Please read the site note at the bottom of this post.
Attention NBA Fans: The Los Angeles Lakers are about to make history! After winning only 2 games in the NBA Finals, it appears that the rest of the world has decided to appoint them as the 2008-2009 Champions. Therefore, we will forget the rest of the Finals, and hand them the Larry O’Brien Trophy over today… right?
Sounds kind of stupid when you hear it put in words like that, doesn’t it? Well, that’s what Sports Geek will try to sell you. In essence, this series is over, and his message to the Orlando Magic is “Thanks for playing; here’s your participation trophy.”
Well, it’s a good thing for the Lakers that the Magic know how to take a hint, isn’t it? Just ask the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, both of whom had written off the Magic before their series began.
Here are two key reasons why the Magic, and their fans, are still in this series:
Reason #1 – Three games in a row in Orlando
Only fantasy sports are played on paper. Real sports are played on a court (at least in this case), where multiple factors come into play that you cannot quantify. The first of which is the task of winning on the road. While they were not successful in winning, Orlando proved last night that the Lakers are at least vulnerable at home. How vulnerable do the Lakers have to be? Only vulnerable enough to give up one game in LA. That was all it took for the Magic to beat the Cavs, and that’s all it will take for them to beat the Lakers.
Conversely, the Lakers have not yet tested their mettle in Orlando this post-season. The city of Orlando, whose citizens want nothing more than to show their support of a team making its first Finals appearance since 1995, can’t wait to show the Lakers what REAL fans are like. This series will likely end up heading back to Los Angeles with the Lakers trailing 3-2.
Reason #2 – Stan Van Gundy
There is no better coach in the NBA than Stan Van Gundy. His ability to anticipate and adapt is uncanny! I’ve never seen a coach make so many right decisions with the game on the line. Whether it’s trailing by 16 at the half, or taking a last-second shot at the buzzer. Van Gundy can read his game-time counterpart like an open book.
Beyond that ability to anticipate and react accordingly, Van Gundy trusts his entire team, not just one player, like the Cavs do in LeBron James, or the Lakers in Kobe Bryant. That makes them even more dangerous. When the game is on the line, Van Gundy has the utmost faith that his TEAM, regardless of who is on the court, will perform. That’s why, in this post-season of many nail-biter finishes, the Magic have come back with plays where Hedo Turkoglu takes the last-second shot, Rashard Lewis takes the shot, or Courtney Lee takes the shot.
If you are playing the Cavaliers in that situation, you know that LeBron’s getting the ball. For the Lakers, it’s Kobe. When it’s Orlando, though, you have to cover EVERYONE! Courtney Lee was uncontested in what should have been a game winning shot last night. The ball just didn’t fall right. However, no one could have predicted that as the play to end the game. Van Gundy knew his options, and implicitly knew which would give him the best opportunity to win.
Make no mistake, I am not predicting a Magic championship. They have a very steep uphill climb. They are down 0-2 against a very tough opponent. Nothing in this Finals series will be easy. That is no reason to write them off, though. The series is far from over, especially when you have a 3-game home stand with the best coach in basketball!
Site Note: Don’t forget to read the intro andSport Geek’s first rebuttal.
