I never expected the Los Angeles Lakers to be gone this
early in the playoffs.
Hell I never expected the Lakers
to lose against the Dallas Mavericks.
Hell... who knew they’ll
succumb to the Mavs via a sweep?
The Mavericks Organization has
been hungry for recognition and so are the guys in their roster. At one point
of their careers Jason Kidd, Peja
Stojakovic, Jason Terry, Tyson Chandler, and Shawn Marion are star players
playing for championship-bidding squads but in some point, they met either the
Spurs, Heat, Celtics, and of course... the Lakers. Also let us not forget about Dirk Nowitzki who had to carry the
stigma for years that Dallas will never return to the Finals with him on the
roster.
Like I said, I am not a fan of
the Lakers... in the Finals. I hate them especially when they are pitted
against the Boston Celtics. However
I respect everything that they are. They are multiple-time champions. The
purple and gold colors are one of the most popular colors in basketball
history. Their rich history spanned a lot of giants (George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal,
and Pau Gasol) as well as big-time scorers in Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Gail Goodrich, Norm Nixon, and
Kobe Bryant.
For the seventh time in their
history, the Lakers were swept in the playoffs.
It was surreal. Playoff time
was Showtime. Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher will never let a sweep happen to their
squad but it did via Dallas and it created massive heat amongst their faithful.
However, aside from the fact that the Lakers were outworked and outplayed by
the Dallas Mavericks, they still need to protect their tradition. Unlike the Bad Boys of Detroit or the fan-brawling
Indiana Pacers squad led by the
now-Laker Ron Artest, the Lakers
aren’t goons.
And then... this happened.
Wow, really?
Ever since their locker room
squabbles were exposed, trust issues flourished amongst the Laker strong. Andrew
Bynum turned to the media and the rest followed suit. By the time Game 4
started, it looked like the Lakers were physically and mentally drained.
I know you are human and all
but that was just... let’s just have former LA Laker legend Magic Johnson say it.
Honestly, these acts are grounds for expulsion. It
was a bad send off for Phil Jackson
who has since stated that this will be his last year coaching the Lakers. He
has given the Lakers a bunch of accolades throughout his stay with the team and
it is such a shame that he will end his stay in LA with a hefty 35,000USD fine
and a sweep.
So what now?
Unlike the San Antonio Spurs, Kobe, Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Andrew Bynum are still a young bunch. These guys are so used to
winning that losing brought them to the brink. Mental toughness would teach
these guys to be mature the next time they succumb.
Hell, they could be mature enough to not be stuck in
this bind in the first place.
Just like what Kenny
Smith and Charles Barkley were
saying, the Lakers need to add speed and athleticism to their roster. Matt Barnes is a decent bench operator
and Ron Artest can’t be traded (unless you buy him out and offer a veteran’s
minimum salary for him) but the rest of the guys here need to go. If they can
get Chris Paul to play for the
squad, then that would be good. However, this can only happen when CP3 accepts
a less than stellar salary grant.
Actually Fisher wasn’t the same player as he was
last season. At least in their last title run, he produced big numbers during
the playoffs but in this season he was missing in both the regular season and
in the post season.
When Fisher moves to the bench, a point guard needs
to step up. It can be Paul. It can be Devin
Ebanks. Hopefully it will be a person that can move inside as well as shoot
outside. They also need a scoring small forward. Dallas found a player in the
free agent pool in Stojakovic and for sure there will be a player in that pool
that they can use.
I am not sure if Dallas will win a championship. All
I know is that they brought their “A” Game to dispatch of the defending
champions.
The Lakers will eventually realize that they need
to have their “A” Game all the time in order for them to reclaim their throne
next season.
Game over.
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