As the TNT NBA playoff analysis winded down last night, with ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s Michael Jackson parody ‘Fat’ playing behind Charles Barkley’s cracks at Rockets forward Luis Scola’s ‘beer gut’ (Chuck’s not really one to talk), I realized something. Sunday’s duo of games, which had the potential to be thrilling contests, just didn’t deliver.
Yesterday’s doubleheader of game sevens featured both of last season’s conference champions. On the brink of elimination, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics fought to defend their titles. Or at least that’s what all the media hype leading up to the games told us was going to happen. In the end, the Lakers didn’t really fight ‘mdash; they simply started playing slightly better than awful ‘mdash; and the Celtics aren’t exactly the same team they were last year.
The Lakers defense decided to show up to Staples Center, but only because it needed to. Pretty much everyone could predict the outcome of this game. Faced with the prospect of elimination in just the second round, the defending Western Conference champions with arguably the most talented roster in the league showed some effort. And that’s all they needed to beat a Rockets team debilitated by injuries to their all-stars.
Their Lakers’ defense wasn’t stellar, but it was good enough.
Los Angeles held Scola in check ‘mdash; which shouldn’t have been a tough task without Yao Ming to worry about in the paint and Tracy McGrady to worry about all over the court ‘mdash; and got in the passing lanes to create turnovers and force the Rockets to play sloppy offense. But as jumbled as the Rockets were, the Lakers committed four more turnovers than Houston.
The Lakers didn’t play well, but they played good enough.
Los Angeles should have been dominating the early rounds of the playoffs a la Michael Jordan’s Bulls teams if they are really looking for a championship this season. Because, from here on out, there won’t be any more ‘easy’ playoff matchups.
The team will now face a Denver Nuggets squad that has been impressive thus far in the postseason. Still, there is no doubt that the Lakers still have more talent than the Nuggets. The conference finals will be a tougher test for Los Angeles, but it’s definitely one that the team should pass.
One thing is certain though: Against the Nuggets, good enough ain’t going to cut it. And good enough is definitely not going to make Los Angeles where ‘Amazing Happens.’
But with Kevin Garnett out, Orlando’s dominance over the Celtics wasn’t as sweet as I had hoped. Even though the big storyline of the game was a possible elimination for the defending champions, with KG on the sidelines, Boston just didn’t feel like the same team that won last season. And the fact that the Celtics weren’t able to keep the game competitive just made it boring.
Here’s hoping Sunday was just an off day in the playoffs that have given us several thrills so far. Or maybe the Lakers will just make it to the finals by just playing good enough.