Foreword by – J.C. Carnahan
After what felt like a two-week layoff for fans, the NBA Finals finally got underway Thursday night at The Forum in California as the Los Angeles Lakers (65-17) played host to the Orlando Magic (59-23). We here at Joint Contrast caught the action up close and personal straight from the comfort of our own sofas.
Yeah, we saw Kobe Bryant go on an 18-point bender in the 3rd quarter and finish with a Finals’ career-high of 40 points with 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots. That scoring effort proved to be just the 46th 40-point game in the history of the championship series, so said a talking head on the TV. Pretty damn impressive, and surprising, considering it’s the sixth time he’s made it this far over the course of his 13 years in the league.
Did we mention that the Lakers ran away with a 100-75 win? And that the Magic only showed up to play for a quarter-and-a-half? Game 2 goes down at the same place on Sunday night at 8 p.m.
Quote of the Night – ”It doesn’t take long for the NBA player to blame everything on someone else,” said Jeff Van Gundy in the 2nd quarter as Jameer Nelson jogged down court while arguing a call with the referee.
Best Advertisement – It’s a toss-up between the fourth-quarter plug of the special edition Kobe Bryant Nike Zoom IV shoes (featuring his stats in print, such as the 61 he scored at The Garden) and Dwight Howard’s brand new Vitamin Water commercial. (Guess they’re all getting their vitamins now.)
Makes Me Wonder – Why every time nearly anyone in the league is asked about the best player to ever play in the NBA they, No. 1) Claim not to be able to name just one, then No. 2) Usually bring up the same three names (Magic, Michael and Larry) as did Kobe during a halftime interview. Did the NBA not exist before 1980?
For Stats Sake – Pau Gasol scored 16 points, pulled down 8 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and blocked two shots for L.A. while Howard finished with 12 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks for Orlando.
–– Further Analysis from the Joint Contrast Crew ––
== Says J.C. – Before a possessed Kobe Bryant could close the door on the Magic in the 3rd quarter, there was Jack Nicholson courtside jawwing in Superman’s ear and David Stern in the stands shoveling popcorn in his face. That was back when the game was at least competitive, as the Magic charged out the gate with some emotion before simmering out before the first half even came to a close. Funny thing is that I actually mentioned to Cavs fans, the night they were bounced from the playoffs, how much a tragedy it would be if the Magic are unable to shoot the 3-ball in the next round. In fact it was worse than that as they could only muster a 29.9% effort from the field. Just think, if there were a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals, Cleveland might have had a chance. Pathetic.
== Says Ray-Ray – This is what I call the Black Pyramid Effect. You may ask, what is this? Well, that’s what you call the mixture of the black mamba, the triangle offense, and a crazy trip from the good ol’ days. At least it felt like a hallucination to a die-hard Lakers fan, and what a great trip it was. The job is far from done though as this was only Game 1 and although it does boost my confidence, the Lakers still have a lot of work to do. I may or may not have been on a lucid trip tonight, but I do recall spending my time partying with friends in Ohio this past weekend, where I tried to tell them that the Lakers size and experience would cause chaos for the Magic. And as we “witnessed” against Orlando, the Magic are going to have to do more than just shoot their way past L.A.
== Says Steve P. – So here we sit after game 1 and the only thing larger than Dwight Howard’s body-to-head ratio is the Lakers margin of victory. With only a 1-for-6 shooting effort, his best performance of the night came during his (Lebron fill-in) commercial. Kobe however was a mid-range God. Larry Bird’s favorite player looked absolutely inhuman shooting jumpers over Courtney Lee and Mickael Pietrus. Even after beating my Cavs, I still like Stan Van Gundy. He seems genuine to me. But what coach in their right mind guards Kobe one-on-one in the NBA Finals with a rookie?! He has proved to be a master of adjustment in the playoffs so far but if he doesn’t pull a rabbit out of his hat quickly this series will be over faster then that rabbit fucks. The sole bright spot for Orlando came in the first half when Jameer Nelson played like the all-star he is after a four-month layoff.
6 Comments
I couldn’t believe my phone didn’t ring after the new puppet nike commercial where the kid has to hit his asthma inhaler after seeing all the shoes(all though ray called right around then i just didn’t wanna hear his I told u kobie was better than lebron speech) good shit though go lakers!
that commercial is hilarious though!!!
be interesting to see how Game 2 unfolds.
How true is it that most people believe that MJ, Magic and Bird are arguably the top three, so what a great point that the NBA did exist before the 80′s. I just want to through out some names for those who have forgot about the innovators of the league. Wilt Chamberlin who is commonly brought up during those arguments but what about the big “O” averaging a triple double for a season that wont happen again, or how about this one the NBA Logo Jerry West who throughout his career dominated as a player and set scoring margins that would be untouchable had there been a 3 point line when he played he probably would own most scoring records still today. And whats that guys name that has so many Championship rings that his last one was made into a toe ring, oh yeah that BIll Russell guy after all most people are judged by their ability to win Championships….You know just a thought.
Did I hear somewhere that Jerry West lost seven NBA Finals during his playing career? That’s pretty crazy right there! I guess with the way the game changed so much in the 1980′s it’s kind of hard to compare it with the way it was played back in the day (three point line, etc.)
Actually Jerry West lost a total of 8 championships and won only one, but he is also the only player in Finals history to win the finals MVP on a losing team. 6 of those 8 losses where to the power house Celtics, and his only championship win came against the Nicks…still 9 visits to the finals in 14 years, pretty damn good I’d say.
Wow. Sounds like you know your Laker history! Interesting to see that one team or organization can still dominate a decade like the Celtics did. We had the Bulls of the 90′s and now the Lakers of the 2000′s, even if they lose this Finals they’ve been there six times this decade. Amazing.
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