Adam’s Random Ramblings: The Destruction of the Laker Dynasty

By Adam Gray

Sunday, May 8th was a sad day in Laker Nation. The purple and gold got swept–in embarrassing fashion, I might add–by the seemingly superior Dallas Mavericks. Surprisingly, that is not what pains me the most; it is the manner in which it happened.

This season had a different feel to it than that of past championship years. The aura of invincibility had worn off.  The Lakers looked uninspired, and everyone who supported LA kept falling back on the same excuse: We’ll turn the switch on when the playoffs roll around. We have been there before; we aren’t wasting our energy on the regular season. We’re the Lakers. We’re entitled. Well, the playoffs rolled around, and no switch was ever flipped.
       
How many times did I watch Derek Fisher monotonously walk the ball up the court, setting up the predictable triangle offense that has seemed to have lost its lore? How many times did I watch Ron Artest shoot an off balance shot, or commit a stupid foul? How many bricked Shannon Brown jumpers did I endure? How many times did Pau Gasol get out rebounded by someone smaller, just because he lacked the cajones to box out? On paper, the Lakers are juggernauts. On the court, however, they are divas… so title that once seemed preordained evaded them. Phil Jackson will retire, Kobe will grow old, and the LeBron-Wade-Rose-Dwight-Durant era will soon have taken over the NBA. It was inevitable… but nobody, at least not I, expected it to come so soon. Kobe won’t reach the vaunted air of Michael Jordan and his six NBA titles. Pau Gasol’s legacy has been forever tarnished (he totally disappeared in the playoffs), and Dr. Jerry Buss essentially wasted $90+ million in payroll.
       
So, what will happen next? Instead of riding off into the sunset, Jackson will retire in shame. Brian Shaw will likely inherit the head coaching spot. Who will stay? Who will go? How will Pau respond? Have we seen the last of Ron? Bynum? Is Dwight Howard coming? Has Blake Griffin taken over as the king of Los Angeles? Will Jack Nicholson renew his season tickets (haha–even I can find humor in this damper situation)? 
        
So here I sit, as the screen cuts to a shot of my favorite player riding the pine as his team endures an old fashioned ass-whoopin’. I feel bad for Mr. Bryant, but I feel worse for the legion of fans that the Lakers let down today. As my Mother tries to console me, she claims that “all good things must end, even the Lakers.” I guess she has a point; the Lakers have felt the high of being at the top of the NBA world, and now it’s time to settle down and be defeated–to the tune of a sweep at the hands of Mark Cuban, [Admin butting in]NBA247365.COM legend DeShawn Stevenson…

Oh you mad ’cause I’m stylin’ on you?

[/Admin]…and the Dallas Mavericks. 

The end.