End of an Era

We are watching the end of an era with the dismantling of the Lakers today in Dallas. The Mavericks have swept the Lakers out of the 2011 playoffs and we are saying so long to Phil Jackson as our coach. Already the networks are speculating about his replacement.

A new coach should result in some personnel changes. Kobe Bryant will be back, of course, and he should be a star player for a few more years. I suspect that he will be picking his spots a little more carefully as he seems unable to sustain his normal high level of excellence for a full season plus playoffs. Pau Gasol has transformed from the most athletic big man in the NBA to a liability in this playoff season. Derek Fisher has shown that he can't handle the top level point guards in the league and may have to be considered a spot player next season. Ron Artest is a serviceable player but unreliable and unstable at times. Andrew Bynum is a star in the making & could be a dominant player as he develops. Lamar Odom is a keeper and an asset going forward.

The bench is fine; Shannon Brown probably needs to be considered as a starter next season and the rest fulfill their roles just fine. We have probably seen the last of Luke Walton unless a new coach sees an expanded role for him on this team.

The Lakers need to be at a Championship level. They were there until the last 10 games of the season and throughout the playoffs. They were the best team in the NBA for the 20 games following the All Star break. Yet, they collapsed. Was it age? Was it team chemistry? Are there trust issues as expressed by Drew?

The choice of Phil's replacement will give us some idea of where the franchise will be going as it starts a new post-Jackson era.

Did the Lakers quit? Are the Mavericks that much better than the Lakers?

This off season will have many questions and we hope that Mitch Kupchak has the answers. Los Angeles needs a boost - the Dodgers are in a down turn; the Kings continue to disappoint; UCLA football & basketball is middle of the road or worse; and, USC football is a long way from where it once was during their championship runs. The Angels are re-built and competing for a division title at this point in the season. They look like they are for real and may be the only team in the area that has a reasonable chance of on-field success.

The swift fall of the Lakers this season was unexpected and very disappointing. Optimism may be a rare commodity in Southern California sports for the next while.