I was ultra-lucky and got a ticket for game 1 from my boss. He couldn’t make it to the game so I went with 3 others. It was a blast. I last went to the Finals in 2002 when the Lakers took on the Sixers. When we got to the Staples Center we parked and walked over to the LA Live. It’s a massive complex of restaurants and bars across the street from the Stapler. First stop was the Yard House. We got in and found that it was packed solid. No chance of getting a table before game time. Ditching that scene we walked over to the Fox Sky Box and waited in line a few minutes for a table. The line didn’t move at all so we elected to just go to the bar and have a few cold ones. About 20 minutes til tip off we left the bar and headed into the Stapler. It was just a short walk to the seats. The place was abuzz with excitement. Yellow was everywhere. We got a fresh one and took our seats. Show time! The first two quarters were mostly going the Lakers way. The Magic had a few successful pick-n-rolls but their 3-point attack was off. At halftime we refreshed the beers and walked around a little bit. The concourse was stuffed with people.
Back to our seats for the 2nd half. Kobe was fired up. He put on a clinic in the 3rd quarter and the Lakers effectively shutdown the Magic’s inside attack. The 4th was a cruise and the Lakers took the victory 100-75. Game #2 is Sunday. Let’s see how Orlando adjusts to the Lakers potent offense AND defense.
