The big question in Game 5 of the NBA Championship Finals is does the series-leading L.A. Lakers have the fire to not only dominate this game but close it out fully knowing they have two games left at the comfort of their home court? Another important question is does Orlando Magic have the inner strength and poise to stand in front of Goliath, knowing as David they have a serious battle like no other before. This game can also change the NBA careers of many players involved. Players like Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol have not won a championship in their long careers in the NBA. Kobe Bryant has three championships under his belt among an assortment of achievements, but no championships has he earned being the leader of the team, taking charge winning carrying the team when needed. Savvy veteran Derek Fisher has also won three championships; can he add another one before his looming retirement? On the other other side you have players like Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis who have been on other teams and have also seen long careers in the NBA with no championship ring to brag about. Dwight Howard is in the finals knowing he is dominant enough to come back to this exact place in the Finals at least another 10 times in the future if he really wanted to. The question is: is he ready to take charge and make large footprints in history, or will he need to be defeated to understand what most be done in the future to succeed. So many questions and too much excitement are in store for the 2009 NBA Finals Championships game 5 between the L.A. Lakers and Orlando Magic. Hold onto your hands ladies and gentlemen, and let the excitement begin!

First Quarter

The start of quarter had Orlando looking focused running their offense and before you knew it Orlando went on an 8-0 run with everyone from Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee, Dwight Howard, and Rashard Lewis all contributing to the run.  Orlando at this point was up by 9, with the score being 16-7.  L.A. didn’t sit back in cruise control for long and began to battle back, only to be met with Orlando’s intensity, and both teams began making some very difficult shots.  Andrew Bynum played very aggressive offensively, trying to carry L.A.’s offense, unfortunately he started the game missing his first 6 shots.  Orlando decided he was the safest bet to leave wide open.  The rookie Courtney Lee of the Orlando Magic was attacking the rim like he had been doing it for years in the NBA, while Kobe and Bynum did a bit of show time with Bynum finishing a nice pass from Kobe with a dunk.  Rafer Alston, a non factor at all the games at L.A.’s Staple center, came to play last game and seemed like he was here to play today in Game 5.  He got two difficult floaters to go through the crowd, which would lead you to believe he must have been trying to show his coach that benching him in the last game in the last quarter and overtime was a grave mistake.  The quarter ended with the score at 26-28 for Orlando, which is not a good sign if Orlando wants to go back to L.A. in a convincing manner.  Kobe ends the quarter with 11 points, and hitting all four of his free throws.

The second quarter in this game was just as important as the first quarter because if Orlando let up at all, it could cost them the series and the championships.  Howard understood this, playing confident in the post scoring with his jump hook, full of urgency.  Bynum comes back and brings his own post game with a jump hook; Howard responds with yet another attack to the rim.  It is exciting to know that both these beasts will be battling each other for the next 10+ years as the leading big men in their respective teams.  The quarter continues with Orlando running their offense to Dwight and he was delivering by scoring 3 baskets in a row and with a visit to the free throw line with a basket and a foul for a free throw; he unfortunately missed; I guess you can’t ask Howard to do it all.  Lamar Odom comes out of thin air and got a fancy take to the rim to take a foul and went to the free throw line to add to L.A.’s score.  From a basketball perspective, Orlando was playing as well as they can, moving the ball and not settling for the tough shot and working for a higher percentage basket.  Kobe returned Magic’s poise and execution by driving to the rim for an emphatic dunk.  In another play, Kobe gets the double team in the post and simply kicks it out to Fisher for the three; if game 4 was any sign, watch out for Derek to hit some real big shots.  Trevor Ariza adds to the offensive fury by hitting a three point shot, giving Lakers their first lead, 42-40, with 5 minutes to go in the quarter.  Things get worse for Orlando with a missed basket which led to Kobe hitting another tough shot in the paint which combined for an 8-0 Laker’s run before Orlando’s coach Stan Van Gundy called time out to talk strategy.  After the time out and another 8 straight Laker points later, Orlando has yet to score and Kobe and crew seemed like they were toying with Orlando.  Rafer finally stops the bleeding by getting a lay up in, and Rashard hits Orlando’s first three point shot, and this is very unfortunate for a team that made a living hitting long shots.  A future star in L.A., a young Ariza was stepping up on the offensive end for the Lakers, showing the world he is ready to take a bigger role in the Laker’s offensive arsenal.  The first half winded down to an end and L.A. was up by 10.

