Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic and facing elimination straight in the eyes. In Game 5 on Sunday, a loss would eliminate the Magic and give the Los Angeles Lakers their 15th NBA championship.

However, don’t think that Howard has given up hope. In fact, he’s brimming with confidence.

Said Howard: “You want me to get up here and say the season is going to be over tomorrow? That’s not what anybody should do or anybody should think. I believe that we’re going to be going back to L.A.”

Belief is also what head coach Stan Van Gundy thinks is most important. Van Gundy, who has questioned his own coaching following the Game 4 loss for Orlando, made it simple for the Magic players.

Said Van Gundy: “I think when you’re in this situation, the key thing is do you still believe you can win the championship? If you don’t think you can go to L.A. and win the championship, then even though you’re saying one game at a time, it’s pretty easy to let go if things aren’t going well.”

Although it would definitely be a long shot for the Magic to come back and win the 2009 NBA Finas, this is a team that has already come back from series deficits in the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers and the second round against the Boston Celtics.

As long as they believe, they have hope. At least in Game 6.

Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy both still believe (Image: Zuma Press)

If the Orlando Magic wanted to have any hope to win the 2009 NBA Finals, they needed to win Game 3. Coming into the contest down 0-2 against the Los Angeles Lakers, it was either win or write the obituary.

Win is what the Magic did. Holding off a hard charging Lakers team, Orlando’s hot shooting was enough for the victory. For the game, the Magic shot 62.5% from the field — an NBA record — and won by a final score of 108-104.

Leading the way for the home team was superstar bigman Dwight Howard. He finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

Dwight Howard wins his first game in the NBA Finals (Image: Zuma Press)

Rashard Lewis and Rafer Alston were also huge for the Magic. Lewis had 21 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Alston totaled 20 points and four assists.

For the Lakers, it was the Kobe Bryant show early and often. After scoring 20 points in the first half, he totaled 31 points and eight assists for the game. The Lakers also got 23 points from Pau Gasol on 9-for-11 shooting from the floor.

Game 4 will prove to pivotal. If the Lakers win, they’ll be on their way to the 15th championship in their franchise’s history. If the Magic win, we’ll have a competitive 2009 NBA Finals on our hands.

If you watched Game 1 of the NBA Finals, you probably aren’t too excited about Game 2. The Los Angeles Lakers thoroughly dominated Game 1 and ended up cruising to a 100-75 victory. Kobe Bryant and his henchmen looked unstoppable while the Orlando Magic looked like they had raging case of stage fright.

Dwight Howard and the Magic started off with a thud (Image: Zuma Press)

Even though the Magic disappeared in Game 1, all they need to do to get back into this series is to take home a Game 2 victory. How do they do that? Here are five keys for the Magic to win Game 2:

1. Get Dwight Howard Going
Dwight Howard had all of one field goal made in Game 1. That simple won’t get it done. The Magic have to force the ball into him and allow him to use his strength and quickness advantage. Howard’s dunks are the key to open up the offense for everyone else.

2. Force Kobe Bryant to Pass
During the Game 1 route, Kobe Bryant had the ball way too much. Allowing him to rack up 40 points, eight assists and one turnover means that the Magic didn’t force him into tough situations nearly enough. The Lakers are extremely talented but forcing Kobe to trust his teammates is the way to beat them.

3. Pick a Point Guard
Jameer Nelson is back for the Magic. Rafer Alston played very well in the Eastern Conference side of the bracket. Now Stan Van Gundy needs to pick which point guard to grab the reins the wagon. The worst thing the coach could do is to make it so neither one finds a rhythm.

4. Rebound Better
The Lakers humiliated the Magic on the boards in Game 1. The Magic, even though they are bit undersized, have to do a much better job of competing on the glass. Orlando can’t fall into the trap of expecting Howard to grab every board.

5. Let it Fly
This isn’t the time for the Magic to get scared. They are a jump shooting team that lives off of three-pointers. If they don’t play carefree type of basketball, they can’t win. Relax. Have fun. Let it fly.

In Game 1 of the 2009 NBA Finals, basketball fans around the world were ready for a classic battle. Instead, the Los Angeles Lakers breezed to a 100-75 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Kobe Bryant made an early case for Finals MVP with a fantastic performance. The Lakers shooting guard totaled 40 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks in 38 minutes of play. He hit 16-of-34 field goal attempts, all eight of his free throws and only had one turnover.

Kobe Bryant - 2009 NBA Finals MVP?

Pau Gasol helped out Bryant with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Lamar Odom had 11 points and 14 rebounds off the bench.

