Purple Reign: 10 Non-Lakers Who Made it Possible

For the past 12 months, I have been haunted by a blog post in which I foolishly predicted the Lakers would defeat the Celtics in last year's NBA Finals. After watching my beloved purple and gold cough up a 24-point lead at home in Game 4 and eventually lose the series to their arch rivals from Boston, I renounced all forms of chicken counting and told myself I would never again declare Laker victory until the confetti was falling and the champagne was flowing.

Needless to say, I waited until the final buzzer sounded in last night's 99-86 Game 5 win over the Orlando Magic before celebrating the Lakers' first championship since 2002, the 15th in their storied history. Last year's bitter defeat only makes this victory sweeter, as Final's MVP Kobe Bryant can attest. In an apparent reference to the 'can-Kobe-win-without-Shaq?' question that has dogged him for the past 5 years, Bryant said, "It finally felt like a big old monkey was off my back."

Besides Bryant's redemption as the main storyline, much has also been made (and rightly so) of head coach Phil Jackson's record-breaking 10th title and #24's well-rounded supporting cast of Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Derek Fisher and Trevor Ariza. But as any Laker fan will tell you, this season's championship was far from inevitable. There were plenty of bullets dodged, tense moments and chips that could have fallen either way. And just as L.A.'s shortcomings a season ago helped Boston to emerge victorious, we must not neglect to mention some of the non-Lakers who played an unintended role in this year's purple reign.

So on behalf of Laker Nation, I would like to thank the following individuals for helping make this year's championship run possible:

10. Paul Pierce. Last year's crushing loss to the Celtics was clearly the fuel for this year's Laker run. By scoring at will and outplaying Bryant on both ends of the court, no one was more responsible for the Lakers' '08 Finals humiliation than Pierce, Boston's captain and leading scorer.

9. Shaquille O'Neal. After the Lakers lost to Boston last June, Shaq bombastically performed a rap song in which he vulgarly flaunted how Kobe had not won a championship since O'Neal departed L.A. in 2004. Not that Bryant was lacking any motivation before this childish spectacle found its way to YouTube, but it reinforced public perceptions that Kobe needed to win another championship to step out from under O'Neal's 325-pound shadow.

8. LeBron James. In leading the Cavaliers to the league's best record and winning his first regular season MVP award, LeBron gave most observers the impression that Cleveland, not L.A., was this year's team to beat. Not only did this give the Lakers something else to prove, it allowed them to focus on their game plan without the limelight and pressure of being the favorite.

7. Kevin Garnett. When KG went down for the season in March with a knee injury, the Celtics lost their best interior player and defensive anchor (not to mention the reigning Defensive Player of the Year). Even without the Big Ticket and frontcourt mate Leon Powe in their playoff lineup, Boston still managed to push Orlando to a 7-game series, which tells me they would have reached the Finals and mounted a serious challenge to the Lakers' title hopes had Garnett been healthy.

6. Aaron Brooks. Standing just 6'0" tall and tipping the scales at 160, Houston's fleet-footed rookie point guard unexpectedly extended the short-handed Rockets' second round series with L.A. to a full 7 games, torching them for 34 points in a Game 4 blowout and 26 more in a Game 6 encore. Thanks to Brooks, the Lakers were forced to dig deep for the determination and teamwork needed to win a championship.

5. Courtney Lee. With Game 2 of the Finals tied at 88 and less than one second remaining in the fourth quarter, Lee misfired on a perfectly executed alley-oop layup attempt that would have stolen the Lakers' home court advantage. Thankfully, Laker Nation breathed a sign of relief as the ball bounced off the front of the rim as L.A. escaped with a 2-0 series lead after prevailing in overtime.

4. Dwight Howard. Ahead by 3 in Game 4 with 11.1 seconds remaining, Howard had an opportunity to seal victory at the free throw line and tie the series 2-2. Instead, he missed both shots and left the door ajar for Derek Fisher's unforgettable game-tying pull up 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left. Fisher wound up hitting another huge 3 in overtime, leading the Lakers to a 3-1 series lead.

3. Stan Van Gundy. With the Magic ahead 87-84 after Howard's free throw misses, Orlando's coach made the baffling decision not to foul the Lakers in Game 4's closing seconds. Regretting this fateful error and Fisher's dagger that made him pay, Van Gundy later said, "That one will haunt me forever."

2. Red Auerbach. The legendary Celtics coach who won 9 titles in the 50's and 60's did not live to see the day Phil Jackson surpass his record, but as Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski observed, Red never hid his disdain for Jackson accomplishments. Even with his trademark psychological discipline and inner competitiveness, it's hard to imagine PJ being so focused on collecting his 10th ring had he not been tied with Auerbach for the all-time lead.

1. Chris Wallace. Better known as the Grizzlies General Manager who traded Pau Gasol to Los Angeles in one of the most lopsided deals in NBA history, Wallace should at least get a complimentary championship t-shirt for his role in helping the Lakers win it all. Without Wallace, Gasol would not be playing in Hollywood and without Gasol, Laker fans would not be celebrating today.

