Can We Call Kobe Superman's Krpytonite Too?

As most know by now, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers pulled off the series win against the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals 4 games to 1. In my previous post about the finals, I predicted that the Magic's 3-point shooting and Dwight Howard would lead the team to 3 wins and a 7 game series. Clearly, this was not the case. The Laker big men, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, were very effective, as was Lamar Odom off the bench. Odom was a threat inside and his 3-point shot became a dagger to the Magic defense. Trevor Ariza had very impressive numbers, and Kobe was Kobe, putting on a show and making incredible shots. I guess it really is true that when you guard Kobe, if you have your hand down, you're a man down. For the Magic, their shots just did not fall consistently, from game to game or even half to half. Dwight Howard was the best defender on the floor, however he was extremely limited offensively, either being in foul trouble or missing many shots. He also shot poorly from the free throw line. Jameer Nelson, the Magic's All-Star point guard who was injured the second half of the season with a shoulder injury, returned to the line-up. After having an effective game one, he appeared to disrupt the team chemistry, and probably should have played less since Rafer Alston was "skipping to his lue" most of the series. All this consequently resulted in the Lakers winning their franchise 15th NBA Championship, two behind the Celtics. Kobe got his fourth title and first Final's MVP, and Phil Jackson won his 10th NBA Title.

As for Kobe, I feel somewhat happy he won, because he is too great of a player to be downplayed by winning his first three championships with Shaq. Kobe needed Shaq, Shaq needed Kobe. Magic needed Kareem, and Kareem needed Magic. Jordan needed Pippen, and vice-versa. The bottom line is, the team in general need each other.

With this championship, Phil Jackson can be called the greatest NBA coach ever. He has 10 championships, 209 playoff wins, the most by any coach, and a 71% career winning percent. I cannot see how anybody could say that he is not, unless you're a Celtic/Red Auerbach fan.

Will Superman Fly High?

On the eve of the NBA Finals, I found it appropriate to break things down as of now. The Orlando Magic, who have just recently denied LeBron James from winning a championship, keeping his count at ZERO, are trying to win their first championship. The Lakers are going for their 15th!! Not only that, but Kobe Bryant is going for his 4th! Now before the Conference Finals began, I predicted the NBA Finals would consist of the two underdogs, the Magic and the Nuggets. Well it seems that I got half of that right.
Even though I got that wrong, this matchup is still very intriguing to me, and should be to all the LeBron bandwagoners and the Nuggets fans. Both of these teams have great perimeter games. The Magic have Rashard Lewis, a very under-rated player, and Hedo Turkoglu. On the opposing side, the Lakers have Ariza, Kobe of course, and Sasha Vujacic. When it comes to the inside games, the Lakers clearly have the edge in this one. Pau Gasol is a force who can hit crazy shots, and Odom looked impressive the last two games, we just have to see if he can keep that up. Andrew Bynum can be a force, but still has not had a breakout game yet in the playoffs. The Magic have Dwight Howard mostly, but Tony Battie has some good games. If that's not a mismatch, what is?? The defenses look pretty similar to me, just from watching both teams in the playoffs.
With all that being said, I believe the Lakers will win in 7. Their inside game presents too much of a trouble to me, but the Magic will most certainly not go down easy. Expect a great series.

Finals So Far

As of now, the series between the Celtics and Lakers for the NBA title is 3-2 in favor of the Celtics.  A lot has gone down so far, and here's what I think about a few things:

1.) Paul Pierce - Although he is the only Celtic I like, I do think he faked his knee injury, being that he is destroying every 3 on the Lakers and is playing incredible D on Kobe.  Don't miss that he played just about every minute in game 5.  If the Celtics win, he is the MVP no doubt.

2.) Kobe - Inconsistent.  He is the best player in the NBA but he is not playing like it.  He is still being effective, just he is capable of playing at a higher level, know what I mean?

3.) Lakers/Celtics Bench - Celtics bench is making the Lakers bench look sorry.  Leon Powe for 21 is unacceptable.  P.J. Brown slamming it and Sam Cassell posting up and scoring, also unacceptable.  Lakers had one good game from the bench, and that was win the hog Vujacic hit 20.

4.) Coaching - Doc Rivers is out-coaching one of the greatest coaches ever, Phil Jackson.  For Phil to take out Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom in game 4 was a terrible move.  And allowing a team to lose a 24 point lead and lose the game, and then lost a 20 point lead the next game but luckily win the game is not how you want your coach doing his job.  I know it isn't all on the coach, since it's the players who perform, but Jackson isn't preparing the Lakers enough.

5.) Outcome - Honestly, I think the Celtics got this in 6.  I want the Lakers in 7, but the Celtics just play with way more heart and intensity.  Sorry Kobe.