For Orlando, it was a long, long night on the offensive end. The Magic shot just 29.9% from the field and mustered only 32 points in the second half. Dwight Howard was only 1-for-6 from the floor, while Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu were a combined 5-for-21.

If the Magic are to come back and make this a series, they will need to shoot much better. They’ll also have to find some sort of answer to slow down Bryant.

However, the Lakers looked like the far superior team and appear destined to take home the 2009 NBA championship.

Tonight, the 2009 NBA Finals tip off with the Orlando Magic visiting the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1. The game will be shown on ABC and will begin at 9 PM EST. Who is going to win the NBA championship? Here is the tale of the tape:

Point Guards
Derek Fisher is a solid veteran and Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar are good backups but the Magic have the edge due not only to Rafer Alston and Anthony Johnson, but also because Jameer Nelson may return.
ADVANTAGE: MAGIC

Shooting Guards
When Kobe Bryant is on one side of the equation, you know which team will have the advantage.
ADVANTAGE: LAKERS

Small Forwards
While Trevor Ariza has played great this year in the postseason, Hedo Turkoglu is a better player. Add in Mickael Pietrus and it’s no contest.
ADVANTAGE: MAGIC

Power Forward
Rashard Lewis is a very good player but there’s no way he’s as good as the combination of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom that the Lakers can throw at him.
ADVANTAGE: LAKERS

Center
Dwight Howard is now the best center in basketball. Andrew Bynum may one day be a great player but he’s not close to Howard at this point.
ADVANTAGE: MAGIC

Coach
Phil Jackson has won an ungodly number of NBA championship rings. Stan Van Gundy is probably best known to his uncanny resemblance to Ron Jeremy.
ADVANTAGE: LAKERS

With the tale of the tape in the 2009 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic tied at 3-3, we’ll use the homecourt advantage as the tie-breaker. That means that the Lakers will be your 2009 NBA champions by the time these finals are over.

Congrats, Kobe, on your 2009 NBA championship (Image: Zuma Press)

 Who will guard Kobe?

Rookie Courtney Lee will likely get his shot at the Black Mamba in the beginning, provided Lee is in the starting lineup. Otherwise, when Mickael Pietrus is in the game, he will no doubt be regarded as the ‘Kobe Stopper’. How well he can stop Kobe is debatable, but my guess is Pietrus will do a better job than Ruben Patterson ever did.

Wouldn’t surprise me to see Hedo Turkoglu or J.J. Redick get some cracks at Kobe here and there, but it probably won’t end well for them.

Can Andrew Bynum step up his game against Superman?

If Bynum can, it could very well be a short series. An aggressive and interested Bynum could spell foul trouble for Dwight, and we all know while backup center Marcin Gortat can be decent in spurts, the Magic don’t have a prayer in the series unless Dwight is playing darn near 40-42 minutes a game.

LA’s offensive game plan?

Drive the ball to the hoop as much as possible. Instead of settling for jumpshots, post Pau and Andrew. Make Rashard and Dwight work on the defensive end. Get them out of the game and the Laker’s chances drastically improve.

Dwight wants some payback (Image: readmoretalkless.wordpress)

Orlando’s offensive game plan?

Besides shooting the three unconsciously? Force feed Dwight, keep him involved. If he gets doubled, that all the better because Turk, Lewis, Alston, Pietrus, Lee, and maybe Redick will be open to knock down their shots. The Magic must be cognizant of the abilities of Pietrus and Lewis to create on their own. Settling down the offense and running some isolations or post up sets for these two could prove to be a more dynamic and wiser attact than just the perimeter shot.  But this is the Orlando Magic I’m talking about, so the three ball might be just fine.

Oh, I almost forgot: get outta the way of Hedo in the fourth.

Who has the best closer?

Might not be as simple of an answer as you think.

Especially if Turk gets his proper pizza fix before the game.

Wildcards

1. Lamar Odom

2. His sugar highs/ lows

3. Shannon Brown/ SashaVujacic/ Jordan Farmar

4. Jameer Nelson (Is a rusty Jameer Nelson better than a healthy Anthony Johnson?)

5. J.J. Redick, will he play, and if he does, can he find his stroke?

Ben Wallace, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year and four-time All-Star who is currently on the Cleveland Cavaliers, sounds as if retirement is a real possibility. The 34-year-old bigman struggled with injuries this year and his effectiveness suffered.

During the regular season, he averaged 2.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 rebounds per game. During the playoffs, his numbers fell to 1.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.3 blocks.

