I Wish The Cavaliers Won

I was rooting for the Cavaliers. I wanted them to fight the Lakers in the finals. Kobe vs. LeBron is certainly going to be very entertaining.

But my main reason was… there was no way the Cavaliers can beat the Lakers. The Lakers had already beaten them in the regular season, 2-0. Moreover, the Cavs is a one-man team. Sure, LeBron James is MVP enough to carry his team to the best record in the NBA. But there was no way he can carry his team in the Finals over, though inconsistent, a powerhouse and deep, Kobe-led, Lakers.

LeBron is a great player, and he is going to be the best someday. But Jerry West’s proclamation that LeBron is now the best is premature. Kobe Bryant is still the best. LeBron, for now, is a brilliant stat-getter but, nonetheless, second to Kobe as the best player. Stats does not define the best and versatility, it‘s about greatness in the court. The let-LeBron-do-it-all-and-get-his-stats system was destined to fail… it was only a pity that it was not the Lakers who capitalized from it, but the Magic.

Now, Magic is a team. And their system spells trouble for my favorite team. Just as the Cavs one-man-team system is flawed, the Lakers system of tending to be inconsistent may be capitalized upon by the Magic. The Magic have Dwight Howard, the Defensive-Player-of-the-Year, and is explosive in the inside. This could be tough for the softie frontcourt players of the Lakers. I hope the Lakers’ center, Andrew Bynum, would regain his toughness inside and would do well against Howard. It would also be hard to contain the Magic’s three-pointers, and the Lakers would have to settle with matching with their own three-pointers – and I hope they would be successful. But the favor of winning is still on the Lakers though. They have Kobe, and the Magic will never stop him. (But of course, the other Lakers should step-up also. A championship can never be won by a one-man team.)

I only hope that their tough playoff run would put the Lakers at their best. I still believe the Lakers would win the championship. But it’s going to be tougher.