Game 1 in LA

Plenty of discussion was made for the LeBron vs Kobe match up while Dwight continued to prepare himself in the gym with his coaching staff and teammates. Most analysts were so caught up in King James and how he rallied his team to a 66 win regular season, they somehow forgot about how the Orlando Magic and the defensive player of the year had just as impressive of a season at 59 wins and a 2-1 regular season series victory over the Cavaliers.

LeBron was riding on all the hype and he had a heck of a post season but it takes five. It seemed like the entire starting lineup was filled with all stars in the first two rounds as Detroit and Atlanta had no such answer for the Cavaliers, but when the heavily armed Orlando Magic came in town for game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron and his boys took a huge hit. After a huge start and a gigantic first half double digit lead, the Magic showed the composure and teamwork that belongs in a championship caliber team and they displayed the tools to winning a championship.

Dwight Howard and his boys took down the league MVP
but can they handle the big stage?

While the sports writers were all preparing themselves for huge coverage on the colossal Kobe vs LeBron match up in this year's finals, the Orlando Magic did everything that a team needed to do in order to bring home the trophy.

A few critical reasons why Orlando is in... and Cleveland is out...

Every championship team needs more than one star. Michael Jordan had Pippen and Kukoc along with key roles such as Steve Kerr and Dennis Rodman. Kobe had Shaq, or moreso Shaq had Kobe along with key roles such as Robert Horry and Rick Fox. Tim Duncan had the Admiral, then came Tony Parker and Manu, with the help of Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen.
Orlando's centerpiece is without a doubt Dwight Howard, but he would be at home watching LeBron throw chalk into the air tonight if it weren't for the key back up of Rashard Lewis, Hedo, and role players such as Mikael Pietrus, Rafer Alston, and Courtney Lee.
The Cavaliers have their star in LeBron James but Mo Williams and Big Z just aren't key parts to a championship team. Mo can't back up his big talk and Ilgauskas has a 7'3" body that moves like a steamroller.

Championship teams always prevail. One of the biggest comebacks in NBA history, when the Lakers were down by double digits in the first half of a huge post season game vs the Portland Trailerblazers, all chances seemed to be lost until the Lakers cruised controlled themselves to a final comeback resulting in a victory in the final minutes of the game. Can anyone else recall this historical NBA moment? Let me help you. The Magic found themselves down big against the Cavs in more than enough games in this series alone but the Magic never let LeBron and his boys capitalize as the Orlando Magic executed a near sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

When it came down to the final shot, everyone knew where the ball was going if it was Cleveland. When Orlando needed a big shot, it could have been anyone on the floor from throwing an alley oop to Dwight or finding one of the many on target shooters to take the final opportunity. Rashard Lewis took this role personally in this specfic Eastern Conference Finals series.

The rest is history as this is less important than the real topic that we're all interested in which is the Finals match up between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers. The state of California had a 1 in 3.25 chance of being a part of the NBA finals and the Lakers have found themselves in that final round for the second straight season. I can assure you that the Lakers would have loved a rematch with the Celtics but a match up with the Magic won't be any less enjoyable. In fact, the Magic have yet to lose to the Lakers this season as they swept them 2-0 in the regular season series. You can forget about those statistics because it is now the NBA finals and what the teams did in the regular season don't even matter anymore.

Jameer Nelson/Rafer Alston vs Derek Fisher... Advantage Orlando by an inch.
Courtney Lee vs Kobe Bryant... Advantage Los Angeles but "closer than the experts think". Not THAT close though.
Rashard Lewis vs Trevor Ariza/Lamar Odom... Advantage Los Angeles. More diversity in favor of the Lakers.
Hedo Torkoglu vs Pau Gasol... Advantage Orlando on the perimeter. Advantage Los Angeles in the post.
Dwight Howard vs Andrew Bynum... Advantage Orlando by a mile.

Kobe and company have a lot to prove as they host game 1 in Los Angeles and the former league MVP will have to make a huge statement game to answer arising questions of the Lakers future. The Magic's experience level as they enter their first NBA Finals in 14 years will be tested as the entire starting lineup enters a whole new environment but don't doubt their chances of stealing home court advantage. It will be a great start to an exciting and explosive series. The winner of Game 1 will take the series in 6 and I'm going with the best active guard and coach in the NBA. Lakers in 6.

Kobe is running short on lifelines but he will
have plenty of help in this one as Pau and the
rest of the crew suit up for what could be the final
run for the Lakers franchise in this decade.

-Jason C