Congrats to the L.A. Lakers for a fantastic season and Kobe Bryant for achieving a FIFTH NBA Title. And those titles weren't Adam Morrison-titles (free-riders who are just along for the ride), those were all-kobe, all-the-time titles, his name would be right up there in the opening credits of a movie. I really appreciated their playoff run, their epic 7-game series with Boston, and watching it with some spirited Lakers fans in the heart of L.A. But I got something to say about their run.
In many ways, the 2009-10 Lakers was the story of a team destined for greatness who achieved it in the end. After the long-awaited championship last year, they brought back most of their roster and addressed a glaring weakness by bringing in Ron Artest to be a lock-down defender. They had the best player in the league paired with a legit big-man with enough veteran experience and beef in the middle to pack a punch, and really all year it was their championship to lose, with the most talent out of anyone in the league and the best-configured team to win. I had them pegged the whole year. But if you look deeper under the surface, there were some ugly blemishes on this team that could have prevented them from winning the title if a worthier team were there. The Lakers were very flawed this year and had more than just seven sins, they just weren't deadly:
1.) Derek Fisher: For all the crying, feel-good story, dagger three's, and "running with Kobe since '96" stories, the Finals revealed how bad D-Fish was at defending, how necessary it was for him to flop once in a while cuz he's just not that great of a defender, and how badly Rajon Rondo tore up the Lakers in transition because he ran free. Sin: Senility
2.) Lamar Odom: The Sleeping Giant who Seldom Wakes: A guy who if he was on my team, I would hate. All the talent in the world and can reach over and just take rebounds from people cuz he has spider-monkey arms, but doesn't hustle, doesn't get on the floor, always goes left, disappears for a while, and doesn't seem to realize it's the Finals. SEVERAL, SEVERAL games in the finals he got his lunch handed to him in the Finals by Big Baby Davis, this guy had me hating him because it's my #1 beef of professional athletes: Lotsa talent, not enough heart. Sin: Sloth.
3.) Ron Artest: Never listens. You'd think with all the people in Laker nation and the fans yelling at home for Ron to STOP DRIBBLING!!! or STOP SHOOTING!!!, that Phil Jackson and the staff would pound that lesson home. But no, Ron-Ron doesn't listen. I get that he has mental problems, but that's irresponsible as a teammate. Often, on the court you get someone on your team who would just be SO much more effective if he just used his natural talent to play D and understood his role, but nonetheless wants the ball in his hands. If he doesn't take shots or have the ball, Lakers offense is so much more efficient. Sin: Lack of Discipline.
4.) Andrew Bynum: He was injured, sure. He's the Lakers' main defensive cog, sure. But for as big as this guy is, he does NOT get enough rebounds. He is BIG. Other than Dwight Howard, I can't think of a single guy in the NBA today that's bigger than Bynum. Yet he doesn't average more than 10 rebounds a game. How is that possible? He should be sitting around the paint all day like a big solid oak tree, firmly planted, and just gobble up rebounds. Yet he doesn't dominate that area like he should, injured or not. That's a problem. The Sin? Apathy: neglect to take care of something that one should do.
5.) Kobe Bryant: The best player the world may have ever seen does not go unscathed. Knowing he's the best player on the court, he often demands the ball, yells at his teammates, and hogs shots. He has a demeanor about him that you don't necessarily want your leader to have. And as evidenced by his 6-for -a million shooting performance in Game 7, his hogging the ball doesn't always lead to good results. For all the great skills and phenomenal talent he brings to a team, he can also bring the flaws. Sin: Pride.
So I can go on, but my point's pretty clear: The Lakers were pretty flawed the whole year, and they really could have DOMINATED the entire playoff series, yet played in some much-too-close series, especially going down 3-2 to Boston and having to play 2 elimination games in the series and being down THIRTEEN in game 7. Imagine a couple breaks here and there going the other teams way, like Pau Gasol getting boxed out in Game 6 v. Thunder and Lakers losing that game, or Suns continuing their momentum in Game 5 into overtime and taking that series, or Boston getting Ray Allen to make some shots in the first half of Game 7 to bury the Lakers in a 20-point hole at halftime; those could have all conceivably happened because the Lakers put themselves in that vulnerable position to lose series. The one overwhelming factor, then, to the Lakers' fantastic Finals run then this year? I hate to say it, but it might have been just: Plain old dumb luck.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
(Sorry to be a hater Laker fans, but I'm sure you'll enjoy your title nonethless. Go Bulls!)
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