Lakers v. Magic Postgame

Final Score: Lakers 97 Magic 84

The Lakers feasted on the home crowd as the Lakers came back from an eight point deficit at half time to beat the Orlando Magic.  Like I have stated before if the Lakers play clean basketball and defense they are a hard team to beat.  They did just that on Monday night at Staples Center.  The Lakers are now 48-20 and are vitually tied for 2nd place in the Western Conference with the Dallas Mavericks. 

The Lakers forced a total of 18 turnovers and only gave up three.  Bynum, once again, set the defensive and inside presence inside the paint.  Still want to trade him Laker fans?  He finished with 10 points, 18 rebounds and four blocked shots.  He was giving Dwight Howard all that he could handle inside.  If you just look at the box score, Lakers v. Magic, the Lakers as a team picked up its intensity and gearing up for the playoffs.  The starters, except for Artest, all scored in double figures and even Lamar added 16 points and seven rebounds (sixth man of the year?)

The Lakers now looked prime for the playoffs.  They have proven that they can win without Kobe's best game and that they can do so against one of the better teams in the league.  In the first half the Lakers shot only 38 percent from the floor, and I was thinking here comes another loss at home to a big team.  But no, they dug deep and play solid defense leading to efficient offense.  They outscored the Magic 44-34 in the paint, and the Magic have Dwight Howard.  The Lakers forced the Magic to take contested 3-point shots.  The Magic either live by the 3(first half) and die by the 3.  They were 10-23 for the game, not what they want if they want to win.

What this means for the Lakers?
This win shows the toughness and the true talent of the Lakers.  The played another grind-it-out game by feeding the bigs and kicking it out when it gets too congested inside the paint.  They played the half court game on both sides of the floor.  The Magic want to get in transition and spot up for an open three or just throw it in to Howard.  The Lakers stopped that in the second half and gave themselves a chance to win with their strong defense.  The Lakers got their championship swag back even with Kobe with a bad wheel.  They have now won 10 out the 11 since the All Star Break and playoffs are now in their minds.  Even if the Lakers finsish in the 3rd seed, I think it wouldn't matter.

The Lakers have proven that they can beat the tough teams on the road (excluding Miami).  They have won in San Antonio, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Boston, and even Portland.  The Lakers are true road warriors and I don't think any team can beat the Lakers four times in one series.