Lakers vs. Cavs or Magic vs. Mavs
By: Miriam McKenzie
Will it be the clash of the titans from the best teams of each conference or will the underdog overcome? This is the question that everyone can’t wait to learn the answer to. Though the playoffs have just started, much can be analyzed from the few games played so far.
In the Eastern conference, everyone believes that LeBron James’ top seeded Cavaliers will make the NBA Finals but they lose sight of how ordinary the Cavaliers are because of King James’ brilliance. If you were to look at the King’s supporting cast of Anderson Varejao, Antawn Jamison, Mo Williams, and the former Superman Shaquille O’Neal; do they really match up with the defending eastern conference champions the Orlando Magic? To me, the answer is an obvious NO. Yes the Cavaliers have the best player and best team record in the eastern conference but pound for pound they are not the best team in the east, the Orlando Magic are. People constantly discredit the Magic, and the fact they are the defending eastern champs due to LeBron James’s star. The reigning league MVP captivates so much attention with his comparisons to the great one Michael Jordan that fans lose sight of what basketball really is: A team game.
Instead, the media and fans only talk about the fact that Michael Jordan won his 1st NBA championship his 7th year in the league, and what a coincidence it’s LeBron’s 7th year in the league. And so the focus of basketball turns away from being a team sport to being about the individual, in this case the one who the people believe will be the heir to the Jordan throne, LeBron James.
Don’t get me wrong LeBron is magnificent, and a talent the NBA has never seen before BUT his team is something I cannot say the same about. LeBron is a one man show and because of this they will not get past the Orlando Magic for the second consecutive year. Let’s keep in mind that the Magic have improved as a team with the additions of veteran Vince Carter and defensive specialist Matt Barnes, and went from the #3 seed from last year to #2 seed this year.
The Cavaliers have made moves to win a championship by adding Shaquille O’Neal to the King’s court, but I don’t think the Superman of yesteryear can keep up with the Superman of the 21st century Dwight Howard. If things go as expected and the Cans and Magic reach the East finals; Shaq’s big body will give Howard problems in the post but I think that Stan Van Gundy will have a plan of attacking Shaq to move him out of Howard’s way.
At the end of the day, the better team will win the crown of the “beast of the East” and LeBron James’ Cavaliers are not that team.
Out West the defending NBA champs, the Los Angeles Lakers have proved that their ascent to the top will be of much greater challenge than it was last year. Given that the Cavs or Magic make the finals and the Lakers do they will not have home court advantage but even before that can they make the finals? If the Lakers want to help Phil Jackson win his 11th title, Kobe and the gang need to get their act together because reaching the finals will be no cakewalk whichever way the cards are dealt in the Western conference playoffs. In the 1st round the Lakers find themselves playing the unexpected opponent OKC Thunder, and even though they have a 2-0 series lead over them the series is far from over. Despite the Thunder being the #8 seed, they are a hard team to beat at home and they will not just lie down and allow the Lakers to sweep them. I believe that the Thunder will shock the nation and give the Lakers a series, but, of course, the Lakers will prevail.
Still, the Western conference is full of good teams that are more than capable of knocking the Lakers off their route to a repeat. The #2 seeded Mavericks for example have a solid team consisting of former MVP Dirk Nowitzki, veteran PG Jason Kidd, new comer Caron Butler, and the stud off the bench Jason Terry. Like the Cavs everyone picks the Lakers to reach the finals because they are fervent to see a Kobe-LeBron finals matchup. This is extremely disrespectful to other teams like the Mavericks who have had an amazing year. What fans need to understand is that “No man is an island”, and their predetermination of Cavs/Lakers final showdown is based on the mere fact that they want to see the two men that who to be better than Jordan face-off.
Yes, the Lakers and Cavaliers led their conferences in wins in the regular season, but this is the playoffs and anything is possible. So do not be surprised if you see the Magic vs. Mavs or other team and not the Lakers vs. Cavs in the NBA finals, because in the end the better team wins, not individual.
