Kobe set to win fourth NBA title

Is this going to be the year LeBron James leads the Cleveland Cavaliers to its first NBA Championship in franchise history? Nope.

The Cavaliers locked up home court advantage throughout the playoffs and finished the regular season with the best record in the league, but there is one team that is going to stand in their way – the Los Angeles Lakers.

Cleveland has a great team and they should make it to the finals, but the Lakers hold several key advantages over the Cavs.

In honor of Kobe Bryant winning his fourth NBA Championship, here are four reasons why the Lakers, not the Cavs, will take home the title.

1) The Lakers were 2-0 against Cleveland this season and handed the Cavs, who held a 39-1 home record, its only home loss of the year on Feb. 8.

Los Angeles beat Cleveland by at least 10 points in both games and more importantly, LeBron was held to a combined 14-for-45 shooting from the field.

2) The Lakers have an easier road to the finals.

Los Angeles finished the season with a 10.5 game lead in the western conference and the only opponents who have a chance at knocking them out of the playoffs are the San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets.

All of the teams I just mentioned are solid, but they all have at least one major flaw.

The Blazers are a talented team, but they are also very young. The Blazers didn’t make the playoffs last season and only one team in NBA history has won the championship after not making the playoffs the previous season (Celtics in 2008).

The Spurs have lots of experience, but their roster is very old and I don’t think they have another championship run left in them.

With the addition of Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets have improved tremendously, but they still don’t know how to play defense. And lets face it, you can’t win a championship if you don’t play defense.

Cleveland’s road to the finals will be much tougher.

The Cavs will most likely have to beat either the Magic or the Celtics to make it to the NBA Finals. The Celtics enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed and the Magic are the No. 3 seed.

The Magic won 2-of-3 regular season games, including a 116-87 win on April 3, and pose a great threat to Cleveland. Orlando is very good at home (31-9), has good depth and matches up well against the Cavs.

Boston is looking to repeat as NBA champs and “the big-three” will give LeBron a run for his money. The Celtics rested Kevin Garnett toward the end of the season and if he can get healthy, I foresee another seven-game series.

Cleveland will be tested during the playoffs and if they make it to the finals they wont be as rested as the Lakers.

3) Los Angeles has the most depth in the NBA.

The Lakers were without Andrew Bynum last season when they lost to the Celtics in the NBA Finals, and now that he his back and healthy, Los Angeles has one of the premier frontcourts in the league.

With Bynum at center it allows Pau Gasol to return to his natural position at power forward and moves Lamar Odem into the sixth man role, where he will come off the bench.

Bynum, who is averaging 14.3 points, eight rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game this season, is one of the main keys to the Lakers success, and if he can stay healthy, watch out.

Los Angeles also has Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujcaic coming off the bench.

4) Kobe Bryant, enough said.

LeBron will most likely win the MVP this year, but Kobe is a better pure scorer and has a more developed long distance and mid-range game.

Kobe hasn’t been able to win a championship since Shaq was traded, but this is the year he finally puts it all together.

Sorry LeBron, like Michael Jordan, you too will have to wait at least until your sixth year before you win a NBA Championship. And for all you “witnesses” out there: Yea, Kobe’s better than LeBron.

Think the Cavs will win the NBA Championship? Email Pete at marxpc@email.uc.edu.