Bresnahan’s take

Staff writer Mike Bresnahan ties up some loose ends on days of Lakers playoff games.

You’ve got to love teams that don’t experience much success.

Here are some of the questions covered in an Orlando Sentinel story with the headline, “New to the Orlando bandwagon? Here’s a guide for new fans.”

“Why are the Magic playing the Los Angeles Lakers?”

“How come the first two games are in L.A.?”

“Why is there a 24-second clock over the basketball hoop?”

“What’s the back court and front court?”

“What about a ‘double-dribble’? Does that mean a player needs an extra tissue?”

Sigh. Make that a really deep sigh. I only wish I was kidding about this.

Astound your friends

Here’s one you can borrow and use as your own information. I won’t even mind.

Everybody has heard about Orlando’s three-point attack, and the Magic indeed has four players among the 20 most accurate three-point shooters in the 2009 playoffs (20 or more attempts).

Surprisingly, though, the Lakers have two of the top three long-distance shooters in the playoffs: Lamar Odom (51.9%) and Trevor Ariza (50.0%).

I’m just trying to help.

Blast from the past

Among the 6,327 e-mails I received Wednesday that tried to get last-minute publicity for basketball-related products and events came this stunner:

“Could it have been so long ago that you were a Buckley student, watching games on Gilley Field, relaxing in the courtyard, and sharing a laugh with classmates? Come enjoy a great party and take a sentimental walk down memory lane at alumni weekend 2009.”

Wow. My 20-year high-school reunion is barely two weeks away. Could I feel any older? Does anybody mind if I start to cry? Thanks. I’ll be back in a minute after I compose myself.

Q&A; of the day

Question: “You should write about what Blake Griffin could do for the Clippers. People want to know the scenarios. Who is going to take Zach Randolph or Chris Kaman? We’ll add a couple of young studs, and the likes of Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh coming out here would be great. What do you think?”

--Anthony V.

Answer: I think I just heard from the only Clippers fan on this fine planet of ours.

Final thought

I just finished throwing a three-day party after accurately predicting the Lakers would win the conference finals in six games despite a stern warning from a certain Page 2 columnist who said it would be unwise to have them wrapping up the conference in Denver.

As for the NBA Finals, I’m taking the Lakers to win in six games. I’m sure Page 2 will disagree, though it’s not really his nature to be disagreeable.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com