It was an unfortunate ending to an almost magical run. Many times before the Los Angeles Lakers have overcome with all the chips stacked against them, but not this time.
Yesterday I jokingly said that Robert Horry missing the game winner in Game 5 was the reason the Lakers might fail. Let?s take a real look at the once strong kings of the hill and why the same boots that carried them to the top of championship rock three previous times, lost traction on the fourth trek to destiny?s peak.
The first problem was the same old boots. The depth, or lack there of, was evident near the end of the Lakers 110-82 loss to the Spurs.
Having to play Stanislav Medvedenko, Brian Shaw, Jannero Pargo, and Mark Madsen at the end of an elimination game is not championship basketball. Let alone the fact that Devean George was forced to start due to Rick Fox?s playoff ending injury, and Samaki Walker was so ineffective that coach Phil Jackson only allowed him 2 minutes to aid a struggling Horry.
Kobe Bryant stated after the season ending loss that it is time to prepare for the off-season.
What a novel idea, prepare for the off-season. Maybe General Manager Mitch Kupchak might take heed and do just that.
Failure to upgrade, is upgrading for failure. Or something like that. The fact is that the Lakers have become complacent over the past three years to open seasons with the same team that laced the prior.
The second problem was Shaquille O?Neal. Kobe was Kobe this season, and without him the Lakers don?t make the playoffs. Without Shaq the Lakers do not make the playoffs either, but Shaq by Shaq standards was not the player that won 3 straight NBA Finals MVP awards and carried the Lakers to three straight championships.
The main dosage of kryptonite was the late toe surgery. The team and the organization let Shaq off easy. The New York Knicks fined Latrell Sprewell in the pre-season for a similar action.
Shaq is a champion and a leader, yet he did not completely shoulder his end of those heavy titles this year. In order for the Lakers to reach the pinnacle of team excellence again, Shaq will need to put forth as much exuberance into his total team effort as he does providing the media with classic quote?s.
The last and most noticeable problem was the severe loss of gas. We did not see that early playoff spurt that carried the Lakers to a 15-1 record in the 2001 playoffs. Nor did we see the junkyard dog that fought its way to a 4-3 series win over Sacramento in the 2002 Western Conference Finals.
For the first time in a long time the Lakers are making travel preparations instead of Finals preparation. The Lakers will be back. Phil did it in Chicago, and the same competitive fire should compel him to return for a chance to do it Los Angeles.