Brandon Lang
Sunday ...
40 Dime Orlando Magic, game
and 10 Dime Orlando Magic, first half
I'll be very honest with you ... as much as everyone wanted the Cavaliers in this series, thus the Nike involvement all over television with a documentary on Kobe and LeBron and the MVPuppets commercials, I've been thoroughly entertained by this year's NBA Finals.
And quite frankly, the Magic could very easily be up 3 games to 1 playing for the title today. Think about it ... they were a lay-up away from winning Game 2, and they were up by 5 with less than a minute to go in Game 4. This series could have had an entirely different complexion ... but it hasn't.
And now there's only one thing left for the Magic to prove - their character.
Let's be real, who here thinks the Magic are going to sweep Games 5 thru 7? I don't even think Dwight Howard or Stan Van Gundy do. I'm not one to keep up with Howard's Tweets, but I don't think they're saying anything about winning all three games.
But for one shining moment, leaving the home faithful with something to cling to until next season, as this is the last home game of the season for the Magic, and most certainly a game nobody thought they'd be playing this late in the season, Howard and company will give everything they've got to send this series back to Los Angeles. Not to mention send the home crowd home with smiles on their faces.
Game 2 should provide enough motivation for Orlando, that a win tonight means it needs just one win in L.A. to get a shot for all the marbles. It almost won in L.A., so yes, it can win in Game 6 to force a Game 7. But that all comes down to tonight's game.
To achieve that, the Magic are going to play as hard and smart as they're capable of doing. They're goin to come up with a win by any means necessary. They're going to dominate the first half so big, that way there can be no heoric comebacks by the Lakers in this one. They're going to shoot the hellk out of the three-point ball. They're going to claw and grab at Kobe, and force Pau out of his range.
All that ... everything they've got ... and then the Magic will have displayed a competitive edge and self-respect for their home crowd. It's something that will go along way with for this franchise, proving their legitimacy as a championship contender, and not just the "bad mismatch" for Cleveland that everyone has labeled them as.
Today it's about pride. And for 48 minutes you're going to see the best Orlando basketball team you've seen the entire season.
FREE - Lakers/Magic Over (see daily video for your analysis)