If there is any team sport in which one player can be the deciding factor in every game he/she plays in, it is basketball. This is the sport where Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain can completely take over entire games and entire seasons, dominating to the point where there is no question what the outcome will be. This belief of mine is what makes it so hard to understand how Boston has taken a commanding 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
My prediction from the start was that L.A. would take the series, and in fewer than seven games. And it was based solely on Kobe Bryant's presence. But, as it turns out, the best player in the world is not enough sometimes.
Boston has played outstanding defense in all but two quarters in the series. They have turned up the intensity over and over, and L.A. has not been able to match them. Ray Allen is shooting the lights out, and the Celtics bench has found a way to contribute in every game. How much were Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo talked about in the Eastern Conference Finals? Now it has been about the scoring of Eddie House and the defense of James Posey (who has hit a couple clutch shots himself).
The Lakers, conversely, have been wildly inconsistent. Bryant has had flashes, but has mostly been average. Derek Fischer is a no-show, and Radmonivich and Vujacic can't be relied on game to game, or even quarter to quarter. Pau Gasol is having a solid series, but is being out-muscled time and again by Kevin Garnett. And, for the life of me, I cannot figure out how Phil Jackson can leave Jordan Farmar and Ronny Turiaf in for such long stretches in the second half. And is Jackson ever more pleased with himself than after he makes a sly remark to Michelle Tafoya between quarters?
But, for all this, I can't say that I have jumped off the Lakers bandwagon just yet. They will win Game 5. They are still a force at home, and still have Kobe Bryant. The extra day off will help them more than Boston, as the momentum of Thursday's frantic comeback will slip further away. And, as most are saying around the sports world, if it somehow gets to a Game 7, it will be hard to bet against Bryant. I won't predict a Lakers championship at this point, but I haven't given up them quite yet.
Oh, and speaking of almost-corrections, I may have spoken too soon on the Jim Edmonds topic. Shortly after my "bring back Matt Murton" rally, Edmonds proceeded to go 3 for 4, and has had some really clutch hits. Still, he is hitting in the low .200's, and with Soriano out, there is little to support the "get rid of Jim" argument.
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