Lakers vs. Orlando: A Basketball Junkie's Delight

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz Clevelanders, some casual fans, and advertisers with a vested interest in the Kobe-LeBron mano-a-mano might be disappointed of being deprived of a Cavs-Lakers final. But for the basketball maven, the Orlando-Lakers matchup is a dream series between the league's two most interesting on-court squads. Reading David Thorpe and Mike Moreau's Scouting Breakdown of the series has me downright giddy for tonight's tipoff. Both the Lakers and Magic execute a beautiful brand of basketball. Orlando has perfected its inside-out game. They also run the Hedo Turkoglu pick-and-roll operation, which wreaks havoc on defenses. The Lakers, meanwhile cracked the code last week: Gasol in the post, Ariza on cuts, Bryant once again a triple-threat from the pinch post, Odom as a five-position menace. Watching a couple of well-tuned offenses is one thing, but what makes this series even more alluring are the unheralded defenses. On both sides, we'll get to witness t...