Kobe & Lakers Repeat

A few months ago I wrote about the disappointing late season swoon by the Lakers - they seemingly lost any hope of home court advantage and seemed uninterested in their 1st round efforts.

Well I am thrilled to say I was 100% wrong. Phil Jackson did a masterful job piloting these guys to another NBA Championship and sweetest of all they bested the hated Boston Celtics in 7 games in the Finals. They managed to erase a 3-2 deficit by winning 2 very tough games at the Staples Center with defensive efforts for the ages.

This was truly a team effort with Kobe getting help from everyone - from Pau's everything, to Sasha's free throws at the end of Game #7, to Fisher's clutch 3's and Artest's 3's & his defense and more. This was a victory they all could enjoy and know they were responsible for significant contributions. Bynum fighting through injury to contribute; Odom playing solid ball all around; great bench efforts from Farmar, Brown & Walton - these were all wonderful.

But, the guy that made this happen so that Kobe (and Fish) could get #5 was Pau Gasol. The 7 footer was amazing - he scored, he defended, he was a force on the boards, he blocked shots & distributed assists. I concur with the commentators that are calling him the best big man in the game right now - I can't imagine anyone else doing so much so well.

Kobe was fantastic all through the playoffs and richly deserved the MVP trophy. In a few short months we have gone from talking about the best in the game being LeBron to unanimously saying that it is still Kobe. Game 7 was tough - he hung in there, 15 rebounds, great defense, good energy - the rest of the guys pulled together so that Kobe's average (maybe below average) performance was good enough. Up to that point he was averaging nearly 30 points per game, was defending the toughest guys, distributing the ball - and, as we found out after the Finals were over, he was hurting big time. Probably 2 surgeries will be required before next season - knee & finger on shooting hand.

Kobe is now clearly solidified as one of the best ever - in my time I have been blessed to watch Jerry West (still my all time favorite), Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Elgin Baylor, Pistol Pete Maravich and the big men Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Bill Walton, Kareem (the best of them all) and, (yes) Shaq. Kobe deserves to be included in the conversation with each & every one of them.

We should enjoy this run as with all things they will pass - Phil Jackson is seriously considering leaving coaching due to health issues, Fisher isn't getting any younger, Farmar & Brown might want to try & get starting gigs elsewhere and worst of all Kobe will be another year older next season.