In my opinion, there needs to be change. Not wholesale changes mind you but, changes nonetheless. This almost-but-never-quite-there dynasty has always been on shaky legs…or, more to the point-knees.
In 2008…well, there’s no need to go there. We all remember 2008.
In 2009, they had the fortune of playing an Orlando Magic squad that really didn’t belong in the Finals in the first place.
In 2010, they barely got by and that was by the hairs on their chinny-chin-chin.
Take away Trevor Ariza’s steal verses Denver in the 2009 WCF, or Pau Gasol’s tip verses Oklahoma City in 2010 and this team might not have had a three-peat to lose.
It seems as if this team was teetering on the brink all along the way. And Laker fans are fooling themselves if they say they didn’t see this coming.
This group had all year to correct the behavior that all could see, but that they, themselves, would deny right up until the end. And as we all know, the first step towards recovery is admitting you have a problem.
It was a step the Lakers would never take.
Each time they needed to stand, they let the littlest Mav knock them down.
Each time they needed to reassert their strength inside, they reverted to gunning from the outside, shooting less than 30% from three-point range for the series.
And most importantly, each time they turned to each other for help all they found were excuses.
To put the blame on one particular Laker is a worthless effort. Collectively they all failed to defend what was rightly theirs.
Pau was MIA throughout the entire postseason.
Come to think of it, the entire bench was too!
Kobe Bryant failed to match Dirk Nowitzki in providing the timely scoring and closing ability needed to snatch victories from the jaws of defeat in Games 1 and 3.
Lamar Odom, Ron Artest and Andrew Bynum provided only brief sparks of energy, but as always, were much too inconsistent to sway the series towards LA, given the other shortcomings just mentioned.
As the saying goes, dynasties can turn on the bounce of the ball and in this, Phil Jackson’s Last Stand, the ball never quite bounced the Lakers way.
And just like that, for the first time since the end of the Michael Jordan era there is no Kobe, no Shaq, no Tim Duncan and most importantly, no Phil Jackson left in these NBA playoffs.
But don’t worry Lakers fans…now is not the time to panic. Or, is it?
Next: Be Here Now
