Finally The Finals are upon us.  The NBA playoffs, can at times, be a long and grueling journey for the players and fans of the game alike.  In that way, the playoffs are a representation of one singular NBA game.  There are runs of offensive brilliance (see Bulls v Celtics) followed by either great-defense inspired or poor-shooting inspired runs of offensive stagnation (see Heat v Hawks).  In either  case, most games are not decided until the last two minutes and even then most of us think the outcome is obvious, predetermined or worse…”Tim Donaghied” ( a phrase I just coined to represent anything rigged).  

This year has been no exception.  The 2009 playoffs have given us plenty to remember and equally as much to forget.  Who could forget the emergence of players such as Derik Rose, Brandon Roy and Andre Igouldala?  Who wants to remember the dismal effort of the Billups and Iverson-less Pistons in the first round?  It has been fun and not so fun to watch.  And as is customary, up until the final two teams were chosen, we all thought we had an idea of who that was going to be.  Admit it, Nike were not the only ones with fog in their crystal ball! 

Kobe V Lebron!  That’s what we all wanted to see (all does not include citizens of Orlando or Denver).  That’s what we all expected to see, and there was no way David Stern was going to miss an opportunity to cash in on this marketing utopia; right?  I mean if ever there was a time to have something Tim Donaghied, it would be now! 

Superman and the dynamic duo of Mello and Chauncey were determined to deter us from our dream matchup.  Both turned in heroic efforts, in their respective matchups, but only one caped crusader was able to pull off the feat!  Superman defeated the King of Cleveland (that is the only kingdom I am willing to acknowledge as his until he wins a ring).  Although, in the Kings defense, Lebron was not exactly playing with the Knights of the Round Table on his side.  His teammates simply got out played by the Magic and as a result, it is the Magic and not the favored Cavs that get a fair shake at the title as the Eastern Conference Champs. 

And that is where we are; The Magic looking to pull another trick out of their sleeve and take down the favored LA Lakers.  Kobe and company appear to be on a mission; a mission that can seemingly only be stopped by those wearing purple and gold.  That is to say that when they play at their best; moving the ball and getting everyone involved until the Black Mamba can strike in the 4^th quarter, they appear unbeatable. 

I stress words like “seemingly” and “appear” because much like the final 2 minutes of any basketball game, as much as self –proclaimed experts, fans, players and amateur bloggers like myself hate to admit it, we have no idea what is going to happen.  And that is why we watch!   

With that said; Lakers in 6!