Loaded Legendary Lakers

Phil Jackson has gold band number ten and Kobe Bryant his fourth. The two Lakers legends are loaded with rings and have cemented chairs in the NBA hall. The Los Angeles Head Coach and MVP each earned another NBA championship after the Lakers overcame Orlando 99-86 in Game 5 of the Finals. L.A. stomped the Magic 4-1 in the series to claim their title. It was the 15th franchise championship for L.A.. Los Angeles’ 15 titles are two shy of Boston’s all-time record. Sunday’s trophy raising was Jackson’s fourth with the Lakers and tenth of all time, and places the legend as the winningest coach in NBA history. The Zen Master passed famed Celtics coach, Red Auerbach, on the all-time list. Game 5 marked Jackson’s 300th career playoff game.
Bryant was declared Finals MVP and captured the coveted championship seven years after winning with Shaquille O’Neal and a year from failing against Boston. Sunday, Bryant scored 30 points and averaged 32.4 during the series. Kobe finished with six rebounds, four blocked shots and five assists. The tall Spaniard, Pau Gasol, chipped in 14 points and reeled in 15 rebounds for Los Angeles. Despite falling behind by nine points in the first quarter, L.A. fought back with a leaping surge in the second. The Lakers trailed halfway through the second quarter before taking off. Derek Fisher nailed a three pointer to set the stage for the purple pests. They went on a 16-0 run, capped by forward, Trevor Ariza, scoring 7 of his 15 points and Fisher hauling in five. Ariza excelled and effectively drew fouls while attacking the basket. The Magic went about four and a half minutes without scoring a point during the second quarter Lakers lashing.
The Lakers lapped up a ten point lead, 56-46, as they headed into the locker room following the stellar second quarter. Orlando went on their own brief run after halftime. Their third quarter rally cut a ten point deficit to a five point Lakers lead. The Magic’s errant and inefficient play doomed them down the stretch. Lamar Odom controlled the paint and stepped up for L.A. with two 3-pointers for 6 of his 17 points. Odom also had 10 rebounds for a team that was in front of Orlando by as many as 18 in the second half. Bryant seemingly put the game out of reach with a jumper over Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu with eight ticks remaining in the game. Stan Van Gundy called a timeout but the Magic were prematurely raising the white flag on this Flag Day.
Los Angeles would not need a Game 6 for their most recent title. The Magic were never able to recover, turning the ball over and playing poorly. Orlando committed ten turnovers in the middle periods and were blanketed with little room to shoot. Los Angeles had a healthy advantage on the glass all night as the Magic were unsuccessful in recovering loose balls. Coach Van Gundy’s team shot just 8-of-27 from long range as they fell at home and lost a chance to return to Los Angeles. For a team that relies heavily on the three, this was not the night for the Magic to take off. Rashard Lewis led Orlando with 18 points but was only 3-of-12 from the arch. Dwight Howard grabbed 10 rebounds while scoring 11. Superman was never a factor last night, taking just nine shots and never getting things going to lead his team.
The Lakers were the better basketball team. They were the best all season and so remarkable they didn’t drop three straight games at all. The beat down in Boston a year ago seemed to inspire Bryant most. The All-Star Laker came out with a desire to win and completed his mission. The 30 year old would not come up short in 2009 and his outstanding play earned him the most valuable player. He took control of all possessions and showed grit when the games were on the line. Kobe became the only Laker besides Magic Johnson to record 8 assists in six consecutive postseason games. He also became the first since Michael Jordan to tally at least 25 points and have 8 assists in three straight Finals games. Although Bryant was the main ingredient in the Lakers’ recipe for success, role players mixed in some necessary reinforcements. The team’s nucleus was just as vital to victory as the beloved Bryant. Fisher was a steadying force in capturing his fourth ring. He came back to L.A. after stints in Golden State and Utah to propel the offense behind Bryant. Fisher’s three-point shot to force overtime and then 27 footer to seal the deal in the extra session of Game 4 was an important play. The 34 year old came into Game 5 trailing only two players for most three-pointers in NBA Finals history. Bryant was helped by the entire L.A. roster. In Game 5, four of his teammates scored in double figures to assist his incredulous effort. Gasol played second fiddle and was rewarded with a ring following his voyage from Memphis 16 months ago. The European adequately defended Lewis at the post and held Howard in check throughout Game 5. Players like Jordan Farmar went from works in progress to mature ball handlers. Odom went from a derailment in decline to a developed destructive defender. Odom, Ariza and Andrew Bynum all came through with tenacious toughness, deliberate dribbles, rattling rebounds and jiggling jumpers. Jackson’s in-game strategies were intangible factors throughout the series. The Lakers ridiculously defended their court by forcing focus, confronting Orlando guards with pressure and applying an ardent attitude.
Orlando was not short on chances in at least two of the Finals contests. In Game 2, Courtney Lee missed an alley-oop layup in the final seconds of regulation that would have given the Magic a victory and tied the series at one. Instead, the Magic settled for a hard-fought loss. Had Howard made his free throws to ice the match with 11 seconds remaining in Game 4, the Lakers might not have been celebrating their 15th championship in Amway Arena last night. Instead, Orlando’s life expectancy in the finals was short-lived and Los Angeles restored their franchise with another terrific title.


Parting points: Happy Birthday to Andy Pettitte.
Band of the day- Days of the New