Prognosticating is a Dirty, Filthy, Unclean Cardinal Sin Against God… Magic in 6

In six? No Problem.

As if the entertainment value of Nike's Most Valuable Puppets couldn't be less relevant....

The only possible way Nike's marketing gurus avoid the biggest serving of crow since Reebok's 1992 Dan O'Brien and Dave Johnson campaign for the Barcelona Olympics is to hope against hope that the Lakers tank.

Marketing execs sweating for the next 2 weeks aside, I'm going against all initial logic here: Magic in 6.

Yes, the Lakers have the best all-around basketball player in the game.  (Sidebar: Yes, Kobe is a better basketball player than LeBron.  LeBron, if nothing else, proved to the world that his jumpshot is garbage.  Not coincidentally, he's also shown that he's not entirely self-aware in that he's evidently blind to the fact that his jumpshot is below average for an MVP.  Remember after Game 2?  All those clips showing (and re-showing) LeBron's post-game comments?  "What's my range?" as LeBron pauses for dramatic effect, "Pretty much unlimited."  Pretty much unlimited?  Not for nothing, but you gotta be shitting me.  I can handle having an off-night--even in the playoffs.  But having 3 out of 5 off-nights in the Conference Finals?  LeBron, at this season's end, is still a physical force and a tremendous athlete that can get to the rim whenever he wants.  He can finish, he can pass, he can involve his teammates, but he can't shoot.  Sorry, LeBron, but you're not there yet.  The Good News is that you've got ALL Summer to develop a jumpshot.  And, no, you will never be in the conversation with that "other 2-3".)

Sidebar notwithstanding I still cannot stand Kobe Bryant as a player.  He's just so very A-Rod: nobody will argue his talent, but it's become more and more impossible with each passing season to have to endure him (I imagine Everybody's tired at the end of basketball games, Kobe.  We know you're beat.  But do you need to let us know that you're beat by bending over at the waist during your immediate-post-game interview?  I say, no.  And, please, don't ever make another Spike Lee Joint again.  I don't think I associate with a single person that's actually watched an entire DVD commentary and that's what "Doin Work" is.  It's not a documentary, it's your commentary and your best effort to not sound 140% douche.).

Kobe, unlike A-Rod, will perform in the clutch.  His teammates, however, will need to replicate their performances from games 3, 5, & 6.  Do you trust Trevor Ariza as a consistent shooter? How about Lamar Odom as not a headcase?  Or how about Pau Gasol offensively against Dwight Howard?  Luke Walton guarding Rashard Lewis?  Anybody?  Buehller?  I don't either.

The Magic will win because all 5 players on the court will contribute.  Hell, Anthony Johnson contributed on both ends of the floor against the Cavs.  Let's completely disregard Jameer Nelson's coming back for the Finals.  In all likelihood, he's a non-factor anyways since, you know, he hasn't played since before All-Star Weekend.  The Magic, otherwise, have an 8-man rotation for the playoffs with 6 men playing significant roles.

The Magic's up-tempo, let's-have-fun-with-this transition game is going to end up being too much for the Lakers to keep up with.  And in the half-court offense, Dwight Howard will prove to be too much for Gasol, Odom, and Walton; Rashard Lewis will continue to emerge from the realm of underrated and sneak into the overrated stratosphere; Rafer Alston will own Derrick Fisher; and J.J. Reddick might even hit a shot.  Adam Morrison, however, with wax philisophic on Che Guevara and Senor Che's political standings while on the bench in yellow and purple warmups (He's not wearing a uniform underneath.  Those are his actual clothes.)

The best part about the Magic's winning the Finals?  For about 48 hours, people will talk about how basketball is a 5-man game.  How the game, as it's intended, doesn't cater to individuals and, as an extension, that individual skills do not matter as much as we think.  We'll all be reminded that, essentially, every player is a role player; and it becomes a matter of the roles each player fills.  If each player recognizes the boundaries of his role, then the team ultimately wins out.  And Superman, Rashard Lewis, Rafer Alston, Michael Pietrus, Hedo, Stan Van Gundy, et al will all be there to remind us in Orlando after Game 6.  What's more, if you asked me, What is the worst part about the Magic's winning the NBA Finals?  It's that more than 50% of the cameras will be dedicated to Kobe Bryant's walking off the court after his individual skillset wasn't enough to drive the Lakers to a championship.  Kobe Bryant's individual skillset won't be enough to drive the Lakers to a championship, but a collective and effective collaboration will be enough to drive the Magic to its championship.

~ Blake