Magic down but not out

Yes, they are down 2-0, yes it will be hard to make a comeback, but with three straight home games the Magic have a chance to take advantage.

After Courtney Lee missed what would of been the game winning shot in game two, it seemed like all the air was sucked out the Magic's hopeful dreams of being champions.

But, just before the Lakers begin to rehearse for the trophy celebration, they have to put away game three. If the Magic fail to win game three they might as well forget about an NBA Championship. I don't see anyway of the Magic taking two away from the Lakers at home.

With a win in game three however, we have a series again.

It wont be easy for a team who has never won a finals game in franchise history, but the solution is simple, play with confidence, and hit the three.

One way the Lakers can be vulnerable is at the 3-point line. With so much attention focused on Dwight Howard, it should leave other Magic players wide open for the 3-point shot, something they have yet to really take advantage of.

In the Lakers 100-75 stomp over the Magic, Orlando looked over-whelmed. Howard who appeared to be outmatched by the likes of Gasol and Bynam, timid of the big stage, seemed to play with almost no confidence whatsoever. Not to mention Turkoglu, Alstons and Lee's dismal performances, which in Alstons case can somewhat be attributed to trying to push Jameer Nelson back into the lineup.

On the other side, for Kobe, this is what he lives for. All he wants is to prove to the world he can win a championship without Shaq. Something to this point in the finals, he has proven to be true. Kobe has shown the confidence that is needed to win a championship.

Kobe thrives on this stage. The Lakers have the perfectly built team from top to bottom to win a championship. If the Magic cannot make a comeback, it will be a well deserving championship for Kobe and crew.

This is not to say they are unbeatable, after all, nothing brings out a teams best side then having 20,000 screaming fans cheering for you at the Staples Center.

The series now heads to Orlando, and going away from home,, is exactly where the Magic want to be. Before we claim the Lakers as the champions of 2009, lets see how their confidence is once they have to go into Orlando's house.

If Howard and crew can come out with the same aggressiveness and confidence that they had against Cleveland, I would not hand over the trophy just yet.


EDIT AFTER GAME 3:

Well they sure looked confident last night, Van Gundy should really keep Nelson on the bench as much as possible. The team he has out there right now works, and it's worked throughout the playoffs. I am not saying Nelson is a bad player because he's not, but when your winning, why change anything? Alston looked great last night racking up 20 points, he gets much more comfortable as the game goes on, his 3:1 ratio in minutes played vs. Nelson is a perfect one. You could tell last night especially on the one play where Alston drives to the basket from the 3-point line, that the Magic was really focusing on getting other players besides Howard involved. Just look at the point spread Turk had 18 not to mention six rebounds and seven assists, Lewis had 21, and Pietrus finally showed up with 18. The Lakers are so focused on Dwight, and while Lewis did go 3-6 at the 3-point line, they still need to take more advantage of it. All in all, this is exactly what the Magic needed to do and the exact kind of confidence you get from being at home.

On the other side of the ball, The Lakers should not hang their heads after this one. They could of basically just taken the night off if they wanted to. As Kobe scored 17 points in the first quarter, I thought they were going to run the Magic right off the court. I give a lot credit to the Magic for taking Kobe out of the game after that, limiting him to only 14 points the rest of the game. I see this match-up being a lot more even then most people do, and I think on both sides the finals will be one with not just a lone player or two, but a full team. On the other side of things the Lakers are still incredible at home, and even if the Magic take a three game sweep here I still think the Lakers would have the upper-edge.