I woke up the morning after the Lakers closed out the Spurs in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals and laid in my bed trying to figure out what the opposite of nervous was. I came up with a few antonyms, but there was one word I was desperately trying to come up with.
Calm? Not exactly.
Relaxed? No.
Tranquil? Not that either.
Blasé? Not what I’m looking for.
I spent about the first 15 minutes of sunup trying to come up with the word to describe how I felt about the Lakers championship chances prior to ubiquitously urinating like I do every morning before breakfast. I stepped out of my bathroom and immediately made my way over to my kitchen to pour a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch into a forest green ceramic bowl to satisfy my hunger. As I crunched on each spoonful of baked sugar, I began thinking about every one of my favorite sports teams and how I felt before every potential shot at a title in my life, at least the ones I could remember during the time they happened. This list included North Carolina’s trips to the Final Four in 1997 and 2005 (I became a fan after their 1993 Championship, lets just thank God that Chris Webber called that timeout), those USC football teams from 2003 through 2005, the Raiders in 2002 (insert sad face here), the Giants in 2002 (insert sad face with a tear here), the Lakers run from 2000 through 2002 and 2004. Then I looked at this Lakers team and came to the conclusion that I’ve never been more confident about my team finishing their season with a championship, well, except for the Lakers 2001 season when I thought they’d go through the postseason unblemished.
(Note: I left out this year’s North Carolina’s team on purpose and only added this note after this was originally written. I’m still bitter about that loss to Kansas)
After I finished my fourth bowl of Wendell’s cereal, I got up from my table and sauntered over to my sink to rinse out my bowl. While running some tap water that was borderline opaque, I imagined how people would respond to my afore mentioned conclusion, especially since the 66-win-Kevin-Garnett-led-Boston Celtics only one win away from hosting this years NBA Finals. After pulling the faucet handle down to turn off the water that was seemingly as white as Jim Gaffigan’s skin, I played out conversations like these in my mind:
“I’m extremely confident I’ll be celebrating another Lakers title by mid June,” I’ll say to some unsuspecting non-Lakers fan. “I don’t see this series, whether it be Boston or Detroit, going pass six games.”
“I don’t see why you’re so confident,” he, or she, will respond, if I’m lucky. “Sure, the Lakers just took out the defending champs in convincing fashion, but they’re older than the San Francisco Giants infield. They didn’t beat either of the remaining Eastern Conference teams on the road, hell; they didn’t even beat Boston at home!”
That’s when I’ll respond with “Neither of those teams played against the post-Kwame Brown Lakers, and we all know the regular season doesn’t mean anything come playoff time or the last three champions would have been the Mavericks, Pistons and the Suns, and we all know how that went. Besides, the Pistons and the Celtics have some pretty old guys on their starting line ups as well. The Lakers have two guys that know how to get it done in the finals, an abundance of youthful guys who crash the boards, perimeter shooting and will get it done on the defensive of end when it really matters. Oh, and don’t forget it’s Phil Jackson matching wits with Doc Rivers or Flip Saunders on the sidelines. I’m not worried at all about the Celtics or the Lakers, bring ‘em on!” I’ll say with a breath of arrogance.
There is nothing anyone can say that will convince me other wise. The Lakers will win the finals this year – and I actually said those words out loud as I walked out of my kitchen back toward my bathroom, I got caught up in the theoretical conversation with myself, trying to convince this invented personality that the Lakers will not be stopped this year.
I bet you’re wondering how I got to this point. I mean, why in the hell am I so much more confident about this year’s Lakers team than I was about some of the other teams I mentioned earlier? There were a few moments during this post season that have lead up to me being more confident about a Lakers title than ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons was about the Patriots winning a title (which I assume might not be a particularly good thing, but whatever.)
The first moment was actually the first game of the playoffs when Pau Gasol had 36, 16 and 8. That was a tone setting line for the rest of his post season. Gasol seemed more determined to get a win in the playoffs than Mike Epps was to find that lottery ticket in All About the Benjamins. However, that wasn’t the only thing about the Lakers first game that stood out, the other was the way Kobe Bryant got into the head of every Nuggets player. He was being defended extremely well, but that didn’t stop him from jarring his jaw every time he knocked down a jumper. Going into the fourth quarter Kobe only had 14 points, he finished the game with 32, scoring his final 18 points in a six and a half minute span taking any life Denver gained while he sat on the bench and watched and essentially shot it down with nine rounds from the free throw line. I usually don’t like to compare Kobe to His Airness, but… I mean… you know… Lets just say there was no way he was losing that game.
