What They're Saying: Magic vs. Lakers Game One

-Jerry Crowe of the Los Angeles Times talks about how Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant were nearly teammates... on the Clippers.

-As far as coaching is concerned, Stan Van Gundy and Phil Jackson could not be more different, Mike Bianchi writes for The Orlando Sentinel.

-The Lakers and the Magic are still escaping the shadow of Shaquille O'Neal.

-Bethlehem Shoals of the Baseline blog says versatility is the key to the success of the Magic and Lakers. and it might be a sign for the future in the NBA.

-Mike Freeman of CBS Sportsline compares the 2009 Magic to the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants of two years ago. Both are equally tough and both are huge underdogs despite their successes so far.

-Third Quarter Collapse sits down with various NBA experts and bloggers to answer some questions about the series.

-Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated says the role players will be key to winning the NBA Finals.

-Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes Orlando is making the three the new two.

-Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times says the Lakers remember their defeat last year against the Boston Celtics and want some redemption from it in a title this year.

-Marc J. Spears of the Boston Globe reports former Magic assistant coach Clifford Ray feels like a proud papa after seeing his student, Dwight Howard, reach the NBA Finals. Ray was an assistant coach during Howard's rookie season and grew very close with him during his one season working with him.

-John Denton writing for ESPN talks about Dwight Howard's maturation in this postseason.

-Andrea Adelson of The Orlando Sentinel profiles the man, Otis Smith, who built the Magic.

-Jon Nichols writing for Hardwood Paroxysm graphs the correlation between regular season series victories and postseason series victories.

-Rashard Lewis in an interview with Sporting News says the Kobe-LeBron commercials did inspire the Magic and what happened when he met Magic/Lakers fan Tiger Woods.

-Are the Magic just hot? Maybe not. According to some stats from Tom Ziller of NBA FanHouse the current stretch by Orlando is not just a flash in the pan.

-Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says a Kobe championship is very much about showing up Shaquille O'Neal (who won the title with the Heat as a supporting character).

-erivera7 of Third Quarter Collapse runs some projection numbers on Jameer Nelson and finds out that his return (statistically speaking) might be just a slight improvement over Anthony Johnson. Either way, it is looking less likely Nelson will play.

-Marc Berman of the New York Post writes a championship ring as a coach for Patrick Ewing would be as satisfying as a championship as a player.

-Otis Smith bought a 1989 Corvette Convertible for the parade he hopes the Magic will get in a few weeks. It certainly will be bigger than the last parade they got -- when they first became a team.

-Chris Erskine of Los Angeles Times asks the nation: Why does everyone want to beat LA? Los Angelinos are quite nice. And in honor of that I will say, "BEAT THE LAKERS!"

-The Ghost of Finals Past still follows Nick Anderson. A Magic win would do a lot to vindicate the now-front office ambassador.

-The Disney bet is on. And between Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer and Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

-Kobe Bryant is racing against Father Time to get his title, writes Mike Bresnehan of the Los Angeles Times. And not only is his legacy at stake, but also maybe Pau Gasol's.