Five Reasons the Orlando Magic Will Beat the Los Angeles Lakers

The Dwight Howard Factor

Howard played like a beast during every series in the playoffs thus far. He is averaging a beastly 21.1 PPG, 15.4 RPG, and 2.2 BPG and is virtually unstoppable on both ends of the court. Andrew Bynum will not be able to contain him and neither will any other player on the Lakers roster.

The Two-Forward Combo

Shard and Turk. They have done it all season and playoff long, and continue to knock down clutch shots. Both are averaging outstanding numbers and will average around the same during this series.

Shard will have a big advantage on the offensive end of the court as he is quicker and more athletic than the seven foot Pau Gasol. Shard will force Gasol to guard him around the perimeter and will easily blow by him for the easy buckets.

Turkoglu will be guarded by Ariza who plays excellent defense. The one thing that is outstanding about Turk is that he is 6′10″ compared to Ariza who is 6′8″. Hedo can play like a point-guard and it will be very tough for Ariza to defend a dude that dropped 17.2 PPG, 6.7 APG, and 6.3 RPG on LeBron James.

The X Factor

Mickael Pietrus has played lights out in the playoffs thus far. If he can come off the bench and continue to energize the team and knock down the trey ball, the Magic will be a very tough team to beat in a seven-game series.

The Playoff Mindset

While the Lakers have faced some difficult teams in the playoffs thus far, I believe Orlando has had much more of a deeper experience throughout the postseason. They are a young team and clearly have less experience in the NBA Finals.

If they can continue to play the way they are playing and remain focused with their eyes on the prize, I can really see them winning it all.

Through thick and thin

Nobody would have believed if you told them in the beginning of the season that Orlando Magic would be in the NBA Finals during the playoffs. The Magic have not gotten any respect from any NBA Analysts on ESPN.

Every ESPN analyst predicted the Cavaliers to beat the Magic and the Celtics as well. With the chip on their shoulder that they know they can now prove to the world that they are the best, it just gives them even more confidence to bring the trophy back to Orlando.