Does Orlando Have Enough Magic Left to Win the Finals?

To hype the NBA Finals between the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN’s analysts made their predictions.

Of the 10 experts—Henry Abbott, J.A. Adande, Mark Stein, Tim Legler, John Hollinger, Chad Ford, David Thorpe, Jalen Rose, Chris Broussard, and Chris Sheridan—only Abbott picked the Magic to win, predicting the series to end in six games. I tend to agree with his premonition.

The Magic play a team game, whereas the Lakers,  do not. Yet, both are successful.

Orlando has the makeup to win: a dominating center in Dwight Howard, a savvy, scoring point guard in Rafer “Skip To My Lou” Alston, three tall athletic forwards/guards that are extraordinary shooters in Rashard Lewis, Courtney Lee, and Hedo Turkoglu.

They have a veteran backup point guard in Anthony Johnson, a dependably versatile scorer who also knocks down the three-pointer in Mickael Pietrus, and a formidable backup center in Marcin Gortat.

They boast the all-around game worthy of winning the title, and have the advantage in several categories, but are they picked by the experts to win? No.

Abbot, the only competent analyst of the bunch, was laughed at by his colleagues, specifically Sheridan, who referred to his choice as “brave.” What’s so brave about it? Though ESPN, as a corporation, is biased towards the Lakers (Sportcenter has a studio in Los Angeles, which debuted earlier this year), not all have to be.

Each expert said that Orlando can win, but Los Angeles was the popular choice most likely for a single reason: they want to see Kobe Bryant, one of the most celebrated athletes in sport, win a title on his own, meaning without the help of Shaquille O’Neal, the center with whom he won three during the 1990s.

In the time since their breakup, which happened during the 2004 offseason, the Lakers have been successful, yet have fallen short because of the porous supporting cast surrounding Bryant. He still doesn’t have much help, but the analysts don’t realize this. It is as if they don’t watch the games.

I have heard them say countless times that “the Lakers will win because of their depth.” What depth? From my vantage point, they have versatile backup power forward Lamar Odom coming off the bench, but that is it. Reserve forward Luke Walton and point guard Jordan Farmar aren’t scorers.

The slow and unorthodox center Andrew Bynum isn’t either. Guards Shannon Brown and Sasha Vujacic can score, but who knows when, or if they’ll show up. Even production from their starting lineup, aside from Bryant’s dependability, is all but guaranteed.

All eight experts that were asked the question “Who is the better power forward, Rashard Lewis or Pau Gasol” said that the Lakers’ Gasol is the superior. This is ridiculous. First of all, Lewis isn’t a power forward; he is a 6′10″ shooting guard. Because of this, they are entirely different players with different styles.

So, therefore Gasol’s numbers during these playoffs—19 points, 11 rebounds–look better than Lewis’s 19 points and 5 rebounds, because he fits the power-forward persona and, of course, because he’s on Bryant’s team.

Gasol’s numbers are tainted, primarily because he has benefited from lucky bounces and relies solely on size rather than actual talent. Lewis, on the other hand, is a play-maker with a wide array of moves. He can post up, but prefers to live on the outside, which is where he does the most of his damage.

He not only makes plays for himself, but by spacing the floor and commanding defensive attention, offense comes easier for his teammates.

Gasol has disappeared at times, and has even demanded more touches selfishly demanded more touches through the media, which differs him entirely from Lewis, who brings a solid 18-20 points to the table on a nightly basis.

If the experts picked Gasol because he puts up power-forward-type numbers, deeming that Lewis does not, then the question needs rephrasing. But if they picked Gasol because they really think that he is better than Lewis, then they to have their heads examined.

Adande wrote a story titled “Can [Lakers center] Andrew Bynum slow down [Magic center] Dwight Howard?” Unless Adande was saying this sarcastically, and spends the entire article stating the obvious that Howard is vastly superior than Bynum, then it has merit. Yet, this question is posed seriously.

Adande, who, coincidentally enough, was born in Los Angeles, gives him a fighting chance to contend with Superman, but comes to the conclusion that he cannot and will not succeed. Why spend time writing 1,245 words when the answer can be summed up in one: no.

Adande’s reasoning for choosing the Lakers was because they supposedly hold "home-court advantage." The first two games are played in Los Angeles, as are potential Games-Six and Seven, but the middle three are in Orlando.

So, if the Magic win the games they are supposed to, at the hostile Amway Arena, and manage to win one of the first two at the Lakers Staples Center, they win the Finals in five games. That doesn’t sound like much of a home-court advantage for Los Angeles.

ESPN loves this matchup, and though the media desperately wanted a duel between Kobe Bryant vs Lebron James, it is clear why. There is the new blood, the Magic, with a deadly inside-outside attack that hasn’t been slowed yet, and an entertaining and usually hoarse-by-the-halfway-mark-of-the-first-quarter head coach, Stan Van Gundy.

Then, there are the Lakers, a team with one of the best coaches ever, Phil Jackson, and best players ever, Bryant. A team that all experts, except the intelligent Abbott, want.

The Magic are the better team, made that much more clear with the news that All-Star guard Jameer Nelson will return. Yet, ESPN doesn’t understand this. Their so-called experts don’t want to. As far as they are concerned it’s L.A. all the way.