Orlando started off very hot with a 9 point lead and things just fell apart.  The root of Orlando’s problems was the frustration that got in some of Orlando Magic player’s heads and things began to break down.  One has to truly understand the pressure Orlando is playing with, facing the brink of elimination and a long unsatisfying summer, while the Lakers were relaxed and playing their game knowing they had 2 more games left to close it out.   In order for Orlando to change their future, they have to come out and continue running their offensive plays and scoring.  Apart from that, play tough defense knowing good defense will bring good offense and do what you do at home: run away with the game with complete effort, intensity and especially passion.  This is their home court, so let’s show some of that swagger.  Lakers are very poised and very calm, and that makes things 100 times easier for them to play basketball.  They already went on a 16-0 run and they are feeling good.  There is a way to close teams out and the Lakers know exactly how to do it.  Watch them go to work in the second half.  Orlando just can’t seem to score and dominate while Kobe and Gasol keeps going to the free throw to add to the lead. 

In the third quarter, Lee doesn’t stop and continues to take it to the rim when both team’s offense was stagnant.  Orlando continued their execution in the paint attracting the double team and kicking it outside to get players like Rafer open to hit shots.  This is what you call old school basketball.  However, Odom answers back with a 3, actually make it two threes.  The quarter continued on and apart from Orlando’s hot start in the 3^rd, they just couldn’t get it together falling to a deficit of 15 points.  Rashard Lewis somehow finds his way to the free throw line in an attempt to slow the Lakers down but unfortunately missed a couple of free throws in the quarter, meanwhile Turkoglu was on the sidelines catching his breath.  Orlando decided to throw a curve ball and bring out JJ Reddick on the court for offensive energy and his high level shooting touch.  Howard, while playing hard, got his 5^th foul on Gasol and takes a seat on the bench with 1:14 left in the third.  The quarter came to an end with LA up by 15 points.

Reddick starts the quarter with a three, and Orlando was desperate for something to fire them, however LA was just too good with offensive onslaughts being made by Ariza, Kobe, and Lamar.  When L.A. finally missed shots, they were working extra hard getting their own rebounds for a second shot.  L.A. gets the ball moving and gets Walton an easy lay up to the basket through the crowd under the rim.  Turkoglu comes back to hit a three but with 5 minutes left to go, things seem doomed for the Orlando Magic.  Kobe now begins to take some impossible (although anything is possible with Kobe) deep threes and seems like he had accepted his win already, meanwhile Orlando cannot seem to box out and contain the rebound.  This led L.A to continue finding their second shots or free throws.  Orlando during their final attack had Rashard hitting back to back threes but it was too late with slim to no hope of a comeback.  At this point, Magic was down by 12, which was the closest they got all game long, but Kobe came back and makes yet another basket to extend that lead once again.  With 40 seconds still left on the clock, LA had already begun celebrating on the bench during the timeout.  As the quarter ended, all you can see is a whole stadium of disappointed fans and an Orlando bench of defeated basketball players, while the L.A. Lakers jumped for joy in the middle of all of them.

Well there you have it folks another NBA Championship Finals has come and gone. Everyone in the basketball world knew this outcome, but you still can’t help but cheer for the underdog. Don’t count Orlando out because they will definitely keep the team together and come with a vengeance next year after that bitter taste of defeat. The L.A. Lakers tasted the same bitter taste last year, and it seemed to have motivated the team to get over that hump. When analyzing L.A. Lakers success, an important stat that cannot be overlooked is that L.A. has not lost 3 games in a row in the season or post season since Pau Gasol had showed up in 2008. Furthermore, L.A. Lakers haven’t lost more than 2 games in the post season with Pau Gasol wearing the Lakers jerseys. These are stats I’m sure every team will be looking to break next year, but one has to respect the degree of excellence the L.A. Lakers as a team and as an organization has strived for in the last two seasons. It is no wonder they have been crowned the champions, and it’s no wonder there is a good chance this team may win a few more championships before its all said and done.

I’d like to thank everyone who had followed my game by game breakdown of the 2009 NBA Championship Finals. I would also like to thank the NBA for the great pictures they provided on their site, and look out for more NBA basketball related articles coming your way.  In the meantime, check out all my basketball related articles below:

A Long Awaited Destiny or a New Era of the Past: 2009 NBA Championship Finals Breakdown

2009 NBA Championship Finals Game 1 Breakdown

2009 NBA Championship Finals Game 2 Breakdown

2009 NBA Championship Finals Game 3 Breakdown

2009 NBA Championship Finals Game 4 Breakdown

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