| 08 April 2011
Over the past few weeks, it was very easy to get extremely excited about how the Lakers were playing.
Andrew Bynum was back, healthy, and playing like a voracious monster, swallowing entire backboards whole in his rebounding efforts. Kobe was playing well enough to get his name mentioned - albeit briefly - in MVP conversations. Lamar Odom was solidifying his position as the preeminent name on the 6th Man Award lists. Pau Gasol was looking confident and comfortable away from the basket, his 15 footer looking like money every time. The Killer B's were playing in a way that merited the name. And Ron Artest was flexing/kissing his way further into the hearts of Laker-fans the globe over.
What fan wouldn't become invested in that ride?
And... the San Antonio Spurs went on a well-advertised slide. Dropping six straight, and with every game the spiral downwards seeped further and futher into a destined fall from grace.
All of a sudden, the number 1 seed in the West - perhaps the whole association - began to look not only attainable, but inevitable.
I thought... scratch that. I knew that LA was going to continue to roll, and take the 1 seed. It was kismet.
Then simultaneously, LA lost and SA didn't. Worse yet, the Laker-players didn't look like they really cared, and Phil Jackson certainly didn't. Tight games, and yet the starters weren't playing the minutes they could be.
Talk about deflating.
It takes a bit of exploration as to some of the other motivating factors before the 'reasons why' begin to be apparent.
Now - preemptively - I am not suggesting that the Lakers intended to lose games, nor am I saying that they're tanking at all. Just... that the games/losses aren't as important as late season losses usually are. And this thought process is definitely the reason why these losses haven't bothered me overly.
LA are firmly intrenched at the second seed for the Western Conference. San Antonio clinched the top seed, and Dallas are two games behind with four games to go and LA holding the tie-breaker should they finish equal. OKC are a full game behind them in 4th place, and Denver sold at 5th. Portland, NOLA, Memphis are possibilities for some flux, but in all likelihood the Grizzlies will be 8th.
So... LA will likely face either Portland/New Orleans for the first round (at the moment it's the Hornets), and working on the assumption that they win that, they would have the Dallas Mavericks as a second round match up.
If they had scraped through to win the 1st seed, the first round series would be Memphis, followed up by the winner of the OKC/Denver series.
I would much rather see LA face NOLA or Portland than Memphis. Memphis match up rather well with both LA and SA. And of the teams ranked 6-8, I see the Grizz as the toughest opponent.
New Orleans sans West? I think LA would eat 'em alive.
Portland... whilst the Rose Garden has in the past provided a serious impediment to the Lakers, they seem to have gotten over that hoodoo this season. Another team that simply lacks the size to trouble LA.
This issue of match-ups becomes even more pronounced in the second round. Two teams that are very intriguing at the moment are Denver and OKC. That is going to be a series for the ages. Definitely the marquis matching of the first round for both conferences.
Wanna play the winner?
Preferably not. Whilst I think that LA would most likely get past either, I'd rather Dallas.
So in short: winning the 1 seed'd be great... but the path to the Western Conference Final becomes a whole lot bumpier.
LA will finish second. And I'm fine with that.
