Howard and his sharpshooting squad will again be tagged as underdogs (though with more favorable odds, bettors out there), in spite of a 2-0 regular season record against their L.A. foes and only one more loss during these playoffs—the Magic are 12-7, the Lakers 12-6.  Do these upstarts have another “upset” in them?  They certainly have the talent and chemistry.  Their potent, spread-out offense is predicated on the 3-pointer—nearly a third of their field-goal attempts—with four shooters surrounding Howard at all times (except when backup Tony Battie subs for Lewis).  The Lakers can be prone to lapses in their 3-point rotations as well as unnecessary double teams, as displayed in their blow-out loses in Houston.  But if the Lakers can limit and/or contest the 3, as they largely did during the Denver series (the Nuggets shot 31% from beyond the arch; the Magic, meanwhile, shot 41% against the Cavs), this series could be a short one for the long-ball lovers.  

On the defensive end, Howard holds down the paint as the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, swatting his opponents’ floating shots and slowing down their forays into the post.  His out-and-out domination, however, depends on the play of the Lakers’ young 58-million-dollar center Andrew Bynum, who has been consistent only in his inconsistency but has to be able to stay with Howard one-on-one in order to minimize Orlando’s shooters from zeroing in on open shots.  Fortunately, Bynum has a viable blueprint form this very postseason with Kendrick Perkins’ physical defensive approach when Orlando played Boston.  More importantly, he has to make Howard respect him on offense, and thus risk fouling him—LeBron drew a large number of Howard’s fouls in his foul-prone efforts, not counterparts Anderson Varejao or Ben Wallace.  Without Howard on the floor, the Magic will stand little chance.  Of course, Bynum could easily get into foul trouble too, which spells possible playing time for end-of-bench big D.J. Mbenga.  In short, basketball fans should pray for refs aren’t striped proponents of the touch-foul.    

While the Bynum-Howard match-up is the most intriguing, Lewis on Pau Gasol should be the most pivotal.  With apologies to the fragile 7’6” piece of china in Houston, Gasol is perhaps the league’s most skilled post player: he’s ambidextrous around the basket, passes with Sabonis-like precision, and has excellent range on his jump shot despite what is considered an “exotic” release.  If the Lakers pound the ball inside to Gasol, the Spaniard should have a field day against Lewis.  Conversely, Lewis will free up post space for Howard by pulling Gasol away from the paint with his patented 3—this postseason, he’s hoisted about 5 a game at a 39% clip. If Gasol shifts over to cover Howard due to Bynum’s foul trouble, however, Lamar Odom is actually a consummate replacement with his versatility and length.