There would come a series or a game that would make or break their character, their desire, their hunger and their will to win. Unfortunately for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, that ultimate test was the NBA Finals! And it they groped for form. No! Wait, they tried to grope for form, which they never did, for what they did was to blame each other for their demise. Some attribute it to not having Andrew Bynum, a legitimate post-presence and shot-blocker. Some blame softies Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. They were both outplayed and out-hustled by the Boston bigs.

And some judge Bryant as no-Michael Jordan, and will never be. A leader who failed to raise the bar, and lead his team to win. He bogged down, he faded. When the Lakers needed him the most, he was not there to show. And he constantly yelled at his teammates, a kind of motivation that may not apply to a young and inexperienced team. He should have scored more when he had to, break down the defense as he should, and provide the energy and inspiration so that his teammates will follow suit. When needed, Jordan would put up 45 or even 63 points to flame that desire in his teammates. Kobe never had any 40-point game. Hell, he did not even reach 35. He failed to show the way when it mattered most.

The real champions have no excuses. Jordan had none. He blamed no one but himself when they lost to Orlando in 1995. But he came back stronger than ever. He used all summer to train and rejuvenate his game. We never heard that Toni Kukoc or Scottie Pippen did not show up. He led and inspired. That’s why since he went to the NBA Finals, he gave it his all. He treated it like there was no tomorrow. He had no dominant or All-Star big man to rely on. He relied on himself and his teammates no matter what their games are. And when he lost some games, he had himself to blame. I’ll never forget how he willed himself to win that crucial Game Five against Utah in 1997. It did not matter to him that he was ill and was hampered by a stomach virus. He rose up to the occasion! He scored 38, including that clutch three.

Kobe should do that. He should instill within him that flame and drive to win, and should show up when it matters, when every chip is falling down, and when his teammates cowardly ducked behind him. He should take that responsibility to wipe that fear and cowardice. He should lead by example. He should start now! Start as early as now to train again and make his game better, and study why he faded against Boston.

 

Anyway, going back to my premise, Boston had that defining moment in the first two rounds. They were in trouble against Atlanta and Cleveland. They lost all their road games, and had to rely on their home floor to win. They had shaky moments, but Paul Pierce did a great job in inspiring and leading his team. Sure he had Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to help him. But both still struggled at times, especially Allen. But Pierce did was to feed off from its hunger, and fought back. They hurdled all obstacles and silenced the nay-sayers. A lot had doubts, but they never doubted themselves.

And when the chips were falling, their leader, Pierce was there to pick up the pieces. Pierce was there to score 36 a game after they lost at home against Detroit. Pierce was there and emotionally triumphed in using that hunger to make his teammates hustle. Pierce was there to elevate the Celtics game. And everyone thereafter followed him. Allen regained his deadly touch, Eddie House and James Posey were diving for loose balls, Kendrick Perkins and PJ Brown were rebounding. Leon Powe started driving to the basket uncontested. Yes, Pierce started it all! When that ultimate test challenged Boston most especially in the first two rounds and loosing the home-court advantage against Detroit, Pierce was there.

They never had it easy in the play-offs except the Finals. They were challenged all throughout the lesser talented Eastern Conference. And when the time came when they had to engage the best of the ever-competitive West, they were battle-tested. They were ready! And that is why, they deserve to be crowned as NBA Champions! (photos courtesy of yahoo nba)

Infusing a 36-year old 350-pound Shaquille O’Neal into a system entirely different from his orientation messed up the identity of Phoenix. You let go of a guy who fits perfectly into the run-and-gun style of play in Shawn Marion, and bring in the Big Cactus into the fold is much different from the letting-go of useless Kwame Brown, a rookie and future draft picks, then getting a dominant big man in Pau Gasol, which the Los Angeles Lakers did. The arrival of O’Neal totally needs an overhauling of the Suns system, and I believe this can be done. It just needs time. Time they don’t have. Like Raja Bell said during their 3-6 run upon Shaq’s arrival, “We are still in preseason form.” Yes, they were and still are, while the rest of the league have been warming-up for the post-season.

And beating the defending champions in the first round is too much to ask from these Suns who are still assimilating Shaq into the fold, and D’Antoni has to adapt and even change his system for his arrival. Sure, they appear to have incorporated the Diesel into the team’s system, but they still haven’t. The proof! They lost the big games.