Lakers Beat the Celtics! (Only 8 Months Too Late)

Now that football season is over, it's time for the sports world's spotlight to shift to the greatest game of all: hoops. With March Madness less than 6 weeks away and the NBA schedule starting to heat up, it's my favorite time of year to be a sports fan. Over the next several months, I'm looking forward to the sweet sounds of sneakers squeaking, rims rattling, nets swishing and coaches screaming from the sidelines in their Armani suits.

Last night, 4.3 million viewers watched the Los Angeles Lakers 110-109 overtime thriller over the Boston Celtics, making it the most watched NBA regular season game on TNT since 1996. In case you've forgotten, that was when the Michael Jordan era was at its peak. Due in large part to the renewed Lakers-Celtics rivalry, the NBA is officially back as both a source of compelling entertainment as well as premier-level basketball. I was fortunate enough to catch the second half of the game, which was a basketball junkie's dream thanks to barrage of fourth quarter 3-pointers nailed by the cold-blooded Kobe Bryant, silencing the jeers of a hostile Boston crowd. While the team could have played a lot better (only 59% free throw shooting) and the razor-thin margin of victory was too close for comfort, a win is still a win. The significance? Combined with their 92-83 Christmas Day victory at Staples Center, L.A. sweeps the season series between the two teams which means they now hold the tiebreaker for home court advantage in case they happen meet up in the NBA Finals again (I have a funny feeling they will).

For Lakers fans like yours truly who were still bitter from the memory of last year's Finals meltdown against the Celtics, especially the merciless 39-point blowout in the series-clinching Game 6, the payback was sweet. There aren't too many things I'd rather do on a Thursday night than watch Kobe stick 3-point jumpers with Paul Pierce's hand in his face. It was particularly encouraging to witness outstanding performances from both Pau Gasol (24 points, 14 rebounds) and Lamar Odom (20 points including 2 clutch free throws with 16 seconds left), two players who were badly outplayed against Boston last year. Critics of the Lakers often accuse them of being "too soft" (a fair point), but last night, the purple and gold showed they have enough muscle to hold their own against their arch rivals from Beantown.

While last night's victory came 8 months too late to wipe away the missed opportunities of 2008, it's clear the Lakers are not taking anything for granted this time around. As icing on the cake, it was nice to see them end Boston's' 12-game winning streak, doing it without presence of 21-year-old phenom Andrew Bynum, who hopes to return from a knee injury right before the playoffs begin in April. At the beginning of this season, the Celtics were cruising through their schedule as questions swirled about whether L.A. had the physical or mental toughness to de-throne the defending champions. Those questions are no longer being asked.

Without a hint of fan bias, I can proudly declare the Lakers are the team to beat.

For now, anyway.

Lakers vs. Celtics: A Rivalry Renewed

I realize that this is not supposed to be a sports blog, but my Lakers fever is boiling over this week! If you didn't already know, I have been a Los Angeles Lakers fan ever since I watched Magic Johnson on TV at a babysitter's house in the mid-80's. While my San Francisco-raised dad passed along his childhood affection for Y.A. Tittle's 49ers and Willie Mays' Giants (imparted to me in the form of Joe Montana and Will Clark), he was never really into basketball. Thus, I was free to love the Lakers.

I never knew I was mispronouncing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's name up until the 4th grade when he retired, but I loved to watch Magic run the "Showtime" fast break with James Worthy, Byron Scott and A.C. Green. If my Lakers license plate holder and 5-disc DVD box set are any indication, not much has changed in the past 20 years in terms of my NBA allegiance. I still haven't grown out of my childhood loyalty to the purple and gold, although you won't find any Eddie Jones or Nick Van Exel posters on my bedroom wall anymore (yes, the mid-90's were pretty dark days for Laker fans).

More recently, things were looking pretty gloomy last summer. The Lakers had just suffered their second straight first-round exit by the order of the Phoenix Suns. Kobe Bryant, forever the moody superstar, blasted the team's front office for poor trades, draft picks and personnel decisions. He then publicly demanded to be traded, but changed his mind a few days later after a conversation with Phil Jackson, the Laker's head coach and "Zen Master." As trade rumors swirled, everyone in Laker-land was pointing fingers in an attempt to explain why the once-powerful franchise had fallen into disarray ever since Shaquille O'Neal was traded to Miami after the 2003-2004 season. Laker fans were bracing for another lackluster season at best, and at worst, the loss of their most talented player. No one expected the team to improve at all in 07-08, much less get all the way back to the Finals.

Nine months later, fate has birthed a scenario that even the most optimistic of Laker fans did not anticipate. On America's opposite coast, the Boston Celtics have gone from miserable cellar dwellers to championship contenders by adding superstars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to go along with Paul Pierce to form the new "Big Three." An ESPN commercial humorously explores other names for this trio including The Parquet Posse (a reference to the parquet floor on Boston's home court), The Three Basketeers, Barrage A Trois, and The Boston Three Party. With the 3 stars sharing the load, the Celtics have improved from a 24-58 record last season to a league-best 66-16 this year, the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history.