The second moment came against the Jazz in round two of the playoffs in Game 5. After losing two close playoff games in Utah (most notably that overtime game where Kobe seemingly did everything he needed to do to keep them in the game in regulation only to shoot them out of the game in overtime with more than noticeable back problems). In Game 5 the Lakers all rallied around each other and got a Piston-esque performance out of their starting five where all of the starters scored at east 14 points and Kobe lead them with 26. I did, however, think that closing out Utah in Utah was equally as important on their quintessential road to glory. We all heard about how Utah was the best home team throughout the course of the season and we all saw how their fans kept them energized throughout games three and four, but the Lakers took the crowd out of the game early (starting with a Vladimir Radmanovic 3-pointer on their first possession) and didn’t really look back the rest of the game. They showed a lot of pluck down the stretch to hold off that final surge Mormons always seem to have (I might be making that up) to pull that win out. I think that was the first real sign of them actually being a legitimate title contender in the post season.
Moments three and four came in games one and five of the Western Conference Finals. Game 1 is obvious. Kobe didn’t score until there was only about 1:30 left to play in the first half. He came out in the second half and single handedly (or at least it seemed that way) ripped out every heart in San Antonio and stepped on each one of them wearing Huarache cleats with silver spikes as he exploded for 25 second half points, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter to close out another playoff game. What stood out the most to me in that game was “the look” Kobe had for 48 minutes. It’s very rare that we see an athlete and know that he’s going to do something extraordinary. You don’t know exactly what he’s going to do or when it’s going to happen, but you know it’s going to be something you’d be mad about if you missed it (something like Jordan’s 63 in 1986, Charles Barkley’s triple double in Game 5 of the 1993 Western Conference Finals, Kobe’s 81 or that Baron Davis Dunk on AK47). I even mentioned this in a live, running blog about Game 1 when I said “After a scoreless Kobe first quarter, I had to switch to the Kobe cam during the end of quarter break. If I was concerned about his lack of touches or shots in the first quarter that concern has been erased. He had 'that look' on his face you'd only recognize from watching him for years... you'll see what I'm talking about when he gets back in the game. He will not continue to struggle.” And of course, he didn’t. The second half performance wasn’t necessarily on the level of those other great moments, but it was still amazing to watch him take every shot he wanted to when he wanted to take it.
Game 5 was an entirely different experience for me. The Lakers starters came out sluggish to say the least, there was no energy in the Staples Center and the Spurs shot very well to start out the game. Manu Ginobili hit a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter and really put me off on their chance to even win that game. I’m pretty sure I even sent an instant message to Talkhoops.net editor, Zach Harper, along the lines of “there’s no way the Lakers are winning this game. They have no energy.” The Lakers went in to the second quarter down 28-15 with the Lakers starters taking a rest, and it looked real bad for Hollywood’s team. With the Lakers down 13 and Kobe riding the pine, the Lakers bench really stepped up and did what they needed to do. They didn’t exactly come in making shots, but they played competitive basketball. They played great on the defensive end, and that’s all Phil Jackson could have asked for. Kobe almost got six minutes of rest, and even though the deficit was only cut to two points, the bench kept the Lakers in the game so the starters could come in fresh to close out the second half to go into intermission only down six.
The fact that the Lakers bench was able to hold their own against the Spurs veterans was enough for me. I have full confidence in this team because there is nothing they don’t have. They have a point guard that won’t turn the ball over, a dominate shooting guard, a center who requires a double team two indispensable forwards and a bench you can trust with your starters on the bench – even in close out games. Anyone who has overlooked Vladimir Radmanovic’s shooting to open up games or Ronny Turiaf’s defensive prowess has overlooked what makes this Lakers team great. It’s not just because they have Kobe Bryant or because they’re being coached by Phil Jackson, but they have everything you’d want in a great team – and they’re actually likeable (something I understand has nothing to do with actually playing basketball, but who cares? Which brings me to this: in a phone conversation with talkhoops.net writer, Celia Kelly, who is probably going to rip my head off for mentioning this even though it’s important to making my point, she told me that she’s actually starting to like Kobe and the Lakers. This isn’t to be taken out of context, she said that Kobe’s personality has been better this season, which it has, making the Lakers are much more likeable, which they are. I thought this stood out because the whole time I’ve known her, I’ve never heard her say anything remotely positive about the Lakers, we even had to promise not to say anything negative about each other’s teams, a promise she breaks any chance she gets. For a person who dislikes the Lakers that much so say she is kind of liking the Lakers is saying a lot).
