For years Lakers fans have poked and prodded Clippers fans for celebrating their teams minor achievements and wishful thinking. You beat the Lakers? Hang a banner! You made the playoffs? Let's get ready for the parade! The Lakers faithful have always expected greatness, and anything less is looked at as a failure. Clippers fans have had to endure this swagger again and again, knowing they really had no legitimate comeback to these taunts.
That is until Wednesday night.
After needing 81 games (and some help from the Utah Jazz) to even make the playoffs, the Lakers managed to eek out a win against the Houston Rockets to secure the seventh seed in the Western Conference. When the final buzzer sounded, public address announcer Lawrence Tanter informed the crowd that the Lakers were now seventh in the West and will be heading to San Antonio to play the Spurs in the opening round. This announcement was met with cheers and applause.
Huh?!
That night and the following day facebook's, twitter's and numerous articles were written pumping up this Lakers team, thrilled that they got the seven seed and even predicting not only a first round upset, but a deep playoff run.
My how times have changed.
The fact that Lakers fans are looking at this scenario as a positive is incredible. In just one horribly inefficient, lackluster year, their expectations have fallen faster than the Lakers championship odds.
I understand trying to stay positive and rooting for your team through thick and thin, but what is it that is causing this rush to coronate this team besides unrealistic optimism?
They are without the heart and soul of their team, Kobe Bryant, after he put the franchise on his back and willed the Lakers to the finishline. Unfortunately he wasn't able to make it there himself after being run into the ground by his head coach, who despite the fact a blind man could see he was ailing, refused to sit Bryant for even one play against Golden State. I know LeBron James has had an incredible year on an incredible team, but in my mind Bryant is the league MVP. There is no way the Lakers even sniff the playoffs if it weren't for his heroics game in and game out. What he has done at 34 years of age is remarkable. And seeing him literally leave everything on the floor against the Warriors, making two clutch free throws with a torn achilles then limping off the court, just seals it.
They are also dealing with an injured Steve Nash, who even if he plays during the San Antonio series, will not be 100%. Nash may not be the player he once was, but I'm sure every Lakers fan would feel much more comfortable with the ball in his hands as opposed to Steve Blake's. Even if he were 100%, is there anyone out there who even remotely thinks Nash could slow down Tony Parker defensively? Anyone? Bueller?
The first round also find the great Greg Popovich matching wits with the arrogance and ineptitude of Mike D'Antoni. There are those who may be looking at the April 14 game in which the Lakers pulled off the win against the Spurs, but this is a red herring. Popovich always coaches for the post season, resting his players when needed, and turns the dial down once seeding has been determined. D'Antoni is STILL trying to figure out hs team. His substitution patters are all over the place, he still has no clue how to use Pau Gasol and his absence of any defensive philosophy allows teams to run through the Lakers like water down a drain. He's had 73 games to get this figured out, so using a lack of a training camp as an excuse is no longer valid.
This leaves us with a team who has no identity and no direction. Dwight Howard is playing his best basketball, but he has weak fundamentals and the basketball IQ of a high schooler, the product of years of codling through the AAU circuit. He constantly finds himself out of position offensively and will be a liability at the free throw line. Pau Gasol is starting to find some direction, but is still a soft player who cannot be depended upon to come through when it matters. Steve Blake and Jodie Meeks are still Steve Blake and Jodie Meeks.
Certainly the Lakers have a shot at succeeding in the playoffs. They only need to look to their Staples co-tenants the Kings last year, as they went from the eighth seed to winning the Stanley Cup. But the difference between the Lakers and that Kings team are the defined positions, excellent coaching, and a red hot player who carried the Kings during their run. Basketball is not hockey. The Lakers have shot 37%, missed countless 3 point shots and had immeasurable mental lapses the past few games. You can not advance in the playoffs with those type of statistics.
Sure the Lakers may pull out a game or two against San Antonio, but anyone who is expecting more is fooling themselves. A seventh seed in the West for the Lakers should not be looked at as some form of success, but as the failure it actually is. Lakers fans are smarter than that.
Or are they?
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