They could have totally avoided the Spurs in the first round, if only, they have beaten Houston on April 11. Yes that game! They were beaten big-time, 90-101. They did beat Houston, the Rockets’ second defeat after going 22-0, but they needed to win that April 11 encounter more. That was the tie-breaker right there. They could have been fifth, not sixth, and it is much different to face San Antonio, than facing Utah. Yes, they may have beaten the Spurs thrice in four encounters, but that was the regular season. San Antonio is totally different team in the play-offs. They have lots of experience playing together, and they have semi-dominated this decade. Four titles in nine years. That’s a feat, and three titles with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Those three know how to win. And an identity-searching team like Phoenix is no match for them.

In a closely-fought and tight Western Conference, that single loss ended the season for the Suns. And fate was not on their side either. Duncan made a magical three, his first the whole season, in Game One. That forced a second overtime, and with Amare Stoudemire fouling out, they had the slimmest of chance. They were supposed to win it, but it was not theirs from the very start. The breaks all went San Antonio’s way. And champions as the Spurs are, they surely have awaken from a momentary slumber in Game Four. They have been here before. They know how to close out teams.

If only they won against Houston on that April 11 game. They should be facing Utah now. They should still be in the fight. Who knows it could be them in the second round, and facing the Lakers. And they would have been better, having to experience what it’s like to have Shaq in the playoffs. Not against the Spurs, it would have been better to experiment having Shaq around against the Jazz. If only they have beaten Houston, and not fall down to them 90-101. If only… (photos courtesy of yahoonba.com)

First, he had Shaquille O’Neal for his first three championship rings, and then he missed the play-offs when the big fella left. Phil Jackson came back, and stirred the Lakers to two straight play-off appearances. But the problem was, they lost also twice in the first round. The first and second for Jackson.. ever!

Then, the Lakers management made the boldest move. They realize Bryant cannot do it alone and he is no Michael Jordan. So they decided to bring in Pau Gasol in an obvious and blatant one-sided deal with Memphis! And they are winning again, even topping the West for some time, until Gasol got injured. The New Orleans Hornets took over.

And now Gasol has returned. And they are winning again. Kobe may have scored 81, but he can never make his teammates better. Sad to say. (pics courtesy of wikia.com)

After scoring just 12 points in the first half, Bryant exploded for 26 in the second half, including an off-balanced triple against Raja Bell, the Suns defensive specialist. Bryant was unstoppable in the second half, and he capped the third quarter with a buzzer-beating reverse dunk, as he blew by Bell, and dunked over Brian Skinner.

Bryant scored 38 points and added eight assists. He had several fade-away jumpers against Shawn Marion.

An additional factor to their struggle is the loss of Amare Stoudemire to injury. Amare is taking things slow right now, as he has still to recover from arthroscopic surgery. Only six players scored for Phoenix in that Atlanta game including two-time MVP Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Grant Hill, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa. No one else stepped up form the bench. Nash had to score 34, and Marion with 20. Hill had a measly 13. Hill and Diaw should plug-in the scoring holes left by the departure of Stoudemire.

But the good news is the Suns were 1-5 to start last year’s season, and they had a stellar campaign. They could have been crowned champions if not for referee betting controversy and other unfortunate incidents.

However, the Suns would still need a lot of help from the bench. At this rate, the starters may have spent all their energy this early, with nothing left come March and April!

Currently, they are doing so well in the pre-season. They are 4-0, and Diogu, Dunleavy Jr and Murphy have had double-scoring games. The factors that has contributed to this success are the hiring of new coach Jim O’Brien and the additions of former Laker Kareem Rush and former Magic Travis Diener.

The philosophy of O’Brien is an uptempo type of game. He wants franchise player Jermaine O’Neal to draw the defense, and pass the ball to the shooters. And they have a lot of players who can burn the rim from the outside. Both additions Diener and Rush are excellent three-point bombers. While big men Murphy and Dunleavy Jr can hit from rainbow territory as well.

There is a lot of excitement from the Pacers camp this season. And their new-found games and philosophies may be the gateway back to the postseason wars. At least now, a first-round appearance is highly probable.

