Magic-Lakers: Why Orlando Should Make LA Disappear

The 2009 NBA Finals are almost underway.

Granted, it is not the Kobe v. LeBron series that almost everyone outside of central Florida seemed to want, but this will be a more entertaining series than anyone expected. You will not see two superstars going one-on-one like you might have with King James and Kobe, but the fans win ultimately. This is going to be a hell of a series.

Oh, and news flash. Kobe v. LeBron would have been a snoozefest.

The Lakers would have taken out the Cavaliers in five easily. They are two teams that play the same basic style of basketball: feed the ball through the superstar and pray the supporting cast will chip in enough to win.

The only difference is the quality of the sidekicks. Kobe's are better.

So that brings us to ORL-LAL. Here we have two different styles of play. Both teams run the fast break, but the similarities end there.

The Magic are at their best when they feed the ball through Dwight Howard to open up outside shots and slashing lanes. The Lakers have Kobe, who cannot be stopped. They play their best basketball by letting Bryant wreak havoc and create mismatches on defense.

On paper, the series seems to lean in favor of Los Angeles. They're deep on the frontline, they can hit threes, and Kobe is the best closer wearing a jersey since Jordan. But a closer look betrays them. Here are three reasons why Orlando will make Kobe's fourth championship...wait for it.

...disapper.

(Ha! I couldn't help it!)

1. Matchups

The tough matchups that Orlando forced on Cleveland were the story of that series. They consistently used their size at the forward positions to play into mismatches, which led to open guys beyond the arc, as well as one-on-ones for Superman down low.

Adversely, LA just beat up Denver. They wore them down. They saw their lack of depth and attacked it. Denver just could not keep up with the Lakers' potent offense down the stretch. Billups is a great point guard, but Denver did not have a strong enough defense to hold Kobe and Co.

Orlando, on the other hand, are a defensive team with crazy range. Michael Pietrus is a great on-ball defender, and much has been made of him being assigned to guard Kobe, but when he gets in foul trouble, Orlando can still turn to Courtney Lee, who is a more than adequate defender.

Outside of Kobe, Orlando can guard just about anyone else on the Lakers' roster effectively ono-on-one, with the possible exception of Lamar Odom when he feels like being great.

The Magic offensively will do to LA what they did to Cleveland. They will run the ball through the unstoppable monster that is Dwight Howard to force double and triple teams and open up guys outside. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

2. Distribution

Kobe may not account for the 40 percent of his team's points like LeBron did, but make no mistake, he is still the primary scorer. He will account for more than 30 percent of LA's point total.

They will get steady contribution from Pau Gasol, but that's where the consistency ends. You cannot expect Ariza and Bynum to be there night after night. And forget about the bane of Los Angeles that is Lamar Odom. You're not going to get much out of Shannon Brown or Jordan Farmar. Luke Walton? Sasha Vujacic? Not a chance.

The Magic have a handful of guys that can score in bunches. Almost everyone hits threes.

Without punching in too many stats, you know that Howard, Lewis, Turkoglu, and Pietrus are going to contribute night-in and night-out. Then you get 20 points from Courtney Lee here, 20 points from Rafer Alston there, and now with Jameer Nelson back in the mix, yikes. There are more sources for Orlando to get their points, which thins out the opposing defenses.

3. Momentum

Orlando has all of the momentum going into this series. Experts will say that the Lakers' home-court advantage should even the playing field. Ask Boston or Cleveland if that helped.

The Lakers just squeaked out of two consecutive playoff series with their lives and they know it! Denver lost their edge down the stretch, but outplayed them the first three games of the series. Likewise, the Rockets ran out of gas after Yao Ming went down with a stress fracture.

Orlando is led by a big, young core that seems to take a second wind whenever they start to look out of breath. They were energized by the underdog status. Superman himself has said in numerous interviews that he digs being the little guy. It just gives him another chance to prove himself.

And prove himself they will. This game will go to six or seven. Look for Orlando to take one in LA, while LA will take one in Orlando. That means that the Magic will have to get it done at the Staples Center, one of the most hostile places to play. It will be a tough, gritty series, but also one for the highlight reels.

Look for Game One to get chippy early. There will be pushing. There will be lots of shoving. Bryant will try to get under the skin of his opponents. Four or five technicals will get called this series, with Dwight and Kobe each picking up their sixth.

And Andrew Bynum will want to prove himself. He wants to show that he can be a superhero. But, as comic book geeks will attest, there is no hero greater than Superman.

Orlando may lose Game One, but they take the series and the Larry O'Brien trophy in seven games.