(left: Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol)
As of today, the Los Angeles Lakers are down 2-0 in a best of 7 series versus the Dallas Mavericks. Both losses, which took place in L.A., had the favored Lakers falling short by a 2 point buzzer beater in the first game and lost the second game by a commanding 12 points. Kobe Bryant had a chance to hit the winning shot in Game 1, but he missed. There would be no game winning shot attempt in Game 2, as the Mavericks total team effort left the Staples Center's crowd booing their home team in the final seconds.
For the past several years the Lakers have been the favorite to win it all, and with good reason. In the last 6 years they have had 3 consecutive championships and a back to back title run leaving few doubting them coming into this season. Picking the Lakers to win is always the safe bet, but it seems that the era of the Lakers dominating the playoffs could be over.
The Dallas Mavericks, in my opinion, have the better team. The Mavericks have way more scoring options than the Lakers do, not to mention the Dallas bench rarely puts the team at risk with players afraid to shoot the ball while passing up open looks at the basket. Something the Lakers have yet to learn when Gasol and Kobe are on the bench.
The top 3 performers for Dallas in Game 1 were Dirk Nowitzki with 28 points and 14 rebounds, Jason Terry with 15 points and Tyson Chandler with 11 points and 9 rebounds. The top 3 performers for the Lakers in that game were Kobe Bryant with 36 points, Odom and Gasol with 15 points each and a total of 23 rebounds. Those were the only Lakers who scored in double digits compared to the Mavericks' 5 players scoring 10 or more points.
Game 2 had the Lakers starters playing great compared to Game 1. Kobe had 23 points, Bynum had 18 and 13 rebounds, Gasol had 13 and 10 rebounds, Artest had 11 points with 4 points from Derrick Fisher. A total of 69 points. So why did they lose Game 2? The Lakers bench scored a total of 12 points. The Mavericks starters combined for 63 points but their bench helped out with 30 points of their own.
So what does this all mean? Well its quite simple, actually.
The Dallas Mavericks are, right now, a much better team compared to the Lakers who are, historically, a better team. Now it's common sense to never count out the reigning champ, but it was only a matter of time before the Lakers started to lose their footing. The roster has been pretty much the same for the last few years and teams were bound to figure them out. You can't quite lay the blame on age as both teams are filled with veterans. Injuries are not playing a major factor either, although when it suits them, Kobe's list of injuries are either fan fodder or excuses. All that aside, it may simply be the changing of the guard.
The Chicago Bulls have 6 championships under the leadership of Michael Jordan. The Lakers so far have 5 championships in the Kobe Bryant era. Not bad at all. So why is it so hard to believe that their winning days are coming to an end? Kobe possibly retiring in 2 years and coach Phil Jackson, also the coach during the Bulls' Jordan era, is said to retire at the end of this playoff run, likely leaving the Lakers in disarray.
True the Mavericks don't sell as many jerseys as the Lakers do, but 11 consecutive 50 plus winning seasons, a veteran star in Nowitzki who scores an average of 23 points per game while shooting just under 50%, another proven veteran in Jason Kidd, a tough and active big man in Tyson Chandler and the 2009 6th Man of the Year Jason Terry, not to mention a bench that can produce, have the Mavericks wondering why they are not favored to win, despite Kobe and Gasol's many past accomplishments.
In all honesty, I had picked the Lakers to win this series, not out of any loyalty to the team, but more based on the fact that they have been able to rise to the occasion over the years and always seem capable of pulling out a win, even in the most desperate situations. Now it seems everyone might need to take a step back and look at the big picture. There is nothing wrong with judging teams based on past accomplishments, but I think it's time we take on the famous expression used to snap dreamers back to reality, "Stop living in the past, the future is now".
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