Champs!

I thought the Lakers would win in six but I had a feeling about yesterday's game. They played so well in Game 1 that I figured they were due to play another good one. The fact that the Magic didn't capitalize on chances to win Games 2 and 4 obviously didn't bode well for them. Since Orlando is always fairly erratic they were equally due for a similar performance to Game 1. And that's what we got.

As I've said before, one great thing about the Lakers is they hardly ever get blown out. That's why the Rockets series was such a puzzlement. PJ admits that it puzzled him as well. The point is that even when they don't play great, they're still close in most games. This, and the fact they have the greatest player on the planet, allowed them to steal games like 2 and 4 and to almost win Game 3. Many people, including a reader, feel that the Lakers won only because Denver and Orlando played poorly. There's some truth to that. But no matter how bad LA plays they almost always in the hunt. This team maybe didn't dominate the way that the Shaq-Kobe Lakers did but, in the end, they knew how to win. Good or bad, playing to the level of your opponent means you play a lot of close games. The Lakers did this year and that, I think, turned out to be a huge help because by Game 5 of the Denver series, you could sense they were getting on a roll. There were some shaky moments but after that win their confidence remained pretty high.

As for the Magic, I think they probably went as far as they could. Even with Jameer Nelson at a hundred percent (and he was far from that in the series), this is a very flawed team. They live and die(d) with the jump shot and a young post player who needs to work on his game. (BTW, one of the funniest moments of the Finals was when Breen said his free throw form is good. Huh? You mean cus he keeps his elbow in or something. The guy has zero touch. He puts way too much spin on the ball without following through with his arm. He just kinda flings the thing up there with his wrist.)

But what might have cost the Magic the most was SVG. The fact that JVG hardly ever criticized him was a travesty. SVG made some huge coaching blunders in the playoffs. Talk all you want about how PJ wins because he has great players. How many times have you seen him fail on his inbounds pass coverage? Or not have the right guys on the floor? True, some of his early second quarter lineups left me scratching my head, but he didn't screw up his point guards by playing the backup at the expense of losing his starter's confidence. In fact, Phil rode Fish to the end and eventually (many Aaron Brooks layups later), it paid off big.

I like Van Gundy and I think his opinions are a breath of fresh air. When he was asked about a possible 20-year-old age requirement to play in the L, he ripped the NCAA as one of the worst organizations out there. Bravo. But his in-game coaching left a lot to be desired. Look at how many times the Magic lost at or near the buzzer. Once to Philly. Once to Boston (in Orlando). Once to Cleveland. And once to LA. That's four possible wins they left on the table and it wasn't all about execution. It was also about putting the right guys in the right place. As a coach, you can live with Paul Pierce giving up the rock and Big Baby beating you. But giving Iguodala and LBJ the chance to beat you is not good. Add to the fact that he didn't foul up three against the Lakes in Game 4 and he has just as much to answer for as the bone-headed plays Hedo and Howard made from time to time. But because the press likes him you might not hear much about it.

That being said, congratulations to the Lakers. I've had Chick Hearn's voice in my head all week. "The Lakers are the World Champions!"