NBA Finals Schedule 2009: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Orlando Magic

I think this will be a great final. New blood with Dwight Howard and the superstar closer Kobe Bryant. Looking for a Laker win with Kobe and his supporting players and their experience in playoffs. But Magic will be the team to watch.
Kudos to both conference winnners....

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Maybe now the fans who were needlessly rude to those who admitted James deserved to be MVP if this season`s stats could be believed, but also admitted it was much too early to crown him the Greatest Ever, will learn a little bit about basketball. It is a team sport, not a hype sport. Individual hype doesn`t win games, teamwork does. James may win MVP again next season, and the season after, or he may fail to make first string all pro, there are several other good players right now, no really great players especially no really great centers, right now, though. Bryant is still an MVP contender, but is not as good as he used to be. He isn`t young anymore! He used to be the best of this bunch, maybe still is, but was overshadowed by O`Neal. Laker fans shouldn`t quote Cavs fans, bragging they`ll sweep. Didn`t help the Cavs, won`t help the Lakers, they`ll have to earn any wins on the court not in the media. Except for those who live only for the hype, not the basketball, this should be a fairly interesting championship, as usual.

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God is going to get you for having it end up this way.Rules were broken all along the way.If the NBA doesn't want to lose fans for next year
YOU better (and you know who your are)ready the officiating crews for the new season (to gear towards the game not towards a specific team or person)I hope Nascar is listening too...

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Evad347, I seriously doubt GOD is worried about the NBA playoffs. Don't be such a chicken, state clearly who was wronged by the officiating. I hope you don't think that Lebron didn't get his fair share of calls. Because if that is the case, I would have to ask if you were either blind or a Cavs fan.

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As a HUGE LAKER FAN I feel that they shouldn't take Orlando lightly. If they want to win the Championship they better play harder than they have ever played. They are up against a team who is HUNGRY for a Championship Ring. I can understand that Kobe is much older but the likes of Bynum, Odom, Ariza, Fisher, Gasol,and the rest of the Laker squad better step there game up 110%. Kobe cant do it alone and everyone needs to help him. Do doubt Ariza will come out playing his butt off and everyone is capable of landing double didgits on the board. This is going to be a good series and the Lakers better not sleep on Orlando not one game or they will find themselves out of a Championship. True Orlando is the underdog but they really are the team to watch.

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will not watch because of foolish tatoos. these guys are spoiled and obnoxious. NBA SUCKS

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People, People, People. the same was said about Michael Jordon. "He will NEVER be as great as Dr.'Julius Erving' J. REMEMBER? Now we are saying, "Who is Dr J."? How soon we Basketball fans forget.Think on this. All Three of these players, Kobe, LaBron and Howard came right out of HIGH SCHOOL. Now they are carrying a Franchise. My question? Why did they change the rule on going straight to the NBA from High School? It's not that they are not panning out. I hate to think it's because all are "Black". Would the rule had been changed if they were all "White"? Just food for thought. Go Lakers !!!, Go Magic !!!

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Kawhan from Folkston, Georgia, didn't live up to his potential. Know why? Michael Jordon was trying to make a come back at the Wizards, when Kawhan was drafted by the Wizards. Jordon being such a SELFISH SELF CENTERED person, KILLED that young man's game. I bet in Practice he stayed on Kawhan's back, until he took all the Self Confidence away from him. I said that at the very beginning. "Michael is not going to let that young guy be great". Did I lie? Thank God, Kobe, LaBron and Howard was not under Jordon, if they were, they also would be an inner wounded self doubting person.

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the cavs had it realy easy in the first 8 games but then orlando cames and they were doen good to but when Dwight Hoard scores 40 points u should know u r goen to lose i would of loved to be kobe and james in the finals but i gess i will have to wait another year

