The Finals are OVER

Mark it down, the Finals are over. The Lakers are going to be your NBA Champions for the 2008-2009 season. Kobe will have his fourth ring and Phil Jackson will have his 10th.

Yes I am aware that only one game has been played but that one game answered a lot of questions that I had about this series.

I felt going in, that the Magic provided really bad matchups for this Lakers team. Basically the Magic have Dwight Howard, a center, then two guards and two wings. The Lakers have a much more traditional 1 through 5. Who was Pau going to guard? What about Ariza? Could Bynum be effective against Howard? Would the Magic's physical play bother the Lakers? Would the Lakers be ready to play this time around?

What I didn't realize is that the Magic would come in and forget that there was still something to play for. They played like the Lakers did last year in the finals, entitled. Not only did they play like they had achieved their goal of getting to the finals but they played like they had already won.



The Lakers played the role of the Celtics last year. They took the "We Still Have Something Left to Accomplish" route and that turned the game into a 25 point massacre of the Wide Eyed Magic.



The Lakers were the far more physical team. Pau and Bynum both forced Howard to play with hus back to the basket, which he isn't good at. The length of Pau, Ariza, and Odom provided difficult passing lanes and turn overs for the "Drive and Dive" Magic. Kobe learned that no one the Magic throw at him can come close to covering him. Pietrius, Reddick, and Lee all got a little abuse from the soon to be Finals MVP.





Coming into this series I was worried. I thought the Lakers match up problems against the Magic would be evident from the get go and that the Magic would be ready to play. I guess I didn't take into account the fact that we may be watching the biggest coaching mismatch in the History of sports. Phil Jackson is tied with Red Auerbach for the most NBA championships with 9. Phil also has the highest winning percentage of any coach in NBA history. Stan Van Gundy has been called the "Master of Panic" by one Shaquille O'Neal. Van Gundy at many times appears flustered on the sidelines during the game. I swear with that mustache are we sure that SVG isn't really Ron Jeremy?





But ultimately this Finals will be decided by the two superstars; Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard. Forget the stat that Phil Jackson coached teams are 44-0 after winning game one of a series. If Kobe scores and distributes like he did in game one, there is no way the Magic can win. If Dwight stops playing with his back to the basket and can take more than six shots, the Magic might make it a series.





That is the ultimate disparity in this series. If Kobe does what he does this series is over, if Dwight can be great, this might end up being a series. In other words let me be the first to say Congrats to the 2008-2009 NBA Champions the Los Angeles Lakers.