It has been pretty entertaining watching sportswriters and the like flip flop on the Lakers from game to game.  With the Rockets series now surprisingly coming to a Game 7, everybody has tacitly agreed that the NBA Championship is all sewn up and the all Cleveland has to do is avoid a LeBron James injury or maybe the Nuggets.  Why?  Because the Lakers hit a 4-foot high speed bump and the Cavs breezed through Will Bynum and the new look Pistons and then Atlanta and the Josh Smith Missed Dunks?  How about Denver going through the New Orleans "We're trying to get our coach fired and laid an egg only to find out that they rehired the guy anyway" Hornets then taking apart a Dallas team that everybody wrote off all year then jumped back on when they beat San Antonio sans Manu?  I'm sorry, but I'm not awarding a championship trophy until after this thing's all over.  The last sure thing I remember was the Lakers after they eked past San Antonio due in large part to 0.4 and all they had waiting was a Detroit Pistons team nobody believed in because they were the best team in the Leastern Conference.  We were lucky to get one win as Lakers fans in that series. 

I can't remember when the times changed and you had to sweep every series in order to win the championship.  I grew up watching some great teams.  But I also grew up watching those great teams play and win great games.  Michael Jordan is known for his game winning shots.  You know what that means?  He was tied or down by a bucket with seconds to play in a lot of games.  Don't believe me?  Ask Craig Ehlo.  Or anyone from Cleveland for that matter.  Actually, add New York and Utah to that list too.  During those Bulls 3-peats in the '90s there were more great games than I can remember.  The Bulls didn't just stampede to 6 Championship rings.  They were tested and they came through when it counted.  And it didn't hurt that they had the best player and the best coach in the game.

Fast forward to the Lakers' 3-peat.  There's a team that epitomized coming through in the face of imminent defeat.  Sometimes when people talk about the Kobe/Shaq era in Los Angeles, they pretend that the Lakers were guaranteed championships when those two laced them up.  Forget about the Pistons series in 2004 that ended things.  Go look at the actual years that the Lakers won the championship.  In 2000 the Lakers were down 13 in Game 7 against Portland before a miracle comeback and a collassal meltdown undid the Trailblazers.  And you're probably thinking that it went completely smoothly in the NBA Finals against the Pacers.  Nope.  4 games to 2.  2001?  Ok, got me there.  The Lakers swept the Western Conference playoffs, and if Tyronn Lue didn't let Iverson literally step all over him, the Lakers would have swept the playoffs completely.  So 2001 doesn't prove my point at all.  Let's move to 2002.  How many times should the Lakers have lost the Western Conference Finals against the Kings?  Let's see, there was the Horry game-winner.  There was the game that Webber didn't show up.  Wait, that's every game.  Nevermind.  Then there was Game 7 where we got every call and then some to get to overtime and then got even more calls in overtime.  Want to have a lot of fun?  Ask anyone from up north about that Game 7 and then ask them how many championships the Bay Area has in basketball.  It's a lot of fun.  Anyhow, game over, then sweep against New Jersey.

But look closely at that last paragraph.  Everybody talks about the Lakers dynasty that took those championships to start the decade.  But a closer look reveals a team that was able to shine at the right time.  Take away that comeback against Portland or Horry's shot or the refs in Game 7 and you have a very different history.  No more 3-peat.  So why again should I be throwing in the towel this season?  Because there have been some bumps in the road?  Because the Cavs are breezing through the Leastern Conference?  Because Denver is playing well against lesser competition?  No, I'm not throwing in the towel.  I'll still take the Lakers to win it this year because they have the most talent, the best player in the game, and the best coach in the league.  Nobody remembers how you got there, only who's holding up the trophy at the end of the season.