If you have kids who love Basketball, they were lucky to have watched the Lakers clinch the NBA title Sunday night in Orlando. It's always a privilege to watch one of the all-time greats, and Kobe Bryant has resumed his glorious ascent through the pantheon.
Then again, if your kids missed the game, good. It's never fun to watch teams give up in the biggest game of their lives. Did you catch the blank expressions on the faces of Jameer Nelson, Courtney Lee and other Magic players late in the game? That's how they looked in the second quarter . That's how Dwight Howard, he of the flower-strength hands, looked all night quick summation of his impact on the game: zero . The Willie Mays statue would have been more effective at center, or any position, for this horribly flawed team.
With the Lakers in the middle of a 16-0 first-half run, Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy called time and yelled, "We're not even tryin' out there!" He must have meant Howard. Or Hedo Turkoglu, who saw Derek Fisher driving for a layup and gave a half-hearted defensive effort. Or Rashard Lewis, throwing a terrible pass and then jogging down the court in its wake.
You know what's bizarre about Bryant's resume? For all of his fabulous effort, putting him at least into the conversation with the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in playoff history, he still hasn't beaten anybody.
During the run of three straight titles with Shaquille O'Neal 2000-02, Bryant's Lakers beat a terrible Indiana team, a bunch of Philadelphia 76ers worshiping at the shrine of Allen Iverson, and the painfully ordinary New Jersey Nets. And now this. Big win on the road over a bunch of slackers hanging out by the 7-Eleven.
This is why we need a Kobe-vs.-LeBron James final, some year, somehow. If LeBron ever finds some teammates who actually can play, we just might see it.
