Mo Williams' dunk & Mike Brown's reaction

.....on the bright side!

So I've had over a week now to mull over the Lakers' loss and to be honest it still hurts.  I find myself at random times of the day fantasizing about the Lakers coming back from down 0-3 to the Mavs and making history as Kobe averages 50 ppg and hits game winners left and right.  I keep playing the "if" game in my head; if they just didn't blow the lead in the first game the series would have been totally different; if they didn't trade Sasha away they'd have a shooter and a stronger bench right?; if Shannon Brown didn't have sex with Pau's fiance, he wouldn't have played so crappy!  And sometimes I would just sit in silence and think of the harsh reality that the season is over, already.....really pathetic, I know.

Then I start thinking about what the Lakers have done the past couple years and the decade that they dominated, and I figure I shouldn't drown in my sorrows.  Instead, I should be grateful, that as a Laker fan, my team had given me more than any other team has given their fans.  And who's to say that it's gonna stop here, that Laker fans will have to wait another 5-10 years before our team returns to dominance?  This team still has it in them to win championships now, with some new additions and upgrades of course - but that's another discussion.  It's times like these where Laker fans can sit back and revel on the success of the past decade - the championships, the drama, the clutch moments, the record breakers, the witnessing of basketball legends, the laughs, the tears, the heart attacks, the parades.  No other teams' fans can boast what Laker fans can.  We could be far worse off.  At least we're not Lebron-less Cavs fans or Anaheim Royals - err...Sacramento Kings - fans.  There have only been five different teams to win championships the past 11 years and Lakers have five of them.  Imagine how the other 25 teams' fans feel.

So play back the DVR of that game 7 against the Celtics in last years Finals and reminisce.  I guess I just gotta accept that what they say is true - you can't win em' all.  But at least for Laker fans, our team wins a lot, and often, and that is something we can hope for and look forward to for next season.

on the dark side...

I remember the feeling I had when the Lakers held a 24 point lead over the Boston Celtics after the first half of game 4 in the 2008 NBA Finals.  The Lakers, with a win, would have tied the series up at 2-2 with game 5 next at home again.  I remember being so confident that the Lakers have stolen all the momentum and that they now seized control of this series and would win another title.  Then, the collapse happened.  The Lakers would relinquish all of that 24 point lead in the second half and the Celtics would make history completing the largest come-from-behind win since 1971.  Mathematically, the Lakers could still win that series, but everyone knew that it was over.  The Lakers would go on to lose the series in 6 on a 39 point rout - the biggest post-season loss by the Lakers - to their hated rivals.  I didn't think I could sit through a more devastating collapse and embarrassment to the end of a season than that - that is, until yesterday.

The Lakers didn't collapse just once, late, to the Mavericks, but twice.  In games 1 and 3, the Lakers controlled both game for 3 and a half quarters, and inexplicably choke and get outplayed by the Mavericks in the last few minutes of the game.  It was something that was so uncharacteristic of the two-time champions, and in fact something some have come to expect of the Mavericks.  The way the seeds lined-up were supposed to be in favor of the Lakers.  We wanted Dallas right?  Wrong.  Every time the Lakers needed to win a "must win" game, they didn't showed no urgency or will to win.  And every time the Lakers seemed to make a run at the Mavs, Dallas would respond with a run of its own to kill any momentum the Lakers were gaining.  After the stunners in games 1 and 3, the Lakers followed up with lackluster performances.  But even after the two losses at home, I believed that the Lakers could comeback and win the series.  They were on their way in game 3 until they folded in the final minutes.  Much like game 4 against the Celtics, I felt like if they won this game that it would turn the tide and that the Lakers would win.  Instead, it was a heart breaker, that took the life out of the Lakers.  And to make it worse, like game 6 in the 2008 finals, the Lakers got their blown out the doors by 36 points in the close out game.

Now how could I say that anything is worse than ending your season on a 39 point rout in the NBA Finals to the hated rivals, the Boston Celtics?  It was how the Lakers took losing coupled with the harsh reality and ramifications of not winning a third straight title.

I was ready to accept that the Lakers could be done after game 3 and had already started the process of getting over the season being over after the Lakers went down by 20, 30.  I thought it couldn't get any worse.  But oh was I wrong.  What Lamar and Bynum did with the late flagrant fouls were classless and quite pathetic.  Bynum's actions were more so than Lamar's; at least Lamar felt expressed his remorse after the game and didn't take off his shirt as he walked off the court after being ejected.  Bynum looked like a straight up punk.  The Lakers showed no heart, dignity, or class in their loss and it made the sting of defeat even worse for the Lakers and us Laker fans.  What am I supposed to say to all the Laker haters now?  In losing like this, it gives the haters all the reason to hate on the Lakers.

