Conference Finals:The Shot! and The Closer

I was in the gym taking way too much time in between sets to watch the ongoing Cleveland/Orlando epic battle. The Magic had climbed all the way back from another large Cavs lead to tie the game. On a major possession Lebron drove to the basket while powering through Magic defenders that the resembled more a of full back than anything else. But this is basketball, and you do have to dribble the ball.(It seemed like the "King" took 8 steps) The right call was made which left the Magic with the ball with 13.7 second left. At this time someone could've walked by that gym, looked inside and might've thought they were viewing a mannequin display for sporting ware. There was no movement, all eyes were transfixed on the monitors scattered around the gym. The silence in a spot that is usually rampant with noise was eerie. "This is going to OT", someone had blurted out. No one responded nor took their eyes from the action. Tukoglu dribbled down the clock as much as he felt he could and made his move while hitting what would've been the biggest shot of his career. The problem was, there was one second left on the clock.

Before we get to the obvious conclusion of my experience as a "witness" I would like to apologize to the Magic and their fans. My lack of respect for this team has been well documented in this blog. Reasons for my dearth of confidence for this team is based on their instinct to chuck up three pointers and their strange reluctance to get Dwight Howard the ball. "Superman 2"(I gotta respect Shaq as the original Man of Steel" is a question that the Cavs nor the rest of the league has no answer for. The scary thing is that he is still playing on pure raw talent. The rest of the world was so captivated by Lebron's incredible season along with the debate over him and Kobe that Howard's season was just a foot note. Although I'm still not a fan of their style of play, they have definitely earned my respect. The Magic are playing with passion and fury equivocal to Pac over the "Hit em Up" track. Rashard Lewis and Turkoglu are confident in Van Gundy's style of execution and the Cavs don't have anyone to stop them; Lebron can't guard them both.

Now back to the gym, 1.0 seconds on the clock, and Lebron taking the court with Mo Williams assuring him that he is going to get him the ball. We all know what happened next, Lebron did an excellent fake cut to the basket that fooled Turkoglu just enough for Lebron to run to the top of the three point line with Hedo a step behind. Mo Williams made a great pass, Lebron catches, shoots, and forever etches his name in history. The silence evaporates, one cat runs around screaming "I told yall, I told yall," and Lebron revived the highly anticipated battle with Kobe that was as good as dead only one second before.

Meanwhile, back in the other conference, the Lakers had suffered a loss to Denver at home that most people were predicting they wouldn't recover one. Most analyst had concluded that Denver's game 1 loss would deflate them using the previous Nuggets teams as an example, but this isn't the team from last year. Chauncey Billups is continuing to show court savvy making incredible decisions on the floor in crunch time. In game 2 he recognized the refs' love affair with the whistles and attacked the basket. The team overall is being physical. They are getting every loose ball, getting in the passing lane and grabbing every key offensive rebound. Those are the reasons why we all question the Lakers' toughness. Above all, Melo is finally playing up to the potential that everyone expects from him. But While everyone was ready to crown Lebron and put him in the same class with Kobe as a closer, Kobe showed why he isn't ready to relinquish the torch yet.

Kobe once again did a little bit of everything in game three. When Denver looked like they would go on a run in the third, Kobe had successive drives to the basket through the heart of their defense. He made a key pass to Trever Ariza in the last few minutes of the game for a huge three that reclaimed the Laker lead. When that lead was lost, Kobe made another three in the face J.R. Smith that gave them the lead for good. When Kobe plays smart and allows the game to come to him, there isn't a better player on the planet. Before this series started, I felt that Kobe would have to do everything with the exception of shooting Carmelo Anthony to win this series. There are no more excuses for him. Yes, the lakers can be soft and weak mentally at times, but that's when Kobe has to be the "Mamba". Lebron made an incredible shot, one that will solidify his place among the greats of the game. The debate between he and Kobe is great for argument's sake and entertainment, but let's not forget how long Kobe has been doing this.