I’m going to go out on a Cirque du Soleil high wire act and assume the Los Angeles Lakers will win the NBA title. They’re up 3-1 on the Magic so why not?

Not that I care but if the Lakers do hold on, it will put an end to one of the most annoying feuds in sports: Kobe vs. Shaq.

The argument goes something like, “Kobe can’t win without Shaq and that Shaq can win without Kobe”. Although, I suspect it did help to have Dwayne Wade by Shaquille O’Neal’s side when they won for the Miami Heat in 2006.

For his part, Kobe Bryant is in the process of winning his own title. I’d like to thank God for this. At least I won’t have to listen to the media and blogs talk about “Kobe can’t win without Shaq” for, like, ever.

- On a side note, the Magic simply aren’t a championship caliber team. A mark of a great team is its ability to close out games by nailing down shots (in any sports really). They capitalize on every chance they get. Orlando had ample opportunities to beat L.A. - remember Game #2? - but couldn’t close the deal.

They came out flying in Game #3 and shot like idiot-savants from the three-point arc but still only won by four. I need more cow bell! Sound the alarm!

And in Game #4, Dwight Howard’s terrible free-throwing acumen helped contribute to their demise. However, Superman is not to take the fall for this. Hedo Turkoglu, for instance, missed a couple of crucial FT’s himself. Or the defense and its inability to pressure L.A. shooters. The entire team from the coaching staff to the players reached the finals as a team and will lose the title as a team.

What I find interesting is that the Lakers are probably the most beatable champion in recent memory. They’re not exactly overly aggressive on defense nor are they offensively over powering. If anything, what was predictable about the Lakers this post season was their iconsistency. A great team would have punished them but it turns out nobody in the NBA could.

Nonetheless, to their credit they do get the job done when it matters most.

Now that Kobe has won, Shaq can’t rap in public about it anymore.