(I know that I’m digressing way too much here, but I also have to add in the fact that my friend Davion, who is an admitted Lakers hater, also told me that he rooted for them a few games this post season. It really must be a whole new day.)
Going into Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals we all knew that a Lakers-Celtics series in inevitable. However, with10 and a half minutes left to play in the game, Detroit was up 10 and seemed to be in full control of the game. Even with one of the worst calls of the post season, one that essentially eliminated a Paul Pierce four-point play, the Celtics were still able to muster up enough collective mettle to pull out the win everyone assumed they’d get anyway. Boston was just as ready for those inevitable 80s basketball montages that will run non-stop on ESPN until the draft as the Lakers were in Game 5 and I didn’t think that Kevin Garnett will allow the Celtics to lose Game 6 with him being one game away from his first ever NBA Finals appearance, and he didn’t with 8 points and 4 rebounds in the fourth quarter – which brings me to my final point.
I don’t think the Celtics can win this game because of their “Big 3,” well, at least the two that are new to the Celtics this year. Not that they’ll play badly, but as I walked back into my bathroom and squeezed some toothpaste onto my toothbrush, I tried to think of a player who left a team he’s played for his whole career without winning a title for a title contender and actually got a ring playing a significant role. There are guys who have done this and got their rings (like Mitch Richmond) but I couldn’t think of one player who played a considerable role (unlike Mitch Richmond) and won a title. It never works. Not for Charles Barkley, not for Gary Payton and not for Karl Malone. And the weird part of it is they all came up a few games short. Barkley was two games away and Payton and Malone were three games away. I challenge you to find me an All-Star who left for a title contender and won a title with that team, I want to be proven wrong, but I sure as hell couldn’t think of one as the bristles of my toothbrush scrapped the plaque off my teeth.
I brushed my hair and washed my face before leaving the bathroom for the second time and I got dressed for school. I revved up the Kia and drove roughly 3.8 miles to school. I walked to the library and checked my e-mail and my Dad had sent me this, exactly what I needed to reassure the morning’s assumptions about another Lakers title:
“It looks it's going to be back-to-the-eighties week when the Lakers and Celtics meet in the finals next Wednesday."
It will be the Lakers in five. They'll lose the opener in Boston, then win four straight, especially since it's a 2-3-2 format. I see Kobe pissing all over Ray Allen, offensively and on defense as well. Kobe hates Ray-Ray. Dude will be lucky to average double figures. Garnet will have his way with Gasol, and swat some of those three-foot-pussy-lobs Pau lofts near the basket all the way back to Spain. Pierce and Lamar will probably play to a draw, but the Lakers will have a big advantage at the point guard position and the bench. Fisher is going to make Rondo his bitch, and Jordan will mix in a few bitch slaps, too. I am scared of that Kendrick Perkins guy though. I think he's going to push that soft-ass Euro Vlad-Rad from baseline to baseline. Phil might have to play Ronny some extra minutes just so he can body-up on Perkins.
No team will be able to put a C-note on the scoreboard. Look for all of the games to last over three hours, because you'll see just as many free throws as you would old-school Bird-Magic highlight packages.”
After reading the e-mail I went to class. I never did come up with that word I was looking for, but that’s not important. What is important is that fact that I might get to see Jordan Farmar bitch slap Rajon Rondo a couple of times and I’m finally going to get that commemorative book and basketball from Sports Illustrated. This has been a wonderful year and can only get better for Lakers fans. We have the leagues best player, the best team and Ronny Turiaf making his first finals appearance. And if all goes according to the plan, that Larry O’Brien trophy will be right back where it belongs, in the hands of the Lakers.
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Photos Courtesy of boston.com, nytimes.com, cbc.ca, and basketballvideos.com, respectively