You know, I'd planned to do a live-blog for the 5th game of the NBA Finals. However, we've been having some issues with our computer here and I wasn't able to get it booted up and running in time to do so.It's a good thing I didn't.
Turns out that me being unable to live-blog the game was a blessing in disguise because there really wasn't much to write about. It was close for roughly a quarter-and-a-half, but then the Lakers went on a 16-0 run and never looked back. Quite frankly, Orlando looked like they'd already checked out for the summer. Having expended so much energy in Game 4 only to lose in OT, it was pretty clear that they just didn't have the same spark in Game 5. The Lakers were going half-paced to begin with, but once they started punching the Magic, Orlando has no response. Hedo Turkoglu didn't shoot well and didn't have the same fire he had in previous games, Rafer Alston was ineffective; the list goes on and on. Los Angeles did a tremendous job of pounding their will early and seeing if they would respond...and they didn't.
Quite honestly, the better team won. As a matter of fact, the best team in the NBA this year won. I don't care if Cleveland had a better record (by one single game, no less), LA put up a similar record in a MUCH tougher conference and even swept the Cavaliers by double-digits in both regular season games just to remove all doubt. I was concerned early in the playoffs about LA's attitude. It appeared that they simply wanted to get to the Finals before they began to play hard. There's no excuse to let a Yao-less Rockets team push you to seven games. Many of the lapses they had against Denver were mental, lacking the focus of a champion. But give them this, once they were pushed, they got after it. When Houston won Game 4, the first game without Yao, LA responded by winning Game 5 by 40 points. When Denver won Game 2 in LA, the Lakers responded immediately by winning Game 3 in Denver. When Orlando took them to overtime in Game 2 (before losing) and then won Game 3 back in Orlando, the Lakers responded by winning the next two games in Orlando. In summation, the Los Angeles Lakers were the best team all year, and it's no surprise that they're taking home the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
The sparkplug for this entire trip was Kobe Bryant. He's been superb all postseason long. Yes, Pau Gasol is good, but we saw in Memphis what happens when he's forced to carry too much of the load. Yes, Lamar Odom is remarkably gifted, but his history of disappearing in big games is well-known. Without Bryant, the Lakers don't win the Title, they don't win the West, and they probably don't win a playoff series. He's that good. His combination of scoring, defense, timely distribution, and the overall intensity he brings to the team is a fabulous mix. I've always admired Bryant because he's one of the few players in the NBA who lets you know, without a shadow of a doubt, that all he wants to do is win basketball games. His trade/contract/personal issues sometimes flare up in the offseason, but once he gets on the court, he's a killer. That's the thing that sets him apart from LeBron James, and the reason that he's wearing the ring this year instead of The King; his intensity. LeBron is insanely gifted, does things on the basketball court that others simply cannot do, and is chummy with his teammates. Kobe Bryant is insanely gifted, does things on the basketball court that others simply cannot do, and demands the absolute best from his teammates. A slight difference, yes, but the difference between winning a championship and asking "what if" is just as slight. He may be arrogant, he may be prickly, and he may not care if you like him or not; but at the end of the day, Kobe Bryant is the type of player that you want taking your team to its highest level. A tip of the cap to #24, saying that it's a joy watching him play is a supreme understatement.
Where do we go from here? Well, it remains to be seen, but Los Angeles isn't going anywhere. Kobe comes back, Gasol comes back, and all of their young guys will be a year older. However, they need to re-sign Odom and Ariza; those two were fantastic this postseason. It'll be fun to see if they chase the money or another title. There are already plenty of rumors floating around, from Shaq-to-Cleveland talk, to Hedo Turkoglu signing a big contract with someone else, so a lot must be sorted out before we can predict what will happen a year from now. Just know that as long as Kobe Bryant is still around, and as long as Pau Gasol is playing the Robin to 24's Batman, the Lakers will be a force to be reckoned with.
~~ Lank
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