Magic Men

It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

In a by-the-book world, we'd all be talking about the dream Kobe Bryant/LeBron James matchup that was sure to please the NBA, ABC, the casual fan, and would have also allowed for the advertising departments of Vitamin Water and Nike to keep their sanity.

Yet, no one can doubt the quality that Orlando displayed in the Cleveland series, as they were a great chance to win through three and a half quarters in each game. The 4-2 series win likely even flattered the 66-16 Cavs, as LeBron's ultimately irrelevant 25-foot buzzer beater in Game 2 kept the Magic from pulling off one of the most shocking sweeps in NBA history.

The Eastern half of the Finals is especially unexpected when we go back about five weeks or so to Game 5 of Orlando's first round series with an inferior Philadelphia team that hung around in the series thanks to late-game heroics. In that Game 5, a 13-point Magic win, Dwight Howard elbowed Sam Dalembert, incurring a one-game suspension.

Without "Superman," it was assumed that the series would go seven. However, the Howard-less Magic played their best game of the series, a 25-point road blowout led by 29 from Rashard Lewis.

Post-Game 5 was also a key in the next series for the Magic against Boston, after Orlando allowed a late 13-0 run to see the Celtics go up 3-2 in the series, a position the Celtics had never lost from in their storied history. After that game, Howard ripped Stan Van Gundy and the coaching staff in full, saying, "I don't think you are going to win a lot of games when your post player only gets 10 shots ... the coaches have to recognize what's working on the floor. Stick to it."

Naturally, Howard got the ball and played like the superstar that he is in Game 6 and Orlando grinded out a win before taking the series with a barrage of threes in a surprising Game 7.

So, the conference finals win over Cleveland was comparatively easy for Orlando, with the Magic having nearly won the series by Game 5, even though easy would have to be one of the last things to be mentioned when facing LeBron. However, what was seemingly easy for Orlando was the ability to shut down Cleveland's main perimeter shooters in Mo Williams and Delonte West.

The improvements this season in LeBron's game clouded the importance that adding Williams and an improved West had on the Cavs being so such a good team through 90 games until the conference finals. Judging by his performance against Orlando, it's easy to forget that Williams was a deserving all-star this season, and hit 44% of his pointers. West improved his numbers across the board, which gave LeBron a higher success rate when driving and being forced to pass.

The Magic's size was able to get to the Cavs, as well. That sounds like an odd claim because Orlando is thought of as a small-ball type of team, probably stemming from usually having four shooters on the floor, as well as playing Rashard Lewis at power forward. However, with Howard, Lewis, and the clutch Hedo Turkoglu (never thought I'd be writing that) all over 6-9, and with the solid defense that guards like Mikael Pietrus and Courtney Lee provide, the Magic have a deceptive amount of length to contest shots anywhere on the floor.

The Magic have so much of that deceptive defensive quality that, according to possession-adjusted statistics based on points given up per 100 possessions, they and not the Lakers, Cavs, or Celtics had the league's best defense.

Based on the quality of Orlando's competition in the last two rounds, their defense, their new-found ability to hit shots in the closing seconds, and their willingness to share the ball, it is the Magic who not only are playing the best basketball coming into the finals, but should also be favored to win the title at this point.

On paper, the Lakers look like the stronger of the two teams, and possess the best player remaining. The Lakers' performance in Games 5 and 6 against Denver, probably their best of the playoffs so far, will assuredly enhance L.A.'s expectations for this series ahead of Game 1. It shouldn't be that way, even if the Lakers' potential best far outweighs that of Orlando.

Denver lost one game in the West finals due to its inability to inbound the ball in a late-game scenario and lost the chance to win another for the same reason. The Nuggets were prone to stretches where they jacked up numerous quick, bad shots that had nothing to do with the Lakers' defense. Orlando has shown the willingness to play at any tempo, much like Houston, who the Lakers struggled so mightily with.

Denver lost its cool at many key junctures in the last series, even though the series had been called extremely tight throughout. (And that's no defense of the officiating. It was putrid in both series, and we can only hope it gets much better.) Orlando has had cooler heads, even if Howard is a cranky Joe Crawford game away from being suspended.

Most importantly, though, Orlando is playing with confidence that is just about at a season-high, while the Lakers are decidedly more inconsistent.

Magic win in six.