Hollywood Vs. Disney: President's 2 Cents Breaks Down the NBA Finals

SHOOTING GUARD

Mickael Pietrus was trusted with defending LeBron James and Ray Allen the past two playoff series, while saving enough energy to be a clutch offensive performer on the other end.

The only other player who can match this intensity is…Kobe Bryant, who he will likely guard. This promises to be the most exciting matchup of the series, which Bryant will likely win.

Sasha Vujacic will duke it out for backup glory with Courtney Lee, whose production has slipped from 12.1 points per game in the opening round to just over eight, but is still solid.

ADVANTAGE: Lakers—Kobe’s position, enough said.

SMALL FORWARD

Intrigue reins supreme here. Hedo Turkoglu is a former Sacramento King who is familiar with a good slugfest vs. the Lakers, after his Kings lost a memorable yet heartbreaking seven-game Western finals in 2002.

The sleepy-eyed, deadly outside-shooting Turkoglu faces the unheralded Trevor Ariza, who has shot a blazing-hot 50 percent (30-60) from three-point land in the postseason, and made similar game-saving steals off of inbounds passes in two separate games in the Western finals vs. Denver. His ability to guard Turkoglu is one of the big x-factors in the finals.

Reserve Luke Walton won’t see much playing time with these two in the way.

ADVANTAGE: Magic, by a hair.

POWER FORWARD

The series may just be won or lost at this position. Rashard Lewis, the $118 million-dollar man, earned his keep and made mincemeat of the Cavs and Celtics with his clutch outside shooting, but also packs mean lateral quickness. This might be the difference in beating an injured Lamar Odom to loose balls and rebounds, not to mention guarding him.

Pau Gasol will be the lynch pin, and will take be reliable for his offense. Defensively? A definite question mark. Will he come over to double Lewis and risk leaving Howard open underneath?

ADVANTAGE: Even.

CENTRE

Not much needs to be said here, as no one on the Lakers roster can effectively contain Howard without fouling him. As long as Superman makes his freebies, there’s no contest in the middle. Sorry, Andrew Bynum.

ADVANTAGE: Magic, by a mile.

INTANGIBLES

The Magic have had an impressive run to the finals, but the Lakers have been here before and have home court advantage for the latest edition of Showtime.

Preparation is everything, but once the Magic players see the Larry O’Brien trophy logo stitched onto their jerseys and emblazoned on the floor, or Jack Nicholson and the rest of Hollywood watching, or the media scrutiny, the learning curve becomes steeper.

The only way to find out is to be thrown in the fire, and see whether the headlights blind these deer.

ADVANTAGE: Lakers.

COACHING

The dishevelled and erratic Stan Van Gundy might be the most underrated bench boss in the NBA, and it seems he’s compared more often to a certain adult film star rather than his coaching peers.

Even Dwight Howard can’t resist poking a little fun at his bench boss—YouTube his dead-on impression, which might have you in stitches. It’s Van Gundy’s chance to prove himself on the biggest of stages, and recent history have us believe he’ll do just fine.

On the other end is nine-time champion Phil Jackson, gunning to break the tie with the late, cigar-chomping Red Auerbach for most titles as a coach.

ADVANTAGE: Lakers.

PREDICTION

The President’s crystal ball predicts the following:

Game 1: Magic grab an early lead and manage to survive a late Laker charge. Magic by five.

Game 2: Kobe rises to the occasion and helps tie the series. Lakers by 10.

Game 3: Magic ride a raucous Amway Arena crowd to a 13-point victory.

Game 4: Magic slug it out by three in a much closer, see-saw affair.

Game 5: Lakers steal momentum back with a four-point win.

Game 6: Lakers pull away in the fourth and give Jack and co. a 10-point victory.

Game 7: In a battle for the ages, the enemy Superman gets a triple-double in a five-point stunning road victory, and the first NBA championship for Disney country.

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