If I were to choose a destination for Bryant, I’d say it’s gonna be the Phoenix Suns, in a trade that should include Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks and future draft picks. Marion has been asking to be shipped out for some time now, and Banks is of no use to the Suns. Their salary-cap may bloat a bit, but it would be best for the Suns to have Kobe in their line-up.

Bryant has shown that he can concentrate on defense and not hog the ball only if he has able teammates at his side. It was evident in his stint with the US Team in the recent FIBA Americas. In Phoenix, he will have a lot of scoring help from Amare Stoudemire, Boris Diaw, Leandro Barbosa and even from Steve Nash. Plus Nash knows where to give him the ball. It will be a renewed spirit for Kobe if he goes to Phoenix.

When you are in that zone, it’s okay to shoot improbable shots, but when you are ice cold you’ve got to pass it to open teammates. That was the case Sunday night. Bryant scored 28 first half points and was 11-of-17 from the floor. He was unstoppable shooting fade-aways and draining threes from the right elbow. He had no assists however.

The Suns then changed their defensive plan in the second half, throwing two or even three bodies at Kobe. The result, Kobe was a miserable 4-of-16 in the second half, and just 11 points, a measly pale comparison to his first half numbers.

This was what Coach Phil Jackson feared the most. Kobe used too much energy at the start of the game, such that he was not able to finish the way he should. Kobe continued to shoot over two defenders even though he was ice cold. Raja Bell and Marion always had a hand on his face whenever he took the shots. He also failed to drive to the hole, or even pass to open teammates. He did make a wonderful pass to Andrew Bynum in the third quarter, as he hung in the air, and threw a bullet to the wide-open Bynum in the paint. But that was just it.

The Lakers extended the series to seven games last season because Bryant was unselfish. Phoenix was mesmerized with the way Los Angeles passed the ball around, with Smush Parker, Lamar Odom and Luke Walton contributing in double-digit efforts. They even led, 3-1, after four games, before the Suns figured out the way to stop the united Lakers.

If this game one is a telltale of things to come, the series might be over before you can even blink. Bryant has to realize that he cannot do this alone. He needs to trust his teammates for them to have a fighting chance against a formidable fluid Suns offense.

The cast for the Eastern Conference Playoffs has been completed for some time now, but the match-ups have yet to be determined. Most teams, especially the Central Division, are still battling for two of the top four slots, and gain home court advantage. Detroit has clinched the top spot, but Cleveland is just a half game behind Chicago for the second seed.

Out West however, the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers are slugging it out for the eighth and last spot. Hell, the Clippers may even snatch the seventh spot if the Lakers lose their last assignment. Right now, the Warriors own that eighth spot at 40-40, just one game ahead of the Clippers (39-41). The Warriors have won their last three games, while the Clippers lost four of its last six, a bad omen for the Los Angeles boys.

The Clippers would love to go back-to-back in postseason wars. The last time they did that was in the 1991-93 seasons. They have Phoenix and New Orleans as their last assignments. A lone win, coupled with two Golden State losses, will catapult them to the play-offs since they own the tie breaker.

The Warriors, on the other hand, will clinch that play-off spot if they win their last two games. Thus, in any scenario, they need to win their last two meetings, one with Dallas and the other with Portland, to avoid any complications.

For me, I would like Golden State to go to the play-offs. Why? First, their coach, Don Nelson, was the one who brought the Dallas franchise back to life as he stirred the Mavericks to successive play-off appearances from 1999-2005, after the ballclub has stayed in limbo for a decade. What drama would emanate if Nelson faces his former team. It is also important to note that Nelson was the last coach to guide the Warriors franchise to their postseason appearance back in 1993-94 when his General Manager, Chris Mullin, was still playing for him.

Second, Golden State holds the edge against Dallas in their season series. And only two other teams have won twice against the Mavericks. They are Phoenix and Utah. But the Warriors may sweep Mark Cuban’s boys tomorrow, and hold that psychological advantage coming into the first round.

Lastly, I would love to see another running team making it to the postseason. That will really make it more exciting. Imagine Dallas, Phoenix, Denver, the Lakers and Golden State Warriors in the play-offs and eventually beating methodical and boring ballclubs like the Jazz and the Spurs. I would just love to see that.