fan-in-SanAnto]

Hopefully a preview of what's to come http://www.clublakers.com/forum/images/smilies/jam2.gif

http://alltalksports.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/kobe.jpg

[duncan228]

The Count: Will the Magic’s Success Against L.A. Continue? (http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2009/06/03/the-count-will-the-magics-success-against-la-continue/)
By Carl Bialik
Wall Street Journal Blogs

Should the Orlando Magic upset the Los Angeles Lakers and win the NBA finals, they’ll have done it by running one of the toughest gauntlets in league history. Before this year, no team had to face three playoff opponents with regular-season winning percentages of 75% or higher. Orlando’s last two opponents, though, were the Boston Celtics (who won 75.6% of their regular-season games) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (80.5%). The Lakers, meanwhile, won 79.3% of their games.

Orlando is no slouch; the Magic won 72% of their games. That’s better than Orlando’s 69.5% winning percentage last time the Magic made the finals, in 1995. The Houston Rockets, their opponent that year, had the toughest postseason slate in NBA history until this year, according to Ryan Parker of Basketball Geek (http://www.basketballgeek.com/). Houston upset the Jazz (73.2%) in the first round, the Phoenix Suns in the second round (72%) and the San Antonio Spurs (75.6%) in the Western Conference finals. The Magic in the finals were a comparatively easy opponent for the Rockets, who managed to capture the title despite winning just 57.3% of their regular-season games.

Orlando’s tough playoff road is particularly unlikely because it’s unusual to have league standings as polarized as this year’s. Just once before have three teams won three quarters of their games, in 1949-50 (http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1950.html). (In 1997-98 (http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1998.html), four teams had winning percentages of 74.4% or higher.)

In its quest to survive this difficult slate of opponents, the Magic will have to contend with the Lakers’ superior record and their resulting home-court advantage. But Orlando does have one edge: It beat the Lakers in both regular-season meetings. And in the past five seasons, such an edge has helped somewhat. In 21 playoff series where the team with the lower regular-season winning percentage won a majority of meetings with its opponent, 11 times the head-to-head winner won again. That trend has continued this spring, as the Houston Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round and the Magic beat the Cavaliers in the conference finals.

But that may be a fluke arising from small sample size. Over the 28 postseasons between 1981 and 2008, teams that won the head-to-head matchup but had a worse regular-season record won just 35.6% of 73 series between such pairs of teams. Parker, living up to the name of his site, offers that the 95% confidence interval around this finding is 25% to 47.8%. In other words, we can be quite certain that the true rate of success for teams with a head-to-head advantage but a worse overall record is below 50%. So the Lakers still have to be the favorites, just as the Spurs were two years ago, the last time such a situation arose in the finals. The Spurs swept the Cavaliers.

Some statistics via Basketball Reference (http://www.basketball-reference.com/).

[duncan228]

Keys to victory in the NBA Finals (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Keys_to_victory_in_the_NBA_Finals.html)
By Mike Monroe - Express-News

Lakers can win if

Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum can combine to keep Dwight Howard from being Superman and Kobe Bryant will continue to trust his teammates in the most crucial moments. Cleveland’s typically stingy defense broke down in the Eastern Conference finals because Howard occupied too much of the Cavaliers’ defensive attention. Bynum will get first crack at checking him. If he muscles up and makes things tough, the Lakers will have their best shot at the franchise’s 15th title.

Magic can win if

Dwight Howard is Superman, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu are Batman and Robin and Jameer Nelson is the X-Factor. If Howard owns the paint and Lewis and Turkoglu knock down 3-pointers with regularity, the Magic have a chance at an upset. Nelson is an All-Star with months of rust on his game. If he can contribute, the Magic’s chances are optimal. This will be a real test of Stan Van Gundy’s coaching instincts.

[NewJerSpur]

So how many game winners does Rashard have left in him?

Pau won't be able to hang with him on the perimeter so he should have some uncontested shots available in the opening minutes to get himself going and some driving opportunites is Gasol tries to close on him.

Hopefully Bynum looks for his offense early and in the process takes shots out of the flow of the offense like he did in the Denver series.

