| 04 June 2009
There are certain events in a guy’s life that mark his ascent from boy to man, actions all males share regardless of age or race.
The first time you shave has to be one, getting your drivers license another. And of course in this technological world we live in, who'll ever forget the day they signed up for Twitter (Ok maybe I'm being a little melodramatic there).
But while I don’t remember much of either of the first two events, I popped my Twitter cherry just a few months ago, so that memory is still fresh. Since that day, I’ve had 60 updates, with my favorite coming on May 19 of this year.
It was just a few nights earlier that the Orlando Magic had suffered an embarrassing Game 5 loss to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The normally gregarious Dwight Howard blew up that night, and in the first real controversial moment of his career, called out coach Stan Van Gundy for not getting him enough touches.
The event was compltely un-Dwight Howard, one of the genuinely nice and likeable young players in the league steaming like a barely used tea kettle. The comments were like the Reverend at your local church complaining that the collection plate was looking a little thin on any given Sunday. It was a moment that caught anyone listening off guard.
Two nights later the teams reconvened in Orlando, with Howard’s comments still the discussion of sports talk fodder everywhere.
Just minutes before the game, I posted my previously mentioned favorite Tweet, mocking Howard, saying:
“Game 6 starting & Dwight Howard’s mad and wants the ball. I haven’t seen him this upset since Baskin Robins ran out of rainbow sprinkles.”
At the time I thought I was pretty clever, but it was ultimately Howard and the Orlando Magic that got the last laugh.
On that night Howard went for 23 points and 22 rebounds, the start of a run that brings us to today, with Orlando playing in just its second NBA Finals in franchise history.
Since that incident, the NBA’s giggliest center has quickly gone from affable Dwight, to the mean spirited man in the middle as quickly as a Clark Kent-to-Superman switch in a New York phonebooth (Yes terrible pun intended), having averaged 24 points and 14.5 rebounds since that game.
And now Orlando rolling into these NBA Finals, it has to be asked, do the Lakers have the kryptonite to slow down, the suddenly steamrolling Magic? If their series against Denver is any indication, they just might.
Over the course of these playoffs, I’ve been quite critical of these Lakers, and in my mind rightfully so. They’re too soft. They don’t show up every night. Pau Gasol spends too much time in his faded leather jacket sipping espresso at the coffee house.
Against Denver I was certain all the above mentioned problems would come to a head, with the Nuggets physical defensive style and quick scoring giving the Lakers fits, and ultimately allowing Denver to win the series.
Except a funny thing happened along the way: The Lakers showed up and played the championship caliber basketball that we’d been expecting all along.
Gasol averaged 17.5 and 12.3, and refused to be taken out of the game physically and mentally by Kenyon Martin, Nene and the Birdman. The Lakers other starters stepped up in different ways than envisioned, with Derek Fisher proving he can still be relied on, hitting clutch shots that helped win Game 1. Trevor Ariza- who’s been best known for his offense in L.A.- had two series changing defensive plays.
In addition, Lamar Odom came off the bench, saving his two best postseason performances for the series clinching Game 5 and Game 6 wins against Denver. And of course Kobe Bryant was Kobe Bryant, scoring 30 or more points five times.
With Orlando coming to Los Angeles for Game 1 of this series Thursday night, now the question becomes, who’ll break first in this old school versus new school matchup? Will it be the Lakers in their sixth NBA Finals this decade or the Magic in just their second Finals ever?
At the point guard position, neither team really has the advantage as far as I can tell.
Yes Orlando’s Rafer Alston is quicker, and younger, but isn’t the point guard position about savvy and smarts? Alston has the physical advantages and scored 26 points in Game 4 against Cleveland, a feat Fisher is incapable of at this point in his career.
But Alston was also suspended earlier this postseason for slapping Boston’s Eddie House in the back of the head, something Fisher wouldn’t ever consider doing. So its literally street versus smarts in the point guard battle, one I’ll call a push.
When it comes to the shooting guards, there’s no comparison: there’s Kobe Bryant, and there’s whoever’s going to guard him. Both Courtney Lee and Mickael Pietrus are above average defenders (Pietrus actually gave LeBron James trouble in spurts last series), but don’t be fooled, Kobe is still going to get to the line and get his points. They don’t come as easily for Kobe as they did just a few years ago, but they still come in big bunches. The advantage here goes to the Lakers, no one in the NBA has a shooting guard with the talent of Bryant.
At the forward positions, there are two interesting matchups, with all four players skilled, but all four productive in entirely different ways.
The starting small forwards this series are Ariza, a former member of the Magic, and Hedo Turkoglu, who has been arguably Orlando’s most clutch performer this playoffs.
Much like the point guard matchup, what you see won't necassarily be what you get when these two match-up.
