No Shaq, No Problem!
by Cody Clark ~ June 15th, 2009.In game 5 of the 2009 NBA Finals, Kobe Bryant scored 30 points, dished out 6 assists, and grabbed 5 rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Lakers franchise to their 15th NBA title. It is Bryant’s fourth ring, but his first without center Shaquille O’Neal. (But you won’t hear him say he wanted to win without Shaq) The game was won in the second quarter when the Lakers went on a 16-0 run to take a 12 point lead and go into the half pretty comfortably. In the third period, the Lakers had a 14 point lead, but near the end of the game the Orlando Magic cut the Laker lead to 11 as they started hitting three pointers, although it was too late and Los Angeles put away the Magic on their own floor to win the title. Dwight Howard was not the force that they needed him to be, scoring only 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Rashard Lewis added a double double, but to no avail. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom each added 14 and 17 points (respectivily) to assist the Finals MVP, Kobe Bryant. If Orlando can keep Turkoglu in Magic blue next year and Dwight Howard develops more of his offensive game, I think that you could see the Magic in the Finals next year and for many years to come.
Series X-Factor: My pick for the x-factor in this series was Trevor Ariza. This former Magic reserve haunted the Orlando Magic throughout this whole series, averaging 11 PPG, 6 RPG, and 1.6 APG. (as well as 1.8 SPG) He came up with many key steals and three point daggers throughout the entire playoffs and especially in the 2009 NBA Finals. Ariza is a free agent now, and he (along with Turkoglu) will likely get attractive offers from many teams. If both of these players stay with their respective teams, (and provided Cleveland doesn’t get Shaq,or even one of these two guys) you could very well see a rematch of this year’s NBA Finals next season.
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