Magic and Jabbar had a chemistry that year that could not be duplicated. The Lakers had the high-octane offense that no team could stop, with Magic AND Norm distributing the ball, Kareem scoring down low, and Wilkes dumping the points on fast breaks and from the perimeter, they simply have too much firepower, and on defense, Kareem can certainly hold his own against Moses, and Cooper will try his best to shut down Erving or Toney. This will be a tough matchup, but the Lakers seem to have more parts to their team. The Lakers 1980 team is simply better. And no one can defeat the hunger the Magic showed in his rookie season.
Magic creates match-up problems all over the place.
This one's really a no-brainer. The '79-'80 Lakers beat the Sixers to win the championship and needed Magic Johnson to do everything but sell popcorn. Although it wasn't exactly the same Lakers team to face the '82-'83 Sixers, they were pretty close. Add Moses Malone to the Sixers lineup and they sweep the Lakers in the NBA Finals. This one is automatic.