Who Knew Free Throws Were Kryptonite

Well it is over. Not officially but in essence this series was ended on the charity line. The score is 84- 87 Orlando and Dwight Howard gets fouled with 11.1 seconds left in the game. Already 5-10 from the line, Howard only needed to make 1 free throw to seal the game and tie the series at 2 games a piece. However this was not the case and Howard missed both free throws and the Lakers recovered the ball. After the inbounds Derek Fisher had the ball in his hands, down three, set up behind the arc and, with Jameer Nelson giving him a ton of space, drained a tre and tied the game. This play sent the game to overtime where the Lakers took control and stole the game. With this loss the Magic lose a second game they should have won.

One thing needs to be made clear. Kobe Bryant was not the deciding factor in this series. Despite all of Kobe's "hunger" and "focus" he alone is not the reason why the Lakers are going to win this series. Do not misunderstand what I am saying. Not only do I believe that Kobe Bryant is the best player in this series but I also believe that he was an integral part of the Lakers winning the NBA Championship. However the Orlando Magic did in fact lose this series. When you look at the three loses for the Magic in this series you will see two games that should have been won by the Magic. The first game of the series is discounted because the Lakers dominated every aspect of that game. In Game 2 the Magic were a missed layup away from winning the game and not the inbounds play that Van Gundy drew up. That play, although brilliant, was a very difficult play due to Courtney Lee's momentum taking him under the basket before he even caught the basketball. If either of the two layups goes in the Magic tie the series and go back to Orlando with momentum and home-court on their side. The next game the Magic should have won was last night. Dwight Howard was fouled with 11.1 seconds left in a three point game 4. Should Dwight Howard simply sink one free-throw then the Magic would have tied the series yet again. Instead they find themselves playing the role of Sisyphus unable to get to the top of the mountain.

With a 3-1 series lead Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and the rest of the Lakers have secured the 2008-2009 NBA Championship. This series could easily have swung the other way with the Magic up 3-1 and a chance to secure their first franchise championship on their home-court. Since this is not the case the Los Angeles Lakers have prevailed and are benefiting from a scorching hot team, in the Magic, who cooled off to a frigid tempo. Under the circumstances this finals will not be remembered as a missed opportunity by Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, and Stan Van Gundy. Instead the finals will be remembered as Kobe's first ring without Shaq, Phil Jackson's tenth championship as a coach, and the coming out party of Pau Gasol.