No Solace in Lakers Losing to the Champs
Just because you got dumped by a super model that goes on to marry a billionaire doesn’t make you rich. It just makes you heartbroken and you’re still broke.
Just because the Lakers were manhandled by the Mavericks and Dallas went on to grab a Larry O’Brien doesn’t mean the Lakers have any reason to feel better about being swept. They still gave Phil Jackson an unfit exit from the game and the three-peat hopes died a miserable death.
Congrats to the Mavericks!
As I stated way back when, whoever won the Lakers-Mavs series was going to be crowned NBA champion. I never thought the Lakers would go all 4th quarter LeBron for the entire series but my take still stood. I had no doubt that Mavs would win it all after seeing them finally turn the corner, sack up and play with the swagger of champions.
But that doesn’t mean much to me being a Lakers fan.
I take no solace in seeing my team dominated by the champs. All that reminds me is how far this team fell in 2011.
There is no gratitude to be found in Dallas exposing LeFraud either. We who watch Kobe Bryant on a regular basis already knew what the world just recently learned – KB24 is in another class than the Shook One.
As much as I hate to admit it, the Mavs were not only the better team but also the better franchise this year. Mark Cuban gets respect for trusting his hoops minds, a lesson I pray Jim Buss learns sometime very soon. Rick Carlisle gets props for never having a moment of panic and always keeping his team in an even emotional state. Dirk and the rest get the glory for constantly digging deep and finding ways to win against all odds.
Now since I am a Laker fan I also have to throw this out. The real test of a champion is how they defend their title. Winning one isn’t easy, no doubt about that. But winning two is damn near impossible. Well…impossible for most every other franchise except the Purple and Gold. But I digress…
For now I’m just not taking any pleasure in losing to the eventual champions. The pain still stings just the same had the Mavs lost to Oklahoma City in the next round. I hope what Kobe and company saw unfold was extra motivation. If nothing else, preventing the Mavs from repeating would be a nice goal but getting back to hanging banners would be better.