I have a feeling Kobe, DFish and Co. were drinking better than us this past weekend -- not that Moose Drool Ale and $10 stoggies are a bad thing.
Now that the dust, champagne, confetti and rioting has settled, let’s look back at some thoughts from a weekend in Vegas, my 32nd birthday (I’m feeling really old after this one) and, oh yeah, the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Finals in five games over the Orlando Magic:
- I might not love Derrick Fisher as much as ESPN Radio’s homerish crew of Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown and Dr. Jack Ramsay, but damn did that dude save the trip and the birthday. I don’t think I went to an ATM once this weekend thanks to the dough we bankrolled off those bombs he hit in Game 4.
- Speaking of sportsbooks, a look at the favorites to win the 2010 title: Lakers favored at 5-2, Cavs at 3-1, Celtics 5-1, Orlando 7-1, Denver 12-1. Thirteen teams are 100-1, including three from Calif. – Golden State, Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Clippers. Time to shake your moneymaker Lambo and get some dough on them Clipps.
- Speaking of Vegas pros, where’s Lakers sixth man Ryantific’s contributions after this victory?
- What a difference a year healthy Trevor Ariza and unhealthy Kevin Garnett make.
- Who was the second best team in the playoffs this year? Thuggish Ruggish Nuggets get my vote.
- Anyone in the media going to ask Phil Jackson if he’s going to return next year? I know he’s under contract, but dude admitted he wasn’t himself this year and that this was a “learned” group that he didn’t exactly have to coach up. Big Phil’s got 10 rings as a coach, passing Red, dates a former Playboy model who is also the owner’s daughter, and has a cabin near some of the best fly fishing waters the world has to offer in Montana. What more does he have to prove?
- Kobe Bryant had plenty to prove during these Finals. And he proved worthy of the Finals MVP, even though he didn’t have his best series.
- What a great year and a half it’s been for Kobe. First MVP, gold medal, Shaq-less NBA title, Finals MVP. Awards aren’t everything, but they tend to be nowadays when trying to decide who’s the “greatest.” On a side note, did you know George Mikan, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, John Havlicek and Rick Barry never won MVPs? Crazy stuff.
- Is Kobe’s legacy that much greater now that he’s won a title without Shaq? In this day, maybe. But dude’s one of the greatest to play no matter what. Just think of all those great players who never won titles (Barkley, Ewing, Malone, Stockton, Iverson, Kidd, Nash), and Kobe’s got four!
- At the same time, let’s not forget Michael Jordan Kobe Bryant had plenty of help from Scottie Pippen Pau Gasol and Tony Kukoc Lamar Odom and Steve Kerr Derrick Fisher this time around.
- So this one is a big one for Kobe. Those three with Shaq were largely because of Shaq. After all, Shaq won all three of those Finals MVPs, and also helped D-Wade and the Heat win a title a few years later (look at where the Heat were before and after that).
- Either way, you have to have experience and a big man (or in this day of centerless teams, a power forward like Gasol or KG or Duncan) to win an NBA title.
- Orlando has it’s big man, so the difference this year was clearly the experience (which is always key, especially for 32-year-old, broke-ass bloggers in Vegas). Kobe (31), Fisher (34), Phil (older than Yoda) had it. Dwight, whoever their starting point guard was on a given night, Stan VanG didn’t.
It’s nice to see being old pays off from time to time.
