After a strong victory on Tuesday in Florida (108-104), the Orlando Magic look to even their NBA Finals series w/ the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.

The Magic have a couple tricks up their sleeve, including a special weapon, but they may not need them if the Lakers don’t show up and give it their all. In addition, it appears that guard Rafer Alston is over his reduced playing time and Stan Van Gundy has realized that inserting Jameer Nelson so early & heavily in the series was a mistake.

The Magic woke up on offense, setting shooting records left & right in the victory, while the Lakers looked the bit of a tired team, relying on their talent alone to win. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough on Tuesday as the Magic held LA off in the 4th enroute to the victory. Led by Michael Pietrus, the Magic withstood the Lakers comeback attempts numerous times. Pietrus’ defense was also impressive on Kobe Bryant, who appeared visibly worn in the loss.

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Could Bryant’s energy level be an indicator of a problem for the Lakers or do they have enough in the tank to win 4 games against a hungry & young Orlando team? Certainly, LeBron James couldn’t carry the Cavs by himself and likely suffered from such a busy offseason basketball schedule (USA Basketball), but Bryant may suffer the same fate if he is unable to convince his teammates that the NBA Championship is as important to them as it is to him.  Side note.. Speaking of the Cavs, they are reportedly interested in Rasheed Wallace and is Coach of the Year Mike Brown on his way out?

In Orlando, Dwight Howard and Co. hope to serve notice to the Lakers, as they did to Cleveland, that they are a serious contender for the NBA Championship and their presence is fully warranted & deserving of the Lakers’ respect.  A Magic win will turn the series in their favor and set them up to possibly take the series lead on Sunday (again in Orlando).  Btw – the 2-3-2 format is total BS.  The better team deserves the homecourt advantage – not heading home for Game 6 in a possible 3-2 hole (if the home team one each game).

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