Just the year before, in 2008, the Lakers reached the NBA Finals having gone 12-3 in the Western Conference Playoffs, including a 4-1 beating of the Spurs in the Conference Finals. Once they reached the Finals and Boston, who had played 20 out of 21 possible games before reaching the final round. Boston was battle tested and ready to go, the Lakers clearly were not, and Boston easily dismantled Los Angeles to claim the crown.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkKwn1g0m3k&feature=related
This is why a hard battle in the Western Conference Finals might be able to do the Lakers some good, because no matter who they play if they reach the Finals will be a tough, physical opponent that will test the Lakers. However, both Pincus and I agree that Phoenix may not have the capabilities to test Los Angeles as much as Denver did last season:
I like the difficult round the Lakers had against the Thunder. Though they were inexperienced, Oklahoma City had a fantastic game-plan defensively and the athletes to back it up. I’m not sure anyone left standing can defend L.A. quite as well as the Thunder did in Round 1. The Suns certainly can’t. The closest would be the Boston Celtics but they’re not as deep as they were defensively a couple of years ago.
Does this mean that the Lakers are in trouble if they easily defeat Phoenix in five or six games? Not necessarily. Especially if the Lakers continue to play like they did the last two games in Utah. There is no other team, Eastern Conference included, that can match the talent Los Angeles puts on the court every night. The biggest question with the Lakers is the same thing we have been saying all season, the mindset of the team. Will they show up and play championship caliber basketball or will they shoot long jumpers and be content playing the other team’s style of ball?
Next: What’s the key to the 16th banner?
[phpbay]Los Angeles Lakers, 6, “”, “”[/phpbay]
