As Sir Charles Would Say, That Was Trrible
Pa-thet-ic (adj.)
miserably or contemptibly inadequate
It's good when the dictionary has a perfect description for how your team performed. Unfortunately the word "spinelesswussifiedheartless" was not listed in the dictionary as another adjective. That would have been my word of choice but I guess we'll just have to settle on pathetic. I apologize in advance, this column will not be long, and honestly, I think I could have ended it already and gotten my point across. One word described it all.
Going into last night's game, I don't know one Lakers fan that I trust who thought that the Lakers had a chance to win after watching Game 5. I thought about why. The Celtics were not all that impressive to me. They were a very solid defensive team but I'd take every championship team of the last decade except for the Heat to beat either of the two teams who squared off yesterday. No, it wasn't the Celtics that worried Lakers fans. It was the Lakers' complete ineptitude. That's what this Finals will be remembered for. I don't think this really boosted Pierce's or Garnett's legacies as much as it just validated their careers. They can both retire happy someday after winning a title but I don't think of them any differently now than I did two weeks ago. Just like Kobe's MVP will be remembered not for this season but for a career of great seasons, so will Garnett's, Allen's and Pierce's rings.
This Finals did affect someone's legacy though and I'm sure you don't need any hints as to whose. Chris Mihm's. Ok, maybe not, but Kobe Bryant will never be able to erase last night, or this entire series from his resume. He would have to win 6 titles in a row for anyone to even think about writing the last two weeks off. Bryant wanted to be remembered as the best ever but there is no way that someone deserving of that monicker would have been absent for an entire series with a championship at stake. No way that he would let his team lose by 40. I thought it was stupid when Kobe changed his number but I understand why he did it now. He thought that the 3-peat was Shaq's and Kobe wanted to be remembered for his titles, not someone else's. He wants his number in the rafters to be 24, not 8. He basically affirmed what everyone has said, that it doesn't mean anything if he doesn't win one without Shaq. I'm not sure where Kobe goes from here, what his motivation will be because he has to know that he will never be remembered for being as great as he is in his own head. There's no chance of that now and I'm sure it's killing him. I know everyone is talking about how the Celtics keyed on Kobe and stopped him, but who didn't key on Kobe? You mean to tell me a coach was prepping for games against the Lakers and saying things like, "we HAVE to stop Vujacic and Odom." I don't think so. Kobe didn't show and now he'll have to reap what he's sewn. He's gotten everything he's asked for and come up short. Good luck next year.
As for Phil, this is what I was scared of. He's not hungry anymore. He gets to work with his girlfriend, in L.A., making $10 million a year. His legacy is fine, whether he gets the tenth ring or not. I'm sure it would make him mildly happy, but I'm guessing if your nickname's the Zenmaster, you know other ways to find happiness. My friend D.J. came over in the third quarter to comment on how ill-prepared the Lakers looked. Mind numbing turnovers, rebounding margin, zero efficiency, etc. Doc Rivers coached well enough not to lose but Phil was already on vacation. He took the series off and I'm not sure he is really all that upset. I wouldn't want anybody else coaching this Lakers team except for maybe Gregg Popovich but c'mon Phil. Just two more weeks out of you might have made a difference.
Going back to the series as a whole. I figured it out last night at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Lakers committed a few fouls that sent Rondo and other etcetera players to the floor, finally. But, instead of those fouls being messages that the Lakers wouldn't let Boston embarrass them any further, the Lakers players who committed the fouls went over to help the Boston players up. Normally I cheer good sportsmanship because I think it's important. However, the Lakers players rushed to help the Celtics players up in a way that didn't scream sportsmanship but whispered something else. They did it as if to say, "please, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it, please don't retaliate." And that's how the Lakers played the whole series, in fear. I remember I had a friend back in high school. He was pretty mild mannered except for the times when someone would mess with him, be it clipping his ankles from behind or tossing something at him from across the room. All he would say to the perpetrator was, "ten-fold." Everything you did to him, he'd come back at you ten-fold. If you retaliated back, he'd take it to the next level. He didn't care. You couldn't win unless you were willing to match crazy with crazy. And that's what this series felt like. If the Lakers did something, the Celtics would react with ten-times the aggression.
The Lakers played scared and that's how I'll remember this Lakers team. I picked San Antonio at the beginning of the playoffs because I thought they'd do what the Celtics did. Dominate inside. But the Spurs were too old and couldn't summon the effort after the grueling Hornets series. Something about this Lakers team just didn't sit right with me and still doesn't. I'm hoping Bynum is the answer but who knows. The Celtics don't scare me as much as teams like the Jazz and Hornets do in the coming years. As I conclude I'll just say that watching the game last night was one of the worst sports experiences I've had as a fan. I just sat there with a blank stare for the final two hours getting annoyed at Lakers fans who cheered when we cut it to 32. You could have shot the swimsuit issue on my table and not gotten a reaction out of me. Note to self: If you've been talking to a girl before the game and have interest, best get her number before it looks like you just spent two hours having your appendix taken out. So, Lakers, if this girl doesn't call me back, I'm blaming you. You sucked the life out of L.A. and now we're stuck watching the Dodgers not score runs. Thanks a lot.
miserably or contemptibly inadequate
It's good when the dictionary has a perfect description for how your team performed. Unfortunately the word "spinelesswussifiedheartless" was not listed in the dictionary as another adjective. That would have been my word of choice but I guess we'll just have to settle on pathetic. I apologize in advance, this column will not be long, and honestly, I think I could have ended it already and gotten my point across. One word described it all.