[duncan228]

SI.com's NBA Finals Picks (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/06/03/writers.picks/index.html)

Ian Thomsen
Lakers: 4-2

I worry that I may never learn from mistakes, having picked against Orlando the previous round. But the Lakers have more firepower around Kobe Bryant than the Cavaliers had around LeBron James; more versatility, including a stronger post presence in Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum; and in Bynum a young defender big enough to bother Dwight Howard in his set-ups around the basket. On the other hand, the Magic have a legit shooter's chance of winning -- more so than most Finals underdogs in previous years -- and they could yet make fools of me and others again.


Jack McCallum
Lakers: 4-2

The Magic will not go quietly. But go Orlando will. With a combination of Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom (not to mention a hacking cameo by D.J. Mbenga), there will be enough fouls to send Dwight Howard to the line instead of letting him dunk with impunity. And there are enough aggressive perimeter defenders with Kobe, Derek Fisher, Trevor Ariza, Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown to limit -- not stop but limit -- the three-point game that the Magic used to beat Cleveland.


Chris Mannix
Lakers: 4-2

Lamar Odom on Rashard Lewis. Trevor Ariza on Hedo Turkoglu. Kobe on anyone. The Lakers may be potent on offense, but the reason they will raise their 15th championship banner is defense. Lewis and Turkoglu were able to exploit the traditional lineups of Boston and Cleveland in earlier rounds, but the Lakers have the personnel to play a non-traditional style. Shots will be contested, gaps will quickly close. The rangy Ariza has the length to defend either Lewis or Turkoglu, and in the fourth quarter Phil Jackson has the option of siccing Bryant on either of them. The Magic will still have one dominant game -- their perimeter skills and the Lakers' tendency to lose focus will see to that -- but L.A. will have more of them.


Chris Ballard
Lakers: 4-2

Years from now, people will look back and peg this series as the beginning of the Sasha Vujacic era in the NBA. No, who are we kidding? It's going to be all Kobe, all the time in these Finals. Some will consider it boring, but then some railed against Jordan during his elite years as well. Early in the series, Bryant will continue in the facilitator role that made him (and the Lakers) so effective in Games 5 and 6 against the Nuggets. When the Magic adjust and single-cover him, he'll turn back into a scorer. Dwight Howard will put up big numbers but find the middle more congested than against Cleveland.


Steve Aschburner
Lakers: 4-2

Three reasons why the Lakers will beat the Magic: 1) The experience of having been there last June means something, especially against an opponent that has exceeded its ambitions and hasn't played at these heights before; 2) Kobe Bryant, no matter what he says, is driven just a little extra by the prospect of pulling even with Shaquille O'Neal with four championships (though it won't shut Shaq up -- nothing ever does that -- and I say "even" because Bryant's teammates collectively make up for none of them being quite the equal of O'Neal sidekick Dwyane Wade in 2006); and 3) the Lakers are more talented, equally deep and fully awake now after dilly-dallying earlier in the playoffs. Orlando has climbed the ladder in competition from Philadelphia without Elton Brand to Boston without Kevin Garnett to Cleveland without much help for LeBron to a fully functioning, fully engaged Lakers squad. That's a rung too far.


Scott Howard-Cooper
Lakers: 4-2

This is not nearly the consolation-prize matchup most suggest. The Magic have Dwight Howard as the best center in the game, which just happens to be a major Lakers question mark with the enigmatic Andrew Bynum. An L.A. concern ordinarily is now bigger than ever. Play Pau Gasol there instead and Howard powers through Gasol. But the Lakers are in good shape defending the perimeter. Lamar Odom is long and can chase. Kobe and Trevor Ariza, the two best Lakers defenders, are both wings. Combined, that's enough to nullify much of what has gone right for Orlando. The Western Conference champions have a much better chance to hit the Magic from varied points -- Bryant, Gasol, Odom. Too much offense, too much defense for the Lakers.


Arash Markazi
Lakers: 4-2

Forget about the Magic's 2-0 record against the Lakers in the regular season; the last time they played each other, George W. Bush was still in office and Jameer Nelson was fully healthy. These are different teams now. I don't see the Magic's success against Boston and Cleveland carrying over against Los Angeles, which actually has low-post scorers in Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum (if he wakes up) who will challenge Dwight Howard on both ends of the floor. The Lakers also have wing defenders such as Trevor Ariza, who won't let Hedo Turkoglu and other Magic players get so many open shots from the perimeter. The difference in stopping LeBron and the Cavaliers as opposed to Kobe and the Lakers is that Bryant has showed in these playoffs that, unlike James, he doesn't need to score 40 points or post a triple-double for the Lakers to win. When Bryant passes to Gasol, Odom or Ariza, they can score and aren't necessarily looking to pass it back to their star player as Cleveland was.

