The Best in the NBA! (Twice?) And perhaps in a league of their own.

If you’re not interested in NBA basketball, don’t bother reading this blog post because it is forever long if you’re not interested. It is just a collection of thoughts that I’ve been waiting to share until after a Lakers championship victory. So here it is:

The L.A. Lakers repeat trip to the NBA Finals this year was a success as the Lakers captured the championship easily over the Orlando Magic after dominating them on both the offensive as well as the defensive ends of floor. The ease in which it took for them to defeat the Magic, a team which beat both the defending champion Celtics and Cavaliers (two teams that the Lakers swept in the regular season) begs the question of whether or not the Lakers are just an Andrew Bynum and a Trevor Ariza away from back-to-back championships. Last year the Boston Celtics won the title in a 4 games to 2 series in which many have credited the Celtics for blowing out the Lakers. The Celtics did win the final game by a huge margin, but aside from that, the rest of the games were very competitive and hard fought and could have gone either way. To say that the Celtics blew out the Lakers would be to ignore the previous 5 games of the series. Though I do not deny that the Celtics did play better and were the better team in the finals last year, I do have to put a asterisk beside their victory, as the Lakers competed soundly without two of their best players, Bynum and Ariza. It would not be impossible to say that by having both of them in the game, the series last year could have been much different.

Most Celtics fans, of course, will want to place an asterisk by this year’s victory for the Lakers since Kevin Garnett was out with an injury during the post season and was not able to defend his title. But I think it would not be a fair comparison since the Lakers dominated the Celtics in the regular season, even with Garnett, and also since the Celtics struggled against every playoff opponent this year and didn’t even come close to defending their championship in the finals. If the Celtics could have gotten to the finals without Garnett the way that the Lakers did last year without Bynum and Ariza, then I think they would have a case to put an asterisk by this year’s loss. As it stands, the Lakers were just one or two games and a Bynum and Ariza away from possible back-to-back championships.

As is apparent in my message here, I have obvious anti-Celtic and pro-Lakers bias, but I really don’t think the two teams compare. Especially considering the Lakers are among the youngest teams in the NBA and are getting better, whereas the Celtics are past their prime and aging quickly. Without a serious mix-up in lineups next year, I doubt the Celtics, even with Garnett, stand much of a chance against the Lakers.

Obviously, I’ve been holding onto my sentiments for a long time now, which explains my long-winded posting now. But I finally feel that I can talk because the Lakers were able to secure a victory that validates my points. Barring a serious mix-up in the Lakers personnel or possible injuries next year, I expect the Lakers to repeat again next year (or is it 3-peat?). Go Lakers!