Going into last night's game, I don't know one Lakers fan that I trust who thought that the Lakers had a chance to win after watching Game 5. I thought about why. The Celtics were not all that impressive to me. They were a very solid defensive team but I'd take every championship team of the last decade except for the Heat to beat either of the two teams who squared off yesterday. No, it wasn't the Celtics that worried Lakers fans. It was the Lakers' complete ineptitude. That's what this Finals will be remembered for. I don't think this really boosted Pierce's or Garnett's legacies as much as it just validated their careers. They can both retire happy someday after winning a title but I don't think of them any differently now than I did two weeks ago. Just like Kobe's MVP will be remembered not for this season but for a career of great seasons, so will Garnett's, Allen's and Pierce's rings.
This Finals did affect someone's legacy though and I'm sure you don't need any hints as to whose. Chris Mihm's. Ok, maybe not, but Kobe Bryant will never be able to erase last night, or this entire series from his resume. He would have to win 6 titles in a row for anyone to even think about writing the last two weeks off. Bryant wanted to be remembered as the best ever but there is no way that someone deserving of that monicker would have been absent for an entire series with a championship at stake. No way that he would let his team lose by 40. I thought it was stupid when Kobe changed his number but I understand why he did it now. He thought that the 3-peat was Shaq's and Kobe wanted to be remembered for his titles, not someone else's. He wants his number in the rafters to be 24, not 8. He basically affirmed what everyone has said, that it doesn't mean anything if he doesn't win one without Shaq. I'm not sure where Kobe goes from here, what his motivation will be because he has to know that he will never be remembered for being as great as he is in his own head. There's no chance of that now and I'm sure it's killing him. I know everyone is talking about how the Celtics keyed on Kobe and stopped him, but who didn't key on Kobe? You mean to tell me a coach was prepping for games against the Lakers and saying things like, "we HAVE to stop Vujacic and Odom." I don't think so. Kobe didn't show and now he'll have to reap what he's sewn. He's gotten everything he's asked for and come up short. Good luck next year.
As for Phil, this is what I was scared of. He's not hungry anymore. He gets to work with his girlfriend, in L.A., making $10 million a year. His legacy is fine, whether he gets the tenth ring or not. I'm sure it would make him mildly happy, but I'm guessing if your nickname's the Zenmaster, you know other ways to find happiness. My friend D.J. came over in the third quarter to comment on how ill-prepared the Lakers looked. Mind numbing turnovers, rebounding margin, zero efficiency, etc. Doc Rivers coached well enough not to lose but Phil was already on vacation. He took the series off and I'm not sure he is really all that upset. I wouldn't want anybody else coaching this Lakers team except for maybe Gregg Popovich but c'mon Phil. Just two more weeks out of you might have made a difference.
Going back to the series as a whole. I figured it out last night at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Lakers committed a few fouls that sent Rondo and other etcetera players to the floor, finally. But, instead of those fouls being messages that the Lakers wouldn't let Boston embarrass them any further, the Lakers players who committed the fouls went over to help the Boston players up. Normally I cheer good sportsmanship because I think it's important. However, the Lakers players rushed to help the Celtics players up in a way that didn't scream sportsmanship but whispered something else. They did it as if to say, "please, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it, please don't retaliate." And that's how the Lakers played the whole series, in fear. I remember I had a friend back in high school. He was pretty mild mannered except for the times when someone would mess with him, be it clipping his ankles from behind or tossing something at him from across the room. All he would say to the perpetrator was, "ten-fold." Everything you did to him, he'd come back at you ten-fold. If you retaliated back, he'd take it to the next level. He didn't care. You couldn't win unless you were willing to match crazy with crazy. And that's what this series felt like. If the Lakers did something, the Celtics would react with ten-times the aggression.
The Lakers played scared and that's how I'll remember this Lakers team. I picked San Antonio at the beginning of the playoffs because I thought they'd do what the Celtics did. Dominate inside. But the Spurs were too old and couldn't summon the effort after the grueling Hornets series. Something about this Lakers team just didn't sit right with me and still doesn't. I'm hoping Bynum is the answer but who knows. The Celtics don't scare me as much as teams like the Jazz and Hornets do in the coming years. As I conclude I'll just say that watching the game last night was one of the worst sports experiences I've had as a fan. I just sat there with a blank stare for the final two hours getting annoyed at Lakers fans who cheered when we cut it to 32. You could have shot the swimsuit issue on my table and not gotten a reaction out of me. Note to self: If you've been talking to a girl before the game and have interest, best get her number before it looks like you just spent two hours having your appendix taken out. So, Lakers, if this girl doesn't call me back, I'm blaming you. You sucked the life out of L.A. and now we're stuck watching the Dodgers not score runs. Thanks a lot.
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