[duncan228]

Roundtable: NBA Finals pressure, intriguing subplots, more title talk (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/06/03/roundtable/index.html)

SI.com NBA writers analyze the storylines and matchups in this year's Finals.

1. Considering the Lakers and Magic both face some big potential free-agent losses, which team needs to take advantage of this title opportunity more?

Ian Thomsen: The pressure is entirely on the Lakers, not so much because of next year as last year. Since their clinching Game 6 blowout at Boston, they've been focused on making amends, and memories of that experience will be a positive force. By now it should be clear that Kobe Bryant thrives on this kind of pressure.

Jack McCallum: In the era of free agency, you have to be a moron to think, Oh, well, opportunity will come knocking again if we don't win it this year. Both teams realize they must win this year. But since you demanded one answer, I'm going to say the Lakers. Most of the pressure is on them. Kobe is getting impatient (notwithstanding my answer to the next question), and L.A. could conceivably implode with the current roster, even if free agency does not wreck it.

Steve Aschburner: Sorry, I can't really get too worked up about the Lakers' pivotal free-agent decisions and how that translates into some urgency to win now. That franchise has basked in winning and, Lamar Odom vs. Trevor Ariza signing debates notwithstanding, it will continue to thrive given the expectations of its fan base and the advantages it has as one of the league's glamour destinations. Bryant's good for several more seasons and, thus, I don't see the Lakers falling into the sort of funk that envelopes the Knicks or sidetracked the Celtics. And if they did, you know what? It'd be their turn. I do think markets such as Orlando need to strike when they get this close. Losing Hedo Turkoglu could convulse that team and, while Dwight Howard is saying all the right things now, the league's most covetous eyes always will be upon him. Kevin Garnett said all the right things and stayed a dozen years in Minnesota, but he got his ring in Boston and the Timberwolves still are waiting.

Scott Howard-Cooper: Strictly on the topic of urgency because of potential free-agent issues, the Lakers. Their star is 30, the Magic's star is 23, and there is no getting around that. Bryant's clock is spinning faster than Howard's. That need to win now is more pressing, before the summer of roster uncertainty. That said, the Lakers would be able to absorb the loss of Odom or Ariza better than the Magic with Turkoglu. Odom and Ariza haven't been permanent starters, while Turkoglu is a critical piece of Orlando's success. And L.A. probably won't lose Odom and Ariza. One or the other, maybe, or even probably. But not both. That's an important consideration in noting free agency will not ruin them.

***

2. Which superstar is a better fit with his supporting cast: Dwight Howard or Kobe Bryant?

Ian Thomsen: Right now, I'd say Howard. Orlando's roster of shooters was signed entirely to complement its young big man and create space for him in the paint. But it's more than possible that a different answer will become obvious should the Lakers' deep rotation of long, skilled players make quick work of the series.

Jack McCallum: I suppose the predictable answer here is Howard, an easygoing, popular youngster who doesn't offend anyone. But by "fit" in the Finals sense, we're not talking about someone you want to go to the movies with -- we're talking about someone you want to go to war with. Clearly, that is Bryant, who has won three championships and played in 21 championship series games, three more and 21 more, respectively, than Howard.

Steve Aschburner: Howard fits better with the other Magic players because it truly is a symbiotic relationship. They make him better by creating space, he makes them better by pulling defenders in for cleaner perimeter shots. Defensively, they benefit from him by funneling their opponents toward the league's best shot-blocker. Take Howard off that team and it would be like pulling a string on a fine sweater. The Lakers would sag mightily without Bryant, but they wouldn't unravel quite the same. They need and allow him to play great, but they haven't built an unusual style around him to the extent that Orlando has with Howard.

