Orlando Magic Basketball Team

I'll get to the magic that eluded Kobe & the Lakers, and my shouting match with Manny, who laughed hysterically Tuesday night every time I called him the Drug Man -- one of those silly side effects, I guess, that come with enhancing one's female fertility.

As Pau Gasol lay sprawled on his belly in a cramped and jeering gym late Tuesday, gasping, sweating, needing a hand, a teammate walked past. Kobe Bryant never even slowed down. He wouldn't pick him up. He couldn't pick him up. He couldn't pick any of them up. The Laker who can run through walls has suddenly hit one, hard, and an entire team has been left with a bloody nose and splitting headache.

The string of memorable games for Lamar Odom finally came to an end. The Lakers' reserve forward had 11 points and only two rebounds and one assist in 32 minutes of Game 3 of the NBA Finals. He was a main factor as the Lakers took the first two games against Orlando, but he didn't have much of an impact Tuesday in the Lakers' 108-104 loss.

Staff writer Mike Bresnahan ties up some loose ends on days of Lakers playoff games: That didn't take long. The Orlando Magic lost the first two games of the Finals, enough for Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi to publicly question Magic center Dwight Howard. "The fact is, Dwight is too predictable in the paint," Bianchi wrote. "Because his moves are so basic, Lakers defenders seem to know what he's going to do when he catches the ball.

The door opened to the Lakers coaches' office 30 minutes after Sunday's Game 2 at Staples Center and there sat assistant coach Brian Shaw, slumped, tie askew, his chin resting in his hand. Shaw is in charge of putting together the Lakers' game plans for their games against the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals, and he had just witnessed his team escape in overtime -- and even then only after Courtney Lee missed a layup off a lob pass at the end of regulation.

Those mouse ears, that ogre, that donkey . . . there's something familiar about this place. Of course! It's Orlando, home of Disney World, Universal Studios Florida, innumerable other theme parks and the Magic, a thrill ride in its own right, if one in danger of being shut down for the season after the Lakers went up, 2-0, in the NBA Finals on Sunday. That was pending further developments, of course.

The Orlando Magic had just lost a tough one to the Lakers, in overtime no less, but instead of looking toward the future, the coaching staff brought up the past. After all, Orlando is used to seeing deficits in playoff series. The Magic trailed Boston, 3-2, before rallying to win an Eastern Conference semifinal in seven games. Philadelphia had a 2-1 lead on Orlando in the first round but didn't win another game.

Fans of both the Orlando Magic and the Lakers found reasons to complain about officiating after the Lakers' 101-96 overtime victory in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night. The subject: goaltending. Most of the attention focused on what happened during the final tenths of a second in regulation -- when the Lakers' Pau Gasol wasn't called for goaltending as he touched the rim while Magic guard Courtney Lee attempted a game-winning layup.

President Obama believes in many unbelievable phenomena. He believes General Motors will rise again from the depths of bankruptcy. He believes Muslim and Arab nations will someday embrace America and vice versa. He believes we can eliminate our dependence on foreign oil in 10 years. He believes Republicans and Democrats can actually set aside their partisanship and work in unity to bring our nation back from the depths of war and recession. Yes, our president believes in many incredible things.

Andrew Bynum, the one with the still-smarting knee and the curiously shaky game, played Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard to a relative draw, more than enough to allow the Lakers to win Game 1 of the NBA Finals with ease, 100-75. Bynum was averaging only 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in the playoffs before Thursday, but he had nine points and nine rebounds despite fighting foul trouble throughout the game.