Random Finals Observations

A mixed bag of thoughts that popped in my head while watching the first couple of games of the NBA Finals.

- The Magic could have really stolen game 2 like Cleveland stole game 2 from them. Great play from Stan Van Gundy. If Turkoglu had made a bit shallower of a pass, the shot isn't nearly as tough for Courtney Lee, and we would be talking about the last possession for the Lakers and Kobe getting blocked by Turkoglu when Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza were both clearly open.

- Despite being down 0-2, Stan Van Gundy has proven to everyone he is a really good coach. He puts people in positions to succeed, it's just a matter of if they execute.

- How good is Dwight Howard going to be over the next 10 years? If the Magic can get a big power forward with a solid midrange shot and slide everyone up and move Courtney Lee to the bench, how good can this team be? Maybe get a guy like Chris Bosh? Honestly I wouldn't be surprised to see Lakers-Magic at least one more time over the next 3 or 4 years.

- When did the Magic stop having Dwight Howard spin to the basket behind his man and dunk an alley oop from Turkoglu? I haven't seen every play of every game so far, but I don't recall the last time they did that, and the Orlando Magic LOVED to run that play in the regular season.

- How solid has Lamar Odom been? Honestly, if the Lakers go on to win it all, there should be (but won't be) serious consideration for him for Finals MVP.

- I don't know Kobe personally, but if I did, I would ask him who he likes playing with better, Shaq or Pau. If we were friends and he was comfortable telling me the truth, I think he would say without a doubt Pau. Their personalities seem to mesh, they seem to enjoy talking about strategy, and most importantly, Pau's ego doesn't seem to be hurt with Kobe in a leadership role the way Shaq's was.

Since I don't know Kobe, if I got the chance to ask him that question, he would probably say Shaq is one of the most dominant big men of all time, and Pau is a great player also, and that they bring different things to the table and that he is fortunate to have been able to play with both of them.

- I love Shannon Brown and I love when he gets a chance to play, but how much better is this Lakers team when Derek Fisher plays his game? For the record, Jordan Farmar I could do without, but that's just me.

- Andrew Bynum is giving this team just enough, and that's all they need. People forget he's only 21 and he's got a lot of growth ahead of him. How prudent was the non trade of Bynum for Kidd in retrospect?

- It's great to see Adam Morrison get excited and cheering on the bench. His enthusiasm alone is an upgrade over Vlad Radmanovic.

- The Lakers have to feel good being up 2-0, but this Magic team has proven to be resilient. I think this series comes back to Los Angeles.