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 3^rd 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.