The Day After

Last night I wrote some harsh things, some of it I meant and some of it I did not. What I realized today was that I and other Laker fans should focus on the great season this was and the future ahead. Last October, the Lakers were not sure of what they had, they were most likely looking at another first round bounce from the playoffs. When the season started off slow and then Andrew Bynum found his footing, with dunk after dunk, rebound after rebound,and block after block he reminded us of how good he could be. By mid December they looked like a contender but they weren't at the Western Conference Championship level yet. At the beginning of January it was all smiles when anyone mention the Lakers to me, Kobe began to make his teammates better, Andrew was finally showing why the Lakers wouldn't trade him for Kidd, the Lakers had a chance. Just as fast as his rise came his fall came even faster, Andrew Bynum was injured and looking at 6-8 weeks. All that us Laker fans could hope for, was that Kobe could hold the team together until he got back. Then Christmas game early, Santa was Jerry West and the gift was Pau, the Lakers were right back into contenders immediately. Pau fit beautifully into the triangle from day one, and all we kept saying was imagine how good they'll be when Bynum gets back. 6-8 weeks turned into 3 months, then the beginning of the playoffs, then the second round, then the first round, then the finals, then not at all, see-sawing back and forth between he will be back this season and next season. The final news came in the first round, he would be back by the preseason, at this point we did not care. The Lakers offense was rolling and the team looked unbeatable. That was until we ran into a wall, the Celtics defense, they made the Lakers look like a lottery team in each game of the series. They turned Kobe into just another guy, and they deserved every win they got. The championship is now rightfully in Boston, they were the best team and Los Angeles did nothing to disagree with the statement.

Yet at the end of this season I could not be happier, sure I did not like seeing my Lakers embarrassed, but they weren't supposed to be there yet. The future is brighter then ever in LA, and I cannot wait for the opening tip of the 2008-09 season.

As this summer moves along, we will all hear the different rumors that seem to swirl around the Lakers every off season. The rumors will most likely include names like Artest, Jamison, Baron, and Gilbert but I am happy with the names like Walton, Vujacic, Farmar, and Odom. This failure in the finals is going to be a learning experience for the young Lakers and it will pay off in the end and all I want to do is ask Mitch to please keep the team together and the championship banner will be raised once again in Staples.