If anyone knows a thing or two about winning NBA championships, it’s Bill Russell. One of the greatest basketball players of all time, Russell won 11 championships in 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics. He understands winning like Paris Hilton understands shopping.
Russell once wrote, “It’s much harder to keep a championship than to win one.” So will the Los Angeles Lakers be able to keep their championship? I don’t believe they’ll even make it to the Finals.
Legendary coach Pat Riley coined a term for something that defending champions can easily catch. He called it the “Disease of More” and the Lakers have it bad.
The disease is highlighted by Kobe refusing to give up shots because he can sniff Karl Malone’s all-time scoring record; Odom getting distracted because he got more money, and thinks he’s a huge star because he married a Kardashian; Gasol getting fed up with Kobe being a ball hog; Artest launching a reality show because he wanted more fame and Bynum and Farmar wanting more minutes and a bigger role.
No doubt the Lakers will make it to the Western Conference Finals even with the disease, but I can see the Mavericks or Suns shocking the Lakers.
First, I’ll start with the Mavericks. Throw Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and Shawn Marion out there and you have a veteran, tough minded group that won’t back down to the Lakers.
The other keys are they have solid free throw and three-point shooting, and they don’t turn the ball over a lot with Kidd handling the ball. Also, they have great team chemistry which can never be overlooked, and legitimate shot blocking and rebounding with Haywood and Eric Dampier playing in contract years. Off the bench, Jason Terry and J.J. Barea are capable of getting hot from three-point range at any time. Lastly, they have a proven star that can score in the clutch in Nowitzki.
Ok, the fact that Kidd couldn’t stop your grandmother from getting into the lane, and that Barea, who looks like someone that might show up at your local YMCA actually plays legitimate minutes, makes it a little less likely the Mavericks will beat the Lakers. But the Phoenix Suns on the other hand…
The Suns have a legitimate shot of beating the Lakers. Six months ago, I thought there would be a better chance of me writing an article about why Lindsay Lohan should be up for canonization, than the Suns having a chance of beating the Lakers to go to the Finals.
The Suns have the best team chemistry out of anybody in the league. Grant Hill said the Suns have better chemistry than any team he’s ever played for. Ever. And he’s been around the league more than Tiger Woods has with supermodels. Not to mention, he played for a national championship team at Duke.
Obviously, the chemistry alone can’t carry them past the mighty Lakers. They have Steve Nash. When Nash signed a three year extension with the Suns over the summer, I thought he was dumber than Forrest Gump. I thought the Suns were a sinking ship. He went against the grain of so many star players by not signing somewhere just to win a cheap championship before he retires. He stayed loyal and led his team; they followed and now they’re here.
At 36, Nash possibly had his most impressive season. His shooting guard, Jason Richardson, struggled for awhile. Their sixth man, Leandro Barbosa, missed half the year with injuries and his “star” power-forward, Amar’e Stoudemire, worried about being traded for three months. He led, and the Suns won 54 games in the regular season.
Nash put up 16.5 PPG, 11.0 APG, 51 percent FG, 43 percent 3FG, 94 percent FT, and transformed a fringe playoff team into a scary contender at age 36.
This season has capped the tenth top notch year in a row for him. He’s won two MVP’s, been selected to three first-team All NBAs and had seven all star appearances in the past ten years.
I thought his championship window had closed. He’s showed me this year that it’s more open than ever. I think he and the Suns will jump through.
Alex Gasick
Sports Editor | Click here for Alex's Archives
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