L.A. Lakers vs. Orlando Magic - The NBA Finals 2009

It's not the dream matchup that corporate sponsors had invested millions in, but after several grueling weeks of postseason play, there's no doubt that the Lakers and the Magic are the two teams that deserve to play for the title.

Will Kobe Bryant silence his haters once and for all? Or will Dwight Howard reaffirm the old adage that teams need a dominant center to win a title? Both Las Vegas and Barack Obama have picked the Lakers.

I predict it will be the Lakers in six. That's because the Magic would like to win, but the Lakers have to win. You have Kobe's obsession with taking it all without Shaq, and then you have Phil Jackson's obsession with surpassing Red Auerbach for most world championships as an NBA coach. Plus, the Lakers are just better.

I don't care for the Lakers and shotgun on a roadtrip with Matt Moore sounds fun. But, in all seriousness, I think that we're somehow still underrating Orlando after the Cleveland series. To most people it was just an exposure of Cleveland. I'm inclined to believe that it was a Dwight Howard coming out party for the sake of these predictions... Magic in "7".