Unlike after losing to the Celtics in 2008, there's no sense that this team is coming back with a vengeance, at least not this same group.  Everyone but Kobe is expendable and the roster is likely to make some huge changes.  There's no storybook ending for Phil or Kobe.  Kobe has to wait another year to tie Jordan for 6 championships, and he's only getting older.  I feel even worse for Phil.  His team was unable to give him his fourth 3-peat, and instead gave him his first ever sweep out of the playoffs and his probably its most embarrassing performance.

It's the end of an era, one that ended on a very sour note.....

There are a lot of questions to be answered after the Lakers gave up a 16 point lead in the second half of game 1 and lost.  Despite the loss, I believe the Lakers are still the better team and will still win the series.  So why did they lose?

The Kobe haters have come on strong with the criticisms (for the millionth time) of Kobe shooting too much, Kobe not involving his teammates, and Kobe not making his team better.  I agree with statistics that say Kobe taking a lot of shots and going on an offensive tear isn't the key to success for this championship team.  Much like game one of the last series against the Hornets, Kobe scored over thirty points on over 25 shots and 50% shooting.  And though Kobe was efficient, the Lakers lost.  

Another common theme in both game 1's though, was the lack of production from key players, namely, Pau Gasol.  His stat line (15 pts, 11 rbs, 7 asts.) says he contributed, but most of that was early on in the first half.  The second half is where the Lakers lost and where Pau disappeared.  Kobe haters will say that Kobe (0 assists) didn't get Pau and his teammates involved and shot the Lakers out of the game.  

What I know about Kobe is that he has the desire, toughness, and heart of a champion and that he'll do anything it takes to win.  In the second half, the Lakers showed no aggression or urgency to win the game.  When Kobe sees this, he takes it upon himself to win the game.  Kobe's teammates chose to defer to him and watch as he took 29 shots. If that's what his teammates give him, he has no choice but to take it. 

A big knock on Kobe was that he didn't elevate the play of his team.  Now, to me, there's no way that you can say such a thing.  The reason why the Lakers have won consecutive championships is because they adopted Kobe's personality and his contagious desire to win.  Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol can give testament to this.  We once complained that Odom was lazy and lethargic and wasted his talent and potential because of poor work ethic.  Now he is the 6th man of the year and is praised for his all around game and effort.  Pau's biggest knock was that he was soft.  After joining Kobe and the Lakers, Pau is considered, by some, the top power forward in the league, and has come up clutch in some the most physical games these past two NBA playoffs.  Just look at game 7 of last years NBA finals.  

But where is the Pau, now, that we have grown to love?  He's gone back to being old softie and doesn't show any aggression on offense or defense.  The desire isn't there and his body language looks like he's going over a bad break up.  Here's the problem: if you're not a natural born assassin, fighter, competitor like Kobe, then you're gonna need some kind of motivation from time to time.  If you think about it, Kobe is the only superstar/champion who had to worry if his co-superstar was going to bring his A game; give 100 percent.  Jordan never had to worry if Pippen was going to D up and be physical.  Magic didn't have to yell at Worthy to finish stronger at the rim.  These co-superstars had the natural born desire to win and you knew they were always gonna give 100 percent; their games elevated in the post-season.  And don't even bring up Shaq.  The reason the Lakers had no chance against the Pistons in the 2004 Finals was because Shaq was fat and lazy.  

You always know what you're gonna get from Kobe but you never know what you're gonna get from the rest of the team.  I like to think that Kobe always knows what he's doing.  He knew that he was taking all those shots, and that it's not the best formula for winning.  I think he was sending a message to his team that they need to step up their intensity and aggressiveness.  They have to want it and go get it. 

The Lakers are still the better team if they want to be.  I expect Pau and the Lakers to come out tonight with their A game and to win big.

a start, finally

I've always been a fairly good writer.  English classes always came easy to me and writing reports and essays were always a cinch.  I knew that the talent for writing has always been there.  I haven't really, yet, tapped into my creativity in writing though.  I know it's there, but honestly, I have always lived down my talents and potentials.  I'm not as proactive and ambitious as I should be, and laziness and idleness are my downfalls.

When I first began college, I had my mind set on getting my nursing degree because it was safe.  And though I always sucked at science and knew school would be tough, I'd be making bank by the end of it.  I soon found out that that wasn't a good enough reason to stick with it.  I needed to go after something I was interested in, something I was good at, something I was passionate about.  I have since changed my major to Communications with an emphasis on Public Relations with hopes of having a career in Journalism.  I figure that if this is something that I really want to do, I need to start honing my skills and practicing my craft.  I am very passionate about sports - though being one of the least athletic people I know and having little to no experience playing organized sports - and have dreams of being a sports journalist.

 I know I have my own unique beliefs and opinions and I know I have a well of creativity yet to be tapped.  I guess this blog is my small step towards being the writer I want to be. =)