Another Keith Olbermann-style Special Comment on Laker Basketball:
After eighteen games and sixteen victories, the denizens of the Lakers Nation, should be beginning, for all intents and purposes, to hear the sounds of settling.
After eighteen games and sixteen victories, we should have a firm grasp who this team is and how we should expect them to play on any given night.
While my rallying cry last season was that this Laker team was ahead of schedule, and my espoused ethos during much of the beginning of this season was that their time had finally come to run rampant over the league, I would be remised if I did not say that while the expectations are not diminished, the events of the last week have sent a rather strong message to this writer.
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In politics, the term “lame duck” refers to an official, whose power has been neutralized due to either losing a re-election bid, choosing not to seek another term or facing a term limit.
Washington D.C. is currently filled with lame ducks: Outgoing President George W. Bush, a handful of Senators and Representatives, and their basketball franchise.
Once an exciting misfit bunch, led by their clown prince Gilbert Arenas, the Wizards (3-13) have lost their way.
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Against my better judgment, I must say that the Indiana Pacers post-Reggie Miller are somewhat alluring.
Danny Granger is quickly becoming an all-star caliber player, Marquis Daniels has asserted himself and become a solid starter and T.J. Ford’s back problems have not seemed to bother him in his first season in the Hoosier state.
With all that being said, the Pacers are still a tepid 6-10 and do not look to be getting any better anytime soon, even with the flashes of potential seen from rookies Brandon Rush and Roy “Dr.” Hibbert, times are tough in Indiana.
Suffice it to say, these are not the Reggie Miller/Dale Davis/Rik Smits/Jalen Rose/Mark Jackson Pacers that the Lakers disposed of in the 2000 NBA Finals.
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When the New Jersey Nets (6-6) traded Jason Kidd to Dallas in exchange for Devin Harris last February, the chorus resonating through the world of NBA prognosticators was: “Why?”
Despite losing one of the most accomplished guards in league history, a player who led them to two consecutive NBA Finals, the Nets have rebounded quite well.
It so happens that Devin Harris is a STAR. He is a multi-talented player with skills just shy of the league’s new elite guards Chris Paul and Deron Williams.
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This seems to happen every time. The gregariousness of the self-proclaimed Big Cactus/Aristotle/A-Hole seems to concoct some sort of witches brew before every meeting with his former team.
In his five seasons since being traded, Shaquille O’Neal has gotten in a shoving match with an 18-year old, buried the hatchet with Kobe, and this time, has dug up that very hatchet and slung it into the back of Phil Jackson.
Shaquille O’Neal, despite all of his grandeur and heroism during his eight seasons in Los Angeles, has become the city’s favorite villain.
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It turns out the Lakers (7-1) are mortal. It turns out they are prone to nights where they are the ones being boatraced off the floor. It turns out the 2008-09 regular season will not be a mere coronation.
Despite the perceived inevitability of unflappable success, the Lakers will lace up their sneakers and play each of their 82-games, as will their opponents.
And some nights, their foes will best them. And when that happens (and it will happen…more than anyone cares to admit) it is important not to set fire to the fallen.
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For the last one hundred years, the automotive triumvirate of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors has dominated the Detroit automotive industry. They are not only an American institution; they are revered and hallowed major innovators and employers throughout the Rust Belt. Yet, with foreign competition growing, and the American economy in flux, the Big Three in Detroit are facing an unprecedented time of uncertainty. The dependable establishment is being shaken to its core.
Interestingly, the current day plight of the Detroit auto industry closely mirrors the fortunes of their NBA franchise.
Fixtures of the last six Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons (6-2) are a foundation of power facing imminent recession.
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In yesterday’s pregame I expressed my desire for a close game. I elucidated my listlessness over the previous five blowouts.
Ask and you shall receive, I suppose.
The Lakers prevailed in an emotional contest in Dallas in which they limited the Mavericks to only 39-points in the second half after allowing 60 in the first.
For a team that had yet to be tested in a late game situation, the Lakers reacted in part with poise and in part with a deer-in-the-headlights type shock. After a late fourth-quarter timeout after the Mavericks had cut the Laker lead to two, I swear I saw Sash with tears in his eyes.
Now, this supposed overreaction and eventual triumph proves two things to me; two things of paramount importance for me. First, the ability of the Lakers to close out a game late in the fourth quarter with their defense while their offense was stymied. Second, that this team now possesses the same abhorrence to defeat that their leader, Kobe Bryant has instilled into them.
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A Keith Olbermann-style Special Comment regarding Laker Basketball:
I did not see a 29-point blowout coming.
Unfortunately, I am not imbued with the same type of unwavering confidence that is possessed by, say, Uncle Vic the Brick. I expect a close game, or, dare I say, a loss every once in awhile.
I am aware that it is absolutely asinine to assume that the Lakers (5-0) will roll to an 82-0 record over the course of the season. It is absurd to even expect them to win 70 games.
Yet, over the last five contests, I have found myself looking to the heavens, gazing into the cosmos, wondering what it all means. What do these blowouts and boatraces signify? How long will it continue? WHEN WILL THEY LOSE?! This lack of drama and intrigue so far in the young season has led to a sort of malaise for me. I clamor for a close game. I itch for a contest that comes down to the last possession.
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Although the NBA season is entering it’s third week, it sure doesn’t feel like it thus far for the Lakers (4-0).
Fortunately, the so called “bye week” is mercifully coming to an end tonight as the Lakers face their first elite and formidable foe during this young season in the Houston Rockets (4-2).
And although the Laker showed some signs of rust during Wednesday’s contest against the Clippers, they eventually were able to find the same groove that propelled them to their other three victories, this time on the merits of a 7:11 span in which they held the Clippers scoreless.
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