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dxxy4u, no the NBA did not vote to try to ban guys straight from high school because they were all (maybe) black. The college graduates have been mostly black, too. The league never did like the rule. It was forced on them. I am mercifully too young to remember when Joe Grabowski, who was NOT black, I think, went straight from high school to the nba. He played reasonably well. Don`t know why they changed the rule. But in `68, Spencer Haywood, a decade after the Grabowski of the Grabowski shuffle, entered the league, Woody went to court, and forced the nba to let the Olympic hero work. Even though he was an all star eventually, he was also a disappoint. James is not the first 6`8 guy to get unrealistic hype. I think Grabowski was maybe 6`8, too. The nba benefits from having the NCAA as a farm system, and does not want to have to expand the nbdl to be more like the baseball minor leagues. Too much work, too much expense, too little benefit. College grads have worked out more emotional issues, learn more about how to study, including their own team`s system and opposing teams` systems, they are just generally less unreliable. I am against the illegal rule change. But obeying the law, offering contracts to guys 18, maybe younger, puts more responsibility on the teams, to have guidance coucilors, like colleges, etc. The nba doesn`t want the bad publicity, or the responsibility. Few succeed, like James, and many even have legal problems, if they come into the nba without 4 or 5 years of college, removed from the national hype, to try to resolve their emotional issues in. It is different outside the US. Kids finish standard education, are full grown, and just considered adult at 16. Not here. And yes, racism put added pressure on most kids in the nba. If black guards go into a white bar, folks can`t guess from their height they are local pros, they get into trouble too often, and folks who would have made allowances for them for the team`s sake find out too late to protect them. But the nba can`t eliminate racism, it has to try to cope, so do the athletes, and men tend to cope less badly than boys, with sex, drugs, hustlers, etc., not just racism. Pro salaries come with a dollar sign, which is a target sign. The hanger ons the nba can live with. The bad publicity especially in an economic depression, hurts sales. I`m not paid by the nba, so they might want to call me all sorts of bad names for guessing their motives for you, and for not putting as positive a spin as possible on it. But that is my guess, anyway, if that is worth anything. (and I still remember that kid, who never did become a dentist, J., who like Issell, scored over 30 thousand combined pro points, though he`ll never make it in the nba, too old!)

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If these Black high Schoolers were no good, had no potential, and were troublesome kids, I would buy the argument. But Kobe, Labron nor Howard and others came to the NBA as problem kids. They were just too good to waste their talent in College. What could a college coach teach them? These Top Colleges were loosing out, and they (b)itched and moaned until the NCAA stepped in. Why handicap a player? In tennis, you can turn Pro while still in pampers. Why? Because most of the Tennis players are mostly WHITE. The William sisters were too good for any racist rule, that's why no rule were conjured up to handicap them. Maybe a rule or two to keep Pop william quite.

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Tennis is ruled by International/European standards, which, as I said, consider folks adult at 16, unlike the US. But I also said I disagree with the nba`s illegal restraint of trade, delaying hiring until after 18, so I probably didn`t explain their position well. Shame folks seem not not much care about the nba championship, now that the mvp has been eliminated. But if folks think he quit in his good but not great last game of the playoffs. Now Wallace is saying he wants a buy out to retire a year early. Ilguaskas` contract and James` are also up next year. Szczerbiak`s is up, and if he`s signed by someone, it won`t be for nearly as much. Varajao is expected to leave. There is talk as if that whole team is giving up on itself, after leading the league, winning coach and player of the year. Just the economic depression, or is something more wrong? Hundreds of comments on James, none on the championship. Values have become very confused.

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LoL, these forums/ articles always have a wide variety of things that are amusing in one way or another. On one side, there are those who are very articulate, and whether I agree with their argument or not, they support their claim with good evidence. On the other hand, there are those who make claims with no evidence but plenty of prejudice.

Beyond all of that, we have another element of these comments that are perhaps more amusing, which is spelling. I assume that since we are all reading these articles that we are big fans of basketball...but yet, there are several people spelling LeBron, "LaBron" and in other forums I am seeing Kobe spelled "Coby" or "Cobey".LMAO..I really do not know how this happens, but it sure is good for entertainment purposes here!

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Orlando should not be considered very lightly. They have worked hard and battled to earn their way to the NBA finals getting past two very difficult teams, the Celtics and the Cavaliers. They remain the underdog against the Lakers. If they loose, well it still was a great season. If they win its a great upset. If the Lakers win its expected, but if they loose again as they did against the Celtics, they will be have lots of critics. Orlando does not have to think about pressure of critics, but just play their game like they have been against the best NBA teams and win. Orlando will win it and surprise us all.

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bunch of dirt bags

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Lakers on deckK Yo they takinq this Kobe is qoinq off on them dwiqht aint nothinq

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As a diehard Laker fan I have to comment that I think that after the first game of the finals, this group of hard working dedicated athletes have put to rest the comments that they are lazy and undisciplined, that I have heard from people! This was an all out effort, leading to a 25 point victory, from a team that is focused and determined. It's not only the Kobe show, as some have suggested. They have a bevy of role players, shooters, and size in the paint with the likes of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. I hope some people will at least admit to this now. GO LAKERS!

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