Since staring with the Detroit Pistons, Wallace’s game has been in a steep decline. His points and rebounds per game have both declined for five straight seasons.

Wallace not playing well was one of the reasons why the Cavs prematurely saw the end of their season. Dwight Howard’s dominance of Wallace and the rest of the Cavs may have not only sent the Orlando Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals, it may have also sent Ben Wallace into retirement.

Ben Wallace to Retire? (Image: Zuma Press)

We now know the two teams that will play in the 2009 NBA Finals. On Saturday night, the Orlando Magic defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the Eastern Conference championship. In the Finals, Dwight Howard and the Magic will go up against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dwight Howard AKA Superman flies to the Finals (Image: Newscom)

Who will win the NBA Finals in 2009? On paper, I give the advantage to the Lakers. At this point of the playoffs, experience is a huge factor. The Lakers were here just last year while the Magic are in foreign territory. Despite the Lakers loss against the Boston Celtics last season, they undoubtedly learned a lot.

The Magic beat the Cavs due to the Cavs having a number of matchup problems. The Cavs couldn’t defend Rashard Lewis and struggled to find someone capable of defending Hedo Turkoglu. The Lakers have the mobility the defend Lewis and Turkoglu, so they won’t have the same matchup issues.

Dwight Howard is obviously going to be tough for the Lakers to stop but they have the size to slow him down a little bit. Andrew Bynum could be useful, as can Paul Gasol and Lamar Odom.

On the other end, the Lakers could be tough for the Magic to slow down. Kobe’s ability to hit the outside shot could negate Howard’s shotblocking at the rim. Howard could also find himself in a lot of foul trouble trying to defend all the various options the Lakers can use.

My prediction for the Lakers vs. Magic Finals?

Lakers in 6.

Here is the schedule for the 2009 NBA Finals:

Game 1: June 4 - Magic at Lakers - 9:00 PM EST
Game 2: June 7 - Magic at Lakers - 8:00 PM EST
Game 3: June 9 - Lakers at Magic - 9:00 PM EST
Game 4: June 11 - Lakers at Magic - 9:00 PM EST
Game 5*: June 14 - Lakers at Magic - 8:00 PM EST
Game 6*: June 16 - Magic at Lakers - 9:00 PM EST
Game 7*: June 18 - Magic at Lakers - 9:00 PM EST

With the score tied at 100 with 0.5 seconds left in the game, Dwight Howard thought he was fouled on his last field goal attempt in regulation. In the overtime period, Howard powered his Orlando Magic past LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers by a final score of 116-114.

Dwight Howard Dunks Over LeBron James (Image: Zuma Press)

In overtime, Howard had 10 of his 27 points. He also finished the game with 14 points, four assists and three blocks. He got help from Rafer Alston’s 26 points and the 17 points apiece for Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus. Hedo Turkoglu chipped in 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Magic.

LeBron James had about a 40-footer to tie the game at the end of the overtime but his shot hit the side of the rim. James finished the game with 44 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in 49 minutes. Mo Williams, who had guaranteed a win coming into the game, scored 18 points but hit only 5-of-15 shots from the field.

The two teams will play again on Thursday. LeBron and the Cavs will try to secure a home win to keep their homes alive, while Howard and the Magic will try to advance to the 2009 NBA Finals.

After sweeping their first two series in the 2009 NBA playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers looked primed to win their first championship. Suddenly, the Cavs are fighting for their postseasons lives. On Sunday night, the Orlando Magic won at home to go up 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. If it wasn’t for LeBron’s miraculous shot to win Game 2, the Magic would be up 3-0 in this series.

Dwight Howard Beat LeBron James Again (Image: Zuma Press)

Despite being only able to play 28 minutes due to foul trouble, Howard dominated the action with 24 points, nine rebounds and two assists. At the line, Orlando’s bigman was able to hit 14-of-19 free throws. Rafer Alston poured in 18 points, while Mickael Pietrus had 16 points.

For Cleveland, you wouldn’t need many guesses to figure out who led the way. LeBron James scored 41 points, dished nine assists, grabbed seven rebounds and collected two steals. Although his stats look good, LeBron only hit 11-of-28 shots from the field, including 1-of-8 from beyond the three-point line.

LeBron also didn’t get much help. Mo Williams scored 15 points on 5-for-16 shooting and the only other player in double figures was Delonte West with 12.

Game 4 is obviously going to be a gigantic game. The contest, which is to be played in Orlando on Tuesday, will determine whether the Cavs can climb back into the series or whether the Magic can continue their dominance over the Cavs.