The Rise & Fall Of The 2008 Lakers

Watching the 2007-2008 Lakers closely since the All-Star break, it's been hard to call them anything but dominant. Since acquiring Pau Gasol, the Lakers pretty much steam-rolled their way to the top of the Western Conference in a year that the conference was considered one of the toughest in the NBA's history. Somehow, in the midst of all the competition, the Lakers - a team that many projected to not even make the playoffs - managed to stand out the most. They were the best team in the Western Conference, and they definitely proved it as they went on to defeat formidable foes in the form of the Nuggets, Jazz and ESPECIALLY the Spurs, on their way to the NBA Finals.

On the other side of the coin, the Boston Celtics steamrolled their way through the entire league on their way to supremacy of the NBA, churning out 66 wins and the top seed in the Eastern Conference, not to mention the best record in the league itself. However, with the playoffs, questions began to arise in regards to the Celtics, as they had to face seven games series' with the likes of the Hawks and the Cavaliers - crappy teams to say the least - before finally getting it together and defeating the Pistons in six. So while the Lakers have had an easier ride to the NBA Finals (not competition wise, I mean in regards to the relative ease that they coasted to this point), the Celtics have had to claw and fight their way to this destination; a destination that many EXPECTED them to be at coming into this season.

The Lakers have been genuinely outplayed EVERY game of this series thus far. Watching Game 5, I really did believe that the Lakers would choke (once again) at home and the Celtics would win the championship in LA. Why? A lack of execution. The Lakers role players have been unbelievably exposed in this series, as has their bench. While Pau is still a good player, he really needs to stop complaining so much about foul calls and be the catalyst for executing the triangle perfectly as he was in the regular season. Odom and Fisher have not shown up at all, and the Lakers bench has been below average at best, even considering Game 5. Luke Walton is not really that good of a player, has never been, nor will he ever be. Vujacic is a hit or miss kind of guy, and most of the times, he will miss, especially on the road. Jordan Farmer is arrogant, but his game doesn't back it up. Turiaf is useless on the offensive end, and Ariza is only good for defence. Don't even get me started on Vladamir Radmonavic. The only consistent player on this team has been Kobe, and even he is struggling.

If you watch the games, it is not that Kobe does not "trust his teammates", but rather that his teammates all of a sudden cannot hit their shots and look extremely shaky out there. Fisher went from looking like a solid, clutch point guard in the Western Conference Finals to looking like a veteran that has shrunk back to insignificance like he did in the 2004 Finals. Kobe Bryant has turned from the well-deserved MVP that steamrolled anyone in his path (including the Spurs!) in the Western Conference to someone that we're used to seeing 5-19 performances from. In this day and age, when you EXPECT Kobe Bryant to struggle in a series, that means that he as an individual has failed because his teammates as a unit are being exposed.

The Lakers have been thoroughly outplayed, outperformed and out-executed (I don't think that's a word) in this series. Paul Pierce has been exactly how Kobe Bryant NEEDS to be, and Boston's players have responded how the Lakers players should have when entering these Finals. Have you seen James Posey in these games? That is how Derek Fisher should be; a veteran that can make shots when needed. Instead, we had Fisher and Vujacic shoot something along the lines of a combined 3 for 20 in Game 4, and somehow the Lakers managed to win. I'm not so much scared of the Celtics, as I am for the Lakers. Basically, each Lakers win is a surprise, as opposed to an expectation.

The Celtics will win this title rather easily, unless the Lakers drastically change their ways, which doesn't seem likely. Phil Jackson seems like he hasn't coached the Lakers at ALL this whole series and Doc Rivers pretty much has everyone convinced that he's out coaching the Zen Master. I don't think that's hard when you have the roster that Boston does to be honest, but credit should be given to him for motivating his guys properly (not that they need much motivation in the first place).

The Lakers have gone from being the epitome of excellent execution to a team that has seemed disorganized, disinterested and at often times, a team that doesn't belong where they are. Something tells me that the Spurs would have fared better against the Celtics, because these Lakers don't look like the same team that beat the likes of an excellent Jazz team and an old-yet-still-efficient Spurs team. After all of the hype of how the Western Conference is unparalleled, an Eastern Conference team is likely to be standing on top of the NBA mountain by tomorrow night.

P.S - The reason you see UK sensation Craig David for this post is because, he has an excellent song called "Rise and Fall" from his second album, Slicka Than Your Average. I think it appropriately represents the Lakers at this point, as they seem to be falling more with every game after peaking against the Spurs. The confidence I once had in this team is all but shattered, and it isn't because Boston is a 66 win team; I stopped being scared of them the moment that the Atlanta frickin Hawks took them to 7 games. Rather, it is because the Lakers look genuinely SHOOK out their on the basketball floor....in the NBA Finals. Horrible time to be wetting the bed to the point that you "can't put the towel over [it]" (Kobe!), guys.