The last time the Lakers won the NBA title was in 2002, the same year that one of my sisters graduated from High School. My other sister graduated from High School three days ago which could be a good sign considering the Lakers begin their NBA Finals duel with the Boston Celtics tomorrow night. David Stern, the NBA's longtime commissioner (read 'CEO') could not have asked for a more appealing product than a Lakers vs. Celtics matchup in the Finals, a showdown that promises to renew the storied rivalry that dates back to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the 80's as well as Jerry West and Bill Russell in the 60's.

The hype for the 2008 NBA Finals will likely make it the most watched series in the 10 years since Michael Jordan retired from the Chicago Bulls. ESPN has been re-playing nostalgic Lakers-Celtics games from the 80's all week long. Bryant is increasingly being compared to Jordan. Casual fans who haven't followed the NBA since Air Jordan's retirement are starting to catch the fever again. Even some of the NBA's detractors and basketball "purists" who once boycotted the league in protest of the highly commercialized, superstar driven, one-on-one oriented, hip hop image of the Association are finding that they can't help but pay attention to the Finals this year.

But it's more than just the superstars who are generating interest. It's also the tradition, the rivalry, the nostalgia and... good old fashioned teamwork. Both teams have gritty veterans, role players, 3-point specialists and lock-down defenders. Both clubs are actually playing excellent team basketball. The Celtics and Lakers are passing well, rebounding, making their free throws and playing solid defense. So what is the NBA coming to? Two teams that share the ball and play tough defense are also interesting and fun to watch? Yes, that was a swipe at the "good but boring" style of the Spurs and Pistons. It's been a special year for the NBA.

To be clear, I will always love college basketball. As I said in a blog post back in March, I still maintain that the NCAA tournament is my absolute favorite sporting event of the year. Nothing can match the teamwork, hustle and emotion of the college game. Duke and North Carolina have the best rivalry not just in college basketball, but in all of North American sports (I'm careful not to include the futbol/soccer, cricket and rugby rivalries found on other continents). Still, if you want to see the game of basketball played at its highest level, there's no match for the NBA with its great dynasties of Celtics, Lakers, Bulls and Spurs teams. So without further ado, here is my admittedly biased analysis of the 2008 NBA Finals in a nutshell.

What I'm looking forward to: The matchup of Kobe against Paul Pierce is going to be top-shelf entertainment. Both are terrific defenders, but they'll have to save their energy to take the big shots at the end of close games. It will be interesting to see how much they have to guard each other one-on-one. Either player can score 45 points if he's in 'the zone.' Another key matchup will be Kevin Garnett vs. Pau Gasol, the Lakers' recently acquired 7-foot Spaniard. No one plays harder than KG, but the Big Ticket has yet to show a real killer instinct in the playoffs so far. The Lakers will need Gasol, who can also be too laid back at times, to play very aggressively in order to win the series.

Why the Celtics should win: The 3 Amigos are all hungry to win their first championship, especially Kevin Garnett, who was the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year. If all three bring their A-game, they will win. The Celtics have gotten better as the playoffs have gone on. They were shaky in the first two rounds, but have peaked at the right time. In the only two games played against each other during the regular season, the Celtics won pretty convincingly over the Lakers. To be fair, both games were played before Los Angeles obtained Gasol, but neither game was very close. The Celtics also have home-court advantage, with the first 2 and last 2 games set to be played in Boston assuming the series goes the full 7 games. Boston has a 10-1 record at home in the playoffs this year and the Lakers will need to win at least one road game. If the Celtics win every home game, they win the series. It's as simple as that.

Why the Lakers should win: Everyone knows about Kobe Bryant. He's the league's reigning Most Valuable Player and by far the best at closing out games in the clutch. There are no weaknesses to his game and the comparisons to Jordan (which we've been hearing for the past 10 years) are actually starting to hold some water. If the Lakers pull off a series victory, it will be Kobe's 4th championship, just two less than Mr. Space Jam. At the ripe old age of 29, Bryant still has plenty of time for two more, especially since the rest of his team is so young. Paul Pierce and James Posey will play spirited defense against Kobe, so the biggest Laker advantages are their coaching experience (Phil Jackson has won 9 titles) and their deep bench of 5 reserves who can all play starter's minutes if needed. Derek Fisher usually plays well in big games and the Lakers underrated defense did a fine job dismantling the Spurs' exceptional trio of stars (Duncan, Parker, Ginobili) in the Western Conference Finals.

Fearless Prediction: It will be a fantastic series with at least one overtime game. The Lakers will win one of the first two contests in Boston, but the Celtics will steal one from Los Angeles at the Staples Center. The series will head back to Boston with the Lakers up 3 games to 2. The NBA's two greatest franchises will then battle it out in a Game 6 for the ages. The score will be close the entire way, but L.A. will prevail thanks to some late-game heroics by a Laker not named Kobe. Will it be Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar or Sasha Vujacic? Only time will tell. When it's finally over 2 weeks from now, the Lakers will have their 15th championship, just one behind the Celtics' all-time total of 16. Buckle up and enjoy the show!