Last month, Nike released commercial ads to air during the NBA playoffs featuring muppet-like Kobe Bryant and Lebron James characters. Those ads spoke for the entire NBA fan base that prematurely declared the two superstars as destined to meet in the NBA Finals starting June 4.
Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic had other plans. The team that faced elimination down 3-2 in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics - the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics - battled back from that deficit to move on and eliminate the Cavaliers in six games.
So much for 66 wins, a league MVP, coach of the year, and a near-perfect home record in the regular season, which is what the Cavaliers attained this season. The Magic used out-of-this-world perimeter shooting and a dominant inside game from Howard to shock top-seeded Cavaliers.
On the other side, the Lakers continued the Jekyll-and-Hyde persona they developed throughout the 2009 playoffs against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. The top seed in the west couldn't quite seem to put two consecutive successful performances together, and the doubts began to rise about their chances of winning the NBA championship, as they had been widely predicted to do since the beginning of the season.
They were able to finally play a strong game on the road in game six in Denver to close out the series and move on to the NBA finals, where they get to meet the surging Magic.
Both teams could make a strong case as to why the other is the one team they don't want to face right now. Orlando's reward for knocking off the Celtics and Cavs is the star-studded, hall of fame coach-led Lakers, who are capable of making even the mightiest of teams look like a Lottery squad. However, the Lakers have the task of slowing the hottest, most confident team in the league right as it is peaking.
Sometimes, peaking at the right time is all that matters. Orlando finished in third place in the Eastern Conference, and although it was always viewed as a viable team, not too many people believed it would knock off either Boston or Cleveland, let alone in succession. Sporadic coach Stan Van Gundy has this team on a dead-set path to do one thing and one thing only: win a championship.
One of the biggest advantages Orlando had on Cleveland was its ability to create severe matchup problems for the Cavs' defense. With Rashard Lewis lining up at power forward, he created a great mismatch for Anderson Varejao and Joe Smith with his ability to knock down shots from the outside and drive to the basket.
This will also play to Orlando's advantage in this series, although probably not to the same effect. When Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol are both in the game for Los Angeles, they will have difficulty guarding Lewis. However, Lamar Odom, with a 6'10'' frame and good mobility, can provide the perfect defensive match on Lewis. The trick with Odom is getting him to be a consistent contributor on the offensive end and on the glass. If he can play like he is capable, Lewis will find it hard to have the same impact on the NBA finals as he did in previous rounds.
Gasol and Bynum will have a tough time inside with the herculean Howard. The Orlando center's strength and power is beyond what Gasol or Bynum can equal. The bugaboo all season for the Lakers has been getting their two 7-footers to play with tenacity around the rim. Howard is the very essence of tenacity, and unless the Lakers' big men can step up their own, Orlando will have a decisive edge in the paint all series long.
The point guard matchup is very intriguing. Rafer Alston was traded from Houston to Orlando in February to replace the injured all-star Jameer Nelson. That trade kept the Magic competitive, because Alston has given the Magic a legitimate scoring threat and spectacular ball-handler in the backcourt.
He will line up across from Derek Fisher, the consummate veteran leader of the Lakers who has been to the finals four times already in his career. He has a knack for hitting clutch jump shots when needed, and provides a calming factor for Los Angeles that could prove extremely useful as the series plays out.
This is Alston's first go-around in the final round of the NBA playoffs, and how he reacts to the pressure both on the court and surrounding the games from everywhere else could determine Orlando's fate. If recent history is any indication, he should keep his team in good shape. He has already outplayed all-stars Rajon Rondo and Mo Williams in consecutive series, and both of those opponents were more dangerous than the veteran Fisher.
All of these previous matchups seem to be leaning slightly toward Orlando from the outset, but Los Angeles still has the man who can take any team at any disadvantage and carry it all the way to victory: Kobe Bryant. The former MVP and Olympic gold medalist must be at the top of his game for the Lakers to feel comfortable in this series.
Bryant has the ability to drop 50 points on any opponent, but his team is always most successful when he scores 30-40 points a game and has seven or eight assists. He must run the offense through his teammates and keep role players like Trevor Ariza and Sasha Vujacic involved and scoring for the Lakers to be most successful.
Hedo Turkoglu has arguably been the best player on Orlando in the playoffs, with a versatile skill set that makes him difficult to defend. If he can get to the rim with the drive and knock down mid-range jumpers as he has done over the last two months, it will force Los Angeles to be very active on the defensive end, something it doesn't always tend to be.
The final matchup that could be most important is from the sidelines. Phil Jackson, looking for his 10th NBA championship ring, squares off against Stan Van Gundy, the once-proclaimed "Master Of Panic." Jackson's legendary playoff experience should be able to manage this ambiguous Lakers squad. Van Gundy, whose teams have been known to crumble at the most unfortunate moments, needs to keep his team playing at a high level as it has in these playoffs, even when it hit the biggest stage in the sport against the most storied franchise in the sport.
The matchups appear fairly even across the board, with each team holding advantages in its respective areas of the game. Even if this isn't quite the matchup most people expected, we could be in for a classic, seven-game thriller that nobody will forget any time soon.
Both teams have proven they can win on the road, and everyone knows both are very tough in their home arenas. This could make for an unpredictable series. As for a prediction? Los Angeles will battle back from a 3-2 deficit and win the final two games of the series at home to clinch the franchise's 15th NBA title.