Los Angeles Lakers Melt Down

Heaped adulation for Rep. Manny Pacquiao’s victory over the ageing Shane Mosley is here to stay till days after his return home. Repeating over and over and over in the news how the congressman from Saranggani province out-pointed Mosley makes no sense.

Basketball is the most popular sports in this country although not our national sports. So far, I have not seen any “breaking news” from Manila papers internet editions saying that the Los Angeles Lakers were swept into the dustpan by the Dallas Mavericks in a stunning fashion.

When the Lakers suffered their third defeat, I knew that they were finished.

What went wrong with the mighty Lakers? They were a worse team than the Mavericks of course. For the dazed Lakers fans, who of them expected the result of the series?

I am not a Lakers fan but in fairness to them, they were a powerhouse under Phil Jackson until they melted down in the post-season conference. If I were a Lakers fan, I say that things could be different if Kobe Bryant is not a selfish player. He makes a lot of shots that don’t count. Bryant is not the same Bryant of five years ago. Unfortunately, Kobe has a hard time accepting that fact.

Frustrated for the team’s sure embarrassing defeat, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom were ejected after committing flagrant fouls.  Resulting into such dirty tricks is a clear sign of unsportsmanlike the young must not emulate.

That made the Lakers performance worse. However, the team, during regular course of the season when the Lakers are winning, they appear to be the best players that they can easily defeat their opponents at will. I understand the pride exuding from the back to back champions. The luster of that pride was totally shut off by the Mavericks with unbelievable result.

If it is true that Phil Jackson now goes into retirement, it’s heavy for him to bring along his first and last career sweep out defeat. He is one of the greatest coaches in the NBA history if he is not the best. I wonder though why he left the Chicago Bulls when Jordan was no longer there. Probably Jackson knew that the Bulls were no longer championship contenders.

Years later, Jackson came back to coach the formidable Los Angeles Lakers of Kobe Bryant and Shaquile O’Neal where they won five championships.

Probably Jackson also sees the deterioration of the Los Angeles Lakers --- they are no longer a threat to other teams next year.

If there is a coaching vacancy on what Jackson perceives as a strong team, I'm sure that he ends his retirement and be on the floor again directing games.

We wish Phil Jackson and the Lakers well. Hopefully the famed Lakers can regroup and reinvent themselves under a new coach.

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Photo Credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LA_Lakers_logo.svg