Lakers embarrassed

Custer stood a better chance of survival. The Los Angeles Kings could have fared better.  The utter destruction of the Los Angeles Lakers this past week in Game 6 of the NBA Finals was an incredible display of lack of heart, toughness and an all too common I don't care mentaility.  I know that Custer lost:  At least he and his guys went down swinging.  With the exception of Kobe Bryant's arseanal of scud missles fired mostly from the vicinity of the Atlantic Ocean the Lakers went down without a word.  Now Phil Jackson is being slammed in the media and without a doubt deserves a big helping of blame; However when the team is down 30 you can take all the coaching out of it and old Phil got the entire second half to work on his visualization techniques as ANYTHING had to be easier to watch than what was going on in Beantown.  It was long, it was graphic and it never ended.  The Boston faithful got to exercise their demons from the Patriots loss and it was the Lakers who played the patsy.  It wasn't enough that the Celtics looked angry for even having to play another game;  The epic debacles in game 4 and 5 in Los Angeles where the Lakers blew seemingly insurmountable leads late in games were merely a precursor to this Celtic feeding frenzy.  I no longer want to hear anyone compare Kobe and MJ.  That comparison died a slow painful death in front of millions in the last 6 games.  Kobe, I believe is the best individual player in the NBA now, but then again this isn't golf or tennis.  You got to have some teamates and then they actually have to show up.  The defensive effort of Paul Pierce on Kobe was nothing short of remarkable.  Pierce saw his already shiny star reach another level and Kobe turned out to be a mere mortal after all.  Does anyone really think that would have happened to MJ ?  Maybe, but then again, it never did.  The Laker I felt bad for was tested and true Derek Fisher.  Fisher is the consumate professional and at times single handedly kept the Lakers in games.  Jordan Farmar started playing big minutes when Phil's international quartet started having that deer in the headlight look that all international players had prior to the 1992 olympics.  It seemed at time the Lakers internationals would be better served trying to secure autographs from Pierce, Ray Allen and Garnett.  They were absolutely humiliated and this one could last a long time. Gasol will be a very good player in the league, but what the Celtics did to him may have Dr. Buss and Phil Jackson resorting to an exorcist to rid him of those memories.  Sasha got burned more times than a waffle house fry cook at 3am by Ray Allen.  How many times in a row can you go under the screen and Allen fades for a three ?  Jackson finally got enough of watching that one play and mercifully took him out.  I do have to save my harshest criticism for Lamar Odom.  The self styled KG of the west coast was the biggest bust of anyone and it was his lack of effort more than anything else.  Maybe he and ex NBA ref Donnahey had a line on the game ?  I will take the Lakers and 50 ?  Think that went to any Vegas books ?  Odom disrespected anyone who has ever worn the Lakers uniform with his lack of effort.  Somewhere Wilt has to be scratching his head.  A wonderfully talented but seemingly always underachieving Odom became the poster child for the debacle.  Could Kobe have rescued them ?  Not on this night when the ghost of Red was gleefully lighting up yet another cigar.  The difference was this one came pretty much at halftime.  Kudos to the Celtics and their complete domination of the Lakers and the NBA Championship. It was well deserved and they did it the old school way with hard work, toughness and defense.  The Lakers were a shooting star and as is such with those-  the burn out and fade away.

Somewhere Michael Jordan was watching the game and smiling to himself.  So was Pippen and Rodman, their place in history secured for a long long time.