Five Things To Look For During the NBA Finals
1. The "ex-Shaq Finals"
No word as of Monday on whether this will happen, but it'd be smart for ABC to grab Shaq for the pre-game crew. First off, he's insanely charismatic:
... but even more than that, he's probably the most relevant figure for each of these franchises in the past 15 years (Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard, the stars of each organization presently, would be the other argument in each case). In fact, if you want a really over-dramatic thing to say at a bar, wait until beer No. 4 or higher and remark casually -- to no one in particular -- "In a way, Dwight and Kobe are both running away from the legacy of Shaq."
2. The Disney Finals
One Disney is in Orlando. One Disney is outside of Los Angeles. Make sense? It'll be a party like this thing was:
3. Kobe vs. Dwight
This is perhaps the most obvious storyline of the 2009 NBA Finals, and the one that will be hyped the most (others in this vein: "Kobe getting a ring without Shaq" and "Phil Jackson's pursuit of the 10th title"). If you go into this understanding and realizing that Dwight Howard has clearly NOT yet surpassed Kobe Bryant as a basketball player, and also realizing that even if the Magic win this series, people will still rank Kobe > Dwight, well, then what on a personal level is Dwight playing for? Glad you asked. He wants to avenge this:
That's what you call "Arabian Goggles." If you don't know what that means, look it up -- or look at the second comment on the video above, which is "I guess he had nuts for dinner." Make inferences.
4. The Rise of Hedo
The development of Rashard Lewis has been sweet in these playoffs, but let's face it -- the Magic gave that dude superstar money a few years ago (it might bite them in the posterior two years from now). The 'pleasant surprise' of these playoffs, aside from Orlando's ability to completely decimate the opposition with the three-ball, has been the rise of "the Turkish Michael Jordan" (TNT's words, not ours), Mr. Hedo Turkoglu. With apologies to LeBron James ... witness this:
Other relevant Turkish athletes to bring up when Hedo bangs a three: Elvan Abeylegesse, Aziz Nesin, and from the NBA side, Mehmet Okur of the Utah Jazz.
5. Dunk Like Machine
If you want to sound smart with your friends, say this: "One guy that has really stepped up for the Lakers this postseason is Trevor Ariza." If you want to sound even smarter, say: "The double option of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in the paint, both of whom have been playing well -- Pau better -- should help neutralize Howard, insofar as anyone can do that." Yes, use the word 'insofar.' If you want to show your friends a funny YouTube on your smartphone device about the Lakers, well, we're here for you on that too:
Join the Discussion