You know those Coke commercials, where they line up to take a “blind taste test,” between Coke and “the other product.” The one is supposed to be completely superior to the other, but as we know rarely is.
Ariza has the look of an NBA star, almost as if he was created in a laboratory, some crazed doctors idea of a prototypical small forward. He runs like a gazelle, has long arms, incredible instincts defensively and hits the open jumper. He passes the blind taste test with flying colors.
Turkoglu is quite the opposite, and at first glance it’s hard to know what to make of him. The 6’10 forward is hardly a fluid athlete, and totally lacks the physique of an NBA player. Yet at the same time, to channel my inner Hubie Brown, he’s “one of the most efficient players we have in our game today.”
What’s funny about Turkoglu, is looking at the Magic’s roster he doesn’t do anything that jumps out at you. Howard is Orlando’s best rebounder and most effective scorer. Rashard Lewis is the teams best long range shooter, Pietrus probably their best on ball defender.
But no one is as important to the Magic being in these Finals as Turkoglu. While his stats aren’t overwhelming, look deeper.
It was Turkoglu that had 25 points in the series clinching victory over Boston. He followed up with 14 assists and several clutch free throws in Orlando’s Game 1 shocker in Cleveland. The Cavaliers couldn’t defend Turkoglu all series long against Orlando, and his ability to exploit the opposition on the pick-and-roll by getting either easy jumpers, drawing fouls from the slow of foot Zydrunas Ilgauskas or finding the open corner shooter, was what ultimately did in Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals.
This postseason Turkoglu has almost turned into the Carlos Beltran of basketball, a guy that the casual fan knew little about, but has used the playoffs as his coming out party, similar to what Beltran did in 2004.
In the other matchup down low, you’ve got the interesting inside-outside matchup of Gasol, a true low post player in every sense of the word, against the 6’10 Lewis, who’d much prefer to play on the perimeter. And of course at the center position you’ve got Howard for Orlando, a guy who is going to give Lakers coach Phil Jackson fits all series long.
So there you have it, but before predictions, lets bring it back to the original question: Which team breaks first?
For Orlando, they’ve got to continue doing what they’ve done all playoffs, and that’s work inside out, get the ball to Howard and get good perimeter jumpers. If they shoot enough threes, they’ll make enough to keep them in games, and win this series. It’s that easy. Wash, rinse and repeat what they’ve been doing the last eight games.
As for Los Angeles, it’s a little more complicated.
Jackson has continued to stay stubborn, starting Andrew Bynum at center. And honestly who can blame him, as the Lakers are back in the NBA Finals, right where they planned to be. Every expert seems to be in agreement however, that for the Lakers to control this series, there needs to be less Bynum and more Lamar Odom, and I for one second that idea.
Now before I go singing Odom's praises, I'll be the first to admit that he's hardly been great this playoffs, and remains one of the biggest enigmas in the NBA. At the same time however, he’s the only guy who can guard Orlando’s “small bigs,” (Turkoglu and Lewis), without giving the Magic a formidable advantage. If Jackson sticks with Bynum, Gasol will be forced to the perimeter to chase Lewis around all series, and Bynum alone will be stuck to get rebounds against the more physical, aggressive and talented Howard.
However, if Odom can channel his Game 5 and Game 6 self from the Denver series, Orlando will be in trouble. In those games, Odom was everything that was expected of him when he entered the league a decade ago: A ball handling four with the ability to score against smaller opposition, and drive past bigger defenders. It was his play that ultimately elevated the Lakers last round, and allowed them to clinch on the road in Denver.
Beyond the on the court factors, is one that goes beyond the sidelines, one that’s been discussed at length, and what I believe gives the Lakers the biggest advantage in this series: The will of Kobe Bryant.
As was previously said, Bryant doesn’t score as easily as he used to, but he still gets his points when needed. His 40 in Game 1 against Denver is what kept the Lakers in the game, and his 18 in the last quarter is what ultimately led Los Angeles to victory.
More importantly, as has been discussed at length, is Kobe’s pursuit of his fourth ring, but his first without Shaq. We don’t need to get into the historical significance of it here (if you’re interested, read my Western Conference Finals Preview to do that), but just know Kobe needs this championship to cement his legacy, and even Shaq himself is rooting for his former teammate.
The Lakers are playing their best basketball of the playoffs, and have the experience of losing in the Finals last year. Defensively the matchups are in their favor, and offensively all their scorers (Bryant, Gasol, Odom) are peaking. And finally, you have the best player of his generation, playing with the ultimate chip on his shoulder.
Orlando will put up a fight, but there are just too many things weighing against them to beat L.A.
The Lakers will win this series, and become the 2009 NBA Champions in six games, mark it down.
The best part? You didn’t even need a Twitter account to find that out.
