Laker Fans Should Be Patient
Written by:
O)
Losing in the NBA finals is a difficult situation for a fan of any NBA team. Losing in the NBA finals to the Boston Celtics is the most irritating situation possible for a Los Angeles Laker fan. This season was one of the most surprising ever for Laker fans everywhere, especially when at the beginning of the season they were not sure if Kobe Bryant would actually be a Laker. After a summer of acrimony, no one was sure of anything in Lakerland and the thought of Bryant in another uniform was a frightening thought. Fortunately, the season started.
The Lakers got out to another surprising start, just like the year before. They were leading the West with a 26-11 record and suddenly, also just like the year before, the injuries started hitting them with the biggest loss being Andrew Bynum. The difference was in Kobe, who publicly stated that the same team and players that he been critical of in the offseason was now, “a championship level team.” This emboldened the Laker front office, making a trade for Pau Gasol without disturbing the core of the team.
After the Gasol trade, the Lakers looked like a new team. They went to win the Western Conference with a 57-25, a game better than New Orleans and the world champion San Antonio Spurs. In the playoffs, they were the only team to sweep another team as they beat the Denver Nuggets 4-0 in the first round. They beat Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 and in the Western Conference finals, they beat the defending champion Spurs 4 games to 1. In a season that started wondering if Kobe Bryant would still be on the team saw him win his first MVP award and led them to the finals. Up until the finals, it had been a dream season for the Lakers in the most surprising fashion.
The NBA finals turned what had been an outstanding season for the Lakers to one of doubt. The Celtics not only beat them 4 games to 2, but in the final game pounded them by 39 points, the most ever in a series-clinching game. Laker fans should however, be joyful. Making the finals was an incredible feat considering that the team was pretty much the same as the year before with the addition of Pau Gasol. The Lakers never got Andrew Bynum back from his knee injury and Trevor Ariza got back from a broken foot in the playoffs, but regained his form from during the season. If Laker fans take a step back, they should realize that the Lakers made it to the finals without their starting center and with a group that had absolutely no playoff success outside of the coaching staff, Derek Fisher, and Kobe Bryant. Like last season, the pressure is on the front office to assemble the pieces around Bryant, who actually turns 30 in August, to win a championship, but even more, their fans are expecting another run back to the finals. The finals were very frustrating, but a little patience and the Lakers could be on the verge of having a much better team than last year with an even better result. This could be something Laker fans can be patient for.
| 2.5 |
As long as Kobe plays for the Lakers I hope they NEVER win anything.
Amen, Kobe will never win another Title without Shaq!!
We love you Britneyyyyyy!!!
(And I’m glad you ain’t been in no more trouble lately..though your little sister having a baby ain’t cool)
Shaq takes a freestyle swipe at Kobe
2 hours, 18 minutes ago
Buzz Up PrintNEW YORK (AP)—Just in case anybody had forgotten that Kobe Bryant has never won an NBA title without Shaquille O’Neal, the big man sent out a reminder.
The Phoenix Suns center can be seen rapping that “Kobe couldn’t do without me” in a video posted online at celebrity news and gossip site TMZ.com
During the two-minute video, a grinning O’Neal lurches through an improvised rap in which he skewers the Lakers’ star, with whom he won three straight NBA titles from 2000-2002 while with Los Angeles.
“I was freestyling. That’s all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever,” O’Neal told ESPN.com Monday. “That is what MC’s do. They freestyle when called upon. I’m totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all.”
O’Neal and Bryant last played together in 2004. After a long-simmering feud came to a boil in public, O’Neal was traded to Miami before the 2004-05 season, and won an NBA championship with the Heat in 2006.
Bryant and the Lakers didn’t reach the finals again until earlier this month, when the Boston Celtics beat them 4-2.
“You know how I be,” Shaq rapped. “Last week Kobe couldn’t do without me.”
O’Neal, who has recorded seven albums, also said he is “the difference between first and last place” and even took a jab at former New York Knicks center Patrick Ewing’s lack of championship rings.
I don’t even know why you would print something like that. Penny Hardaway, D Wade, Kobe…it isn’t like Shaq is really leading a team anywhere. How can you be called a leader when your team is afraid to give you the ball at the end of the game?
Tom my boy that’s why I here: to educate you on the truth. A lot of people don’t like Kobe. I understand you might be infatuated with him, but Kobe’s a punk spoiled brat who needs his cute little butt beat. (Can I say butt?)
I’m not infatuated by Kobe. What I am is a Laker fan until the end. The fact of the matter is Shaq is a big guy in the middle, but he always played with someone great when he had success. All Shaq fans should be ashamed of the last championship he won. It wasn’t his doing at all, but rather Wade drug his big butt to the trophy. Can I say that?
Bro considering what guys like West, Magic and Kareem were ( total team players) Kobe is nauseating. I’m a Laker fan period, but I’d rather see the Lakes lose that see Kobe elevated to their level. He’ll always be regarded for his sheer talent, but true fans will always know that he just wasn’t what so many think he is.
Personally I hope he get traded to the Iranian fooseball team.
So we have the Lakers in common! What you are saying isn’t totally wrong - I think Magic was the greatest (team) basketball player of all time. However, Kobe is a Laker and Shaq isn’t. To side with someone who isn’t a Laker against someone who is brings doubt to my mind. If Kobe would have got traded and Shaq stayed I would be on Shaq’s side. Purple and gold my man, purple and gold.
Tom…Your boy Kobe ain’t a Laker. If he was he’d play to help the team and himself second. I guarantee you that Magic could have average 10 points per game more than he did hadhe wanted to…
process this before you retort……………………
Now let me add this Kobe just happens to be trying to build his own resume. Too bad it’s in a Laker uniform. He ain’t even thinking about what’s best for the team when he’s on the court. He thinking bout Koo Beee. Ball hog… That neggero stinks up the entire arena everytime he steps in it.
I think you are going to far concerning Kobe. But I do agree with you about Magic. The greatest ever and he did it with a smile on his face.
I know you still got feelings for Kobe. Love is like that. Person can do anything but it’s ok….”He’ll change.”
Kobe come home on friday night all mad cause he only scored 76 points and slap you upside yo head. But it’s ok cause he’s “under a lot of pressure.”
You catch him sleeping with the ball and he tells you he had the ball in bed cause he was trying to get familar with the new NBA ball and you believe it.
LAWD!
Kobe is a great player for sure, but lakers need few more years for a ring…
Peacy Combsons last blog post..Women’s sexual dysfunction
I actually don’t know if they need a few more years or not. Their main problem was match ups and terrible defense against the Celtics. A little toughness wouldn’t hurt either.
The Celtics are already a worse team with Posey leaving.
The NBA doesn’t require teams to have seasoning to win it all like the league used to. Look at how the Cavaliers went to the finals a couple of years ago. That would have never happened during Magic and Bird’s era.