Kobe Bryant will try to win his first championship without Shaquille O'Neal by
defeating the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard.
(Creative Commons licensed).

This post originally appeared on Kevin Patra's website thesportsunion.com

The world is whining that it missed out on a chance to see LeBron vs. Kobe.  Unfortunately those naive tears are blocking most from seeing what could be an even more intense matchup.

A Cavs-Lakers series would may have pitted No. 1 player vs. No. 2 player, but as the Magic demonstrated, the Cavs were a flawed group and a good matchup for the Lakers -- Los Angeles went 2-0 against Cleveland during the regular season, winning both games by double digits.

The Magic are a different sort of beast, one that is not easily tamed and can pose some problems for the Lakers. The Magic won both matchups this season on the strength of their 3-point shooting and some solid play from Jameer Nelson, who lead Orlando with 27 and 28 points in the two meetings. With Nelson likely to miss the Finals (although there are interesting reports that he might give it a go) the Magic will not hold an advantage at point guard, but can still cause problems for L.A.

One of the Lakers' biggest weaknesses is their closeout defense on three point shooters.  Throughout the season and into the post-season they have left countless players wide open behind the arc (See Rockets, Houston).  The 3-point shot is what has propelled the Magic thus far and if the lazy Laker defense continues on deep shots it could give the Magic a huge advantage.

No preview can be complete without matching up the starting players against each other, so without further ado:

Point Guard:

Derek Fisher vs. Rafer "Skip to My Lou" Alston

Fisher's age disintegration has been well documented and a healthy Nelson would eat him alive both off the dribble and drilling threes. However, with Nelson likely to remain out that brings the position to a dead heat. Alston has his moments, but is much too inconsistent. He will have to lower his turnover rate, make better shot selection and up his off-the-ball defense in order to win this matchup. Fisher has had one of his worst playoffs. He has consistently been beaten by the other team's point guard, and his shot just started to come around near the end of the WCF. The Lakers will need his defensive prowess to be able to dig on Howard and not give up wide open threes. Fisher still adds mental toughness to an overall weak-minded L.A. squad and he is one player whose effort, even while his age gets to him, has been fairly consistent.

Advantage:  Push

Shooting Guard:

Kobe Brant vs. Courtney Lee

To think that Lee will be able to guard Kobe in the Finals would be like thinking Keanu Reeves might be able to act in his next movie. Not going to happen. Stan Van Gundy will likely subscribe to the defensive philosophy of letting Kobe get his while shutting down everyone else. Lee will no doubt try to harass Mamba and make his life difficult, but I would be surprised if we saw any double-teams unless there are under 10 seconds left. What Lee can do is make Kobe pay for cheating off him on the defensive zone. KB24 loves to cheat off his man when he's not guarding an All-Star and Lee will need to knock down his open looks and try and keep him honest. Also, don't be surprised to see Kobe guarding Turkoglu or Lewis in during key possessions.

Advantage:  Kobe (really, what did you think?)

Small Forward:

Trevor Ariza vs. Hedo Turkoglu

This matchup could mean the series for the Magic. If Turkoglu is able to use his size and acumen against Ariza he could carry Orlando in this series. I have always claimed that Turkoglu was a player whose moves you could see developing as the play happen -- while the likes of Kobe or LeBron move so quickly you can't discern them until after -- yet his moves somehow always work. This was no more evident than in these playoffs, when he continually made key drives to the hoop that left you thinking 'How on earth did he get there?'  Needless to say, Airza is the quickest defender he will face so far and he will need to carry stretches of the offense if his team is to upset the Lakers. Ariza, on the other hand, is coming into his own this post season. His jump shot has improved and he has become a dynamic player, especially on his home floor. The Lakers will need his defense this series against the bigger Turkoglu and Lewis. They will also need him to hit his open jumpers from the short corner when his defender cheats on a Kobe drive.

Advantage:  Turkoglu

Power Forward:

Lamar Odom vs. Rashard Lewis

Given that the Lakers match up better with Lewis when Odom is on the floor I will assume he is starting -- even if Phil Jackson starts Bynum, with Bynum's proness to foul trouble Odom will most likely get most of the minutes. Odom has the speed and length to bother Lewis more than Gasol will when Bynum plays the center position. However, Odom's propensity to take plays off, or even whole games off, could kill the Lakers if he allows Lewis to get going especially early in the second half of games. Lewis has been far from perfect in the playoffs, but has made up for some mediocre games by hitting some big shots for the Magic. He will need to put pressure on whomever the Lakers decide to throw at him. If it's Odom, he needs to step back and bait Lamar into giving him the open three, and if its Gasol he needs to blow by him and get into the lane. On defense Lewis needs to keep Odom off the score book early in games. If he can do that Odom has a tendency to disappear, which is a big advantage for the Magic.

Advantage: Lewis (but not by much)

Center: 

Dwight Howard vs. Pau Gasol

Superman meets Spiderman, brute strength meets finesse, whatever way you want to put it these two are very different players who play very different ways. When they are matched up against one another they will each provide a challenge for the other. Howard should be able to get deeper in the paint than he did against Boston's Kendrick Perkins, but not as easily as he did against Cleveland. Howard also has the advantage of begin much more active and tenacious on the glass than Gasol which will give him an edge in rebounding. Conversely, Howard has yet had to guard a big man with as much low-post skill as Gasol. Dalembert? Ha. Perkins? Please. Ilgauskas? Enough already. Gasol can use his quickness to get inside against Howard and potentially get him into foul trouble. Gasol's scoring ability will also keep Howard from helping out as much as he has in the last couple series.

Advantage:  Howard (by the thickness of his cape)

Benches:

This is where the Lakers could have a huge advantage. Jordan Farmar and the ever-improving Shannon Brown provide depth off the bench at point guard that Orlando's Anthony Johnson, for as solid as he's been, can't match.  (This is where I'm supposed to bring up Saha Vujacic, but I refuse to do so because he is ugly and shoots blanks like an 85 year old eunuch.) Fluke, errr I mean Luke Walton, has gotten better off the bench, and if nothing else brings a passing mentality to the Lakers stymied offense. Bynum, either off the bench or in the starting rotation, could play a big role in trying to detain Howard. However, if he got manhandled by Howard already this year and has a tendency to take cheap fouls against bigger stronger centers. If he want's to show the world he's starting to grow this might be the place for him to start. Mickael Peitrus has been dy-no-mite off the bench for Orland. He has guarded the opposing teams best player all post season-Andre Iguodala, Paul Pierce, LeBron James-and will again be asked to do so. He will need to continue scoring in key moments for the Magic to have any chance. It will also be interesting to see if J.J. Redick sees any action after sitting for most of the past series.

While the starting rotations are closely matched, the bench gives the Lakers a huge advantage. The Magic won't be able to beat L.A. in a 7-game series with 6 1/2 players.

Prediction:  Lakers in 6.