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Lakers unofficially officially end 2009 championship
Posted by: SPQR on Jun 12, 2009 - 10:27 AM
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With their 99-91 win last night in a tense, hard fought overtime game in Orlando that put them up 3-1 in the series, the Lakers unofficially officially ending any speculation as to who will wear the crown of champions for the 2008-2009 season.
The unofficial end game was the second one the series that was forced to overtime and for a long time it seemed Orlando would continue to work their resilient and improbable magic on the Lakers just as they did to Boston and Cleveland in the east playoffs.
Orlando got off to a great start, seeming to get every rebound and once again showing an urgency and effectiveness on both ends of the floor that the Lakers lacked. They were fueled most predominantly by Dwight Howard who seemed determined to set NBA finals records for rebounds and blocked shots. But on a night when Orlando needed him to be a spear, jabbing and sticking the Lakers remorselessly with strike after strike, he could only be a sword who ended up cutting both ways and on this night a sword was not good enough to give them what they needed to turn this into a genuine series. He cut the Lakers to the quick with 21 points, 16 rebounds and 9 blocks but damaged his team just as severely with waves of turnovers and making only 6 of 14 free throws. The damage he caused flowed both ways and in the end it was the veteran, battle tested Lakers who could better overcome the cuts he administered to both teams.
As so often was the case this year, Trevor Ariza stepped up to the plate yet again, making his bid as a new star to climb the pecking order of Lakers players and free agent gold this off season just when things looked bleakest. The Lakers came out for the second half down by 12 and looking all the world like a team that might have win game 5 in Orlando to keep this series from being wrested out of their control. Trevor would have none of that scenario. Driving to the basket, playing manic defense, hitting all the threes he missed in the previous game, he used his skill and energy to push, prod and force the whole team to match his energy level, take control of the game, the series and ultimately the organizations 15th ring. By the time he was done talk had gone from how would the Lakers respond to the pressure of this loss to how would Orlando respond to the newