Sports Chatter - "NBA Finals Edition"

I told ya'll I was going to give you my prediction and insight even though I fear that if I do I'm going to fucking jinx it.. but here we go

..I'm going with Lakers in 6.

Here's my reasons why -
1. The Lakers are a far superior team than the Cavs. The Cavs lost the season series 2-1 to Magic, they were only 3-6 versus Boston, L.A., and the Magic, and the 6 losses were by an average of 13.8 points - crazy stat huh? Why you think I've been telling you clowns the Cavs weren't real? I do my research... even though by that logic we would lose to the Magic since we lost the season series to them 2-0 - I think we are a better team now than we were then, and Jameer Nelson absolutely torched us during the regular season. Even if he comes back for the finals, he won't play a high level because of the injury layoff..and Skip to My Lou will not cause us as many problem because...well.. he's a scrub (he's actually decent but he's turnover prone, on top of being a head case - not a good mix).

2. Dwight Howard will come back down to earth. The Cavs made Howard look like the second coming of Shaq, which as I've already stated before, he just isn't. The frontline of the Cavs just couldn't match up so he feasted on a slow-ass Ilguaskas, a soft-ass Varejao, and Ben Wallace's washed up ass (that lets you know how damn cruddy the Cavs are, Ben Wallace would not get significant minutes on any team in the league - but that might be more of an indictment on Coach Brown, who at times makes Mike Dunleavy look like a good coach, but we will get to him later..). Kendrick Perkins basically shut him down in the Celtics' series besides two games; as long as he is not getting great post position everytime up the floor, his scoring numbers will look more mortal. Somewhere in the 15-20 range, which just isn't enough to get it done against us. His rebounding and defensive presence will still be a factor, but we have sufficient bigs to keep his scoring to a minimum without too much help from the double-team. Plus, Bynum and Gasol both have the offensive repertoire to make him work on the defensive end. Simply put, he is not gonna go off for fuckin 40 against us.. (and if he does, I'm getting my Dad's gun, and shooting at the T.V. screen)

3. We matchup well. The Cavs got demolished mainly because they just didn't have the personnel to match up with the Magic's versatility on offense (and because Mike Brown sucks.. but like I said, we will get to him later).. The Lakers will not have the same problem. We are horrible against quick, shifty guards but Jameer Nelson being out (or not 100%) negates that weakness, and other than that we match up well at every position on the floor. Odom and Gasol have the length and quickness to stay in front of Lewis and keep him from making it rain from the arc, and they have the skills to destroy him on the offensive end (he works hard, but he is booty as a defender, and is playing out of position). Ariza can run around screens and will make Turkoglu work for all his buckets; he will also hit threes (50% for the playoffs) and pick a couple pockets that will lead to easy transition points. Bynum and Gasol will get Howard duty, Kobe..well..thats obvious - the only question mark is point guard. If Fisher, Farmer, Brown match the production of the Magic guards we are as good as golden.

4. We've got the best player in the series, and in the league for that matter. LeBron put up a sick 38-8-8 against the Magic, and Kobe could easily duplicate it. Even though he won't because his supporting cast is so much better, he is the best finisher in the league, is a nightmare matchup for whoever is guarding him whether it be Pietrus, Lee, or Redick (I dare the Magic to put Redick on fucking Kobe - every minute he is in the game Kobe will get a bucket), and the loss in the Finals to Celtics last year motivated him like never before. This is finally the year for The Black Mamba to shed his demons and win one without Shaq.. Kobe is desperate, and determined, and I think his play will represent that. I'm forecasting a 30 ppg avg and probably a Finals MVP Award.

5. We have the best Coach EVER. Seriously, experience is huge and no one has more than Phil Jackson. The Zen Master has been here countless times, is a proven winner and has all the records to prove it, even though recently he has fallen off a little bit... I think this year he will redeem himself. Van Gundy is a great coach though, definitely proved a lot of people wrong; but he was matching wits with fucking Mike Brown. The same fucking Mike Brown, who instead of staying home on the Magic shooter's that absolutely killed them, kept double-teaming Dwight even though he was dunking all over their heads anyway - leaving the shooters to get wide open J's. They shot something sick like 47% from the 3-point line for the whole series - wouldn't you just rather have Howard get his and make sure all the other players don't beat you? Not to mention he is the least innovative offensive Coach in history (I can only imagine in the huddle Mike Brown must look around and say, "Uh, LeBron, what play are we running?"). Phil Jackson will be a whole different ballgame for Van Gundy.

There you have it, my reasons why the Lakers are going to take it in 6. Odom and Bynum are the X-Factors. If they can post a couple doubles doubles, play solid defense, make Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard work, and have 1-2 breakout performances; this series will be over a lot quicker than imagined.

...Enjoy the game tonight. Feel free to contact me about potential wagers, I want to take some of you niggas money.