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The Dartmouth
July 9, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

CURIOUS JORGE: The main event begins

This summer, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" will open nationwide. Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, will once again square off against Megatron, evil leader of the Decepticons. Many ear-splitting battles will surely ensue in this film, but in the meantime, you can calm your "Transformers" jitters by watching the NBA's own version of "Transformers" take place in the Eastern Conference finals of the NBA Playoffs. Cleveland's LeBron James, or Optimus Prime, will surely have many jaw-dropping encounters at the rim with none other than Orlando's own Megatron, Dwight Howard.

Optimus Prime counted on a group of Autobot friends to help him win battles, and James will look to do just the same. James' team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, features a group of championship-hungry players, ranging from point guard Mo Williams to well-traveled veteran Joe Smith, both of whom are ready to lay everything on the line in order to hold up the Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy at the conclusion of the playoffs.

Dwight Howard, who in this series will be LeBron's nemesis, also has a core of teammates that isn't too shabby. The Orlando Magic, fresh off of a thrilling seven-game series win against the defending champion Boston Celtics, boast a front court made up of Howard, former All-Star Rashard Lewis and the always-clutch Hedo Turkoglu. However, the Magic might be a step slower than the Cavs, thanks to a scrappy, injury-riddled Boston team that would not give up against Orlando, forcing the Magic to keep playing while Cleveland licked its wounds and rested up at home.

In order to get to the conference finals, the Magic had to endure a difficult series all around. It wasn't until Howard boldly criticized his head coach, Stan Van Gundy, and asked his team to put the ball in his hands in crunch time, that Orlando gained the upper hand in the series. The Magic responded to Howard's call to arms in a phenomenal way, winning the last two games to close out the series behind Howard's monster performances in both games, including a 23-point, 22-rebound effort in game six.

The great play from Howard will undoubtedly carry on to this round of the playoffs, but I cannot see the Magic winning more than one game. James has the ability to take over games single-handledly, while the Magic have neither a player who can take over a game, or a player who can guard James. The Magic will attempt to put Lewis on James, but Lebron will prove to be too strong and too versatile for Lewis or any of the rest of the Magic to handle. I'm calling a Cavs series win in five games.

Over on the West Coast, two high-octane teams have earned the right to play in the Western Conference finals. One of those teams, the Los Angeles Lakers, was humbled in their series against the Houston Rockets, who lost their franchise center, Yao Ming, after three games. The Lakers were lackadaisical in some of the games, seeming too arrogant to play defense, and the Rockets made them pay. Melee veteran Ron Artest, Aaron Brooks and Argentinean favorite Luis Scola all deserve credit for exposing the Lakers' flaws and taking the series to a decisive seventh game.

The Lakers cannot afford to play careless basketball in the conference finals because their opponents, the Denver Nuggets, are coming off of a dominating series win against the Dallas Mavericks in which Denver was firing on all cylinders. The Nuggets leave everything on the court, mostly because Chauncey Billups, the point guard they acquired early in the season from Detroit, has given them a collective identity and goal: winning a championship. The team that was once seen as little more than a talented pickup squad is now playing effective and cohesive ball, and is looking to advance past the Lakers into the NBA finals.

Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony and Lakers guard Kobe Bryant will put the friendship that they established during the Summer Olympic Games aside, as they look to battle it out in a smaller version of Optimus Prime versus Megatron. I really want the Nuggets to win, but because of Bryant's and head coach Phil Jackson's playoff experience, I say the Lakers will win this series in seven games.

You can forget about blowouts in the conference finals. These will be gut-wrenching, seat-holding, nail-biting games. When Optimus Prime and Megatron fought, you knew Optimus Prime was going to win, but for some reason, you wanted the fight to last longer. This is what the conference finals are -- the Cavaliers and Lakers will meet in the NBA finals, but their respective opponents will not go down easy. Optimus Prime will prevail again, but the story behind the victory has yet to be written.