Scott Howard-Cooper: Kobe, because the Lakers don't need a hot streak to win a championship the way the Magic will need one with Rashard Lewis, Turkoglu and Courtney Lee hitting from the perimeter. L.A. is much more dependable at being able to beat teams inside and out. Orlando is more of a risk as a jump-shooting team. Magic general manager Otis Smith has done well executing a plan of surrounding Howard with perimeter threats, but jump-shooting teams can go cold.

***

3. What's the most intriguing subplot of the series?

Ian Thomsen: Can Kobe win without Shaq? After all, he's going up against Shaq's heir both in Orlando as well as among NBA centers overall. A win here makes Kobe a champion in different eras, which would be an amazing achievement.

Jack McCallum: The coaches. Remember that one of Phil Jackson's primary tormentors a decade ago was Jeff Van Gundy, brother of Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, and the guy who sarcastically nicknamed the Lakers' coach "Big Chief Triangle." I have no doubt that SVG has enormous respect for Jackson's coaching abilities, but he is as feisty as his brother, and, at some key moment in the series, the old Jackson-VG rivalry is bound to surface.

Steve Aschburner: An important subplot is how Howard and Bryant muzzle themselves to avoid putting themselves into (or getting suckered into) real trouble with their mounting technical fouls. If one of them were to reach the playoff max of seven (each has five entering the series) and have to sit out the next Finals game, it would be fascinating to see if the refs working that night somehow judged the other superstar to have lipped off sufficiently, too. That way, they could miss the same game, theoretically handicapping each team equally. Other than that, the subplot that interests me most is seeing the Lakers earn the title, should they win it. Since I rate them the better team and picked them to win, I root for the drama of seeing them fall behind in the series so we can see them sweat and rise to a challenge. And if that is the Lakers team Orlando manages to beat for the championship, this would be a classic Finals.

Scott Howard-Cooper: I didn't originally think so, and didn't put a spotlight on him when writing about Finals storylines a few days ago, but I find it hard to get away from the Van Gundy angle. For starters, Stan Van Gundy will be visible just for being so emotional as Magic coach, letting the mood take him rather than worrying about manufacturing the proper answer or appearance. And subplots involving him? They are numerous. How Howard is utilized (an issue thanks to Howard); how Orlando defends Kobe (after the knife-juggling of giving LeBron James single coverage the previous round); how long it will take Shaq to pile on Van Gundy with an "I told you so" if the Magic lose; how TV analyst Jeff Van Gundy will critique coach Stan Van Gundy; how the Magic will handle the emotions in their first collective trip to the Finals; how SVG will do against the ultimate modern-day closer on the sideline, Phil Jackson. That's a lot of intrigue, some that will be fun, some that will help define a career.

***

4. What matchup is the key to the series?

Ian Thomsen: Will Howard so dominate the paint as to demand double teams that create killer threes for his teammates? Or will Andrew Bynum overcome his shaky playoffs to match up physically for extended minutes and neutralize (to some extent) the league's dominant center? The results of this matchup could make the difference between a straightforward Lakers win and an extended toss-up series.

Jack McCallum: The one at power forward between the Lakers' Gasol and the Magic's Rashard Lewis. Well, I guess Lewis is a power forward even though he spends much of his time on the perimeter. And that's the point: If he can draw Gasol out and hit consistently from long range, the Magic can win the series. But if the series becomes an interior struggle, and Gasol is on his game -- which is what I think will happen -- it's advantage, Lakers.

Steve Aschburner: Mickael Pietrus' ability to pester and force Bryant into his second or third choices with the ball -- while staying on the court long enough, out of foul trouble, to matter, is the pivotal matchup. We've seen so many alleged "Kobe stoppers" come and go through the years -- guys who had some effectiveness, but mostly guys who talked it more than walked it -- that it's a natural point to watch. And Pietrus, foremost among the Magic, had promising success in the East finals against LeBron, as terrific a tune-up as one can get for Bryant.

Scott Howard-Cooper: Bynum vs. Howard. If Bynum does anything on Howard, so much as slows him down, the Lakers have gained a huge edge. But if Bynum becomes Howard's piñata, the Lakers have to send more help and the Magic shooters get more open looks. And on offense, Bynum has to be at least credible in hopes of sticking some fouls to Howard. Gasol would have a much better chance of that, of course, but the thinner Gasol on Howard at the other end is a bad look for L.A. The difference between Bynum showing up and loitering is greater than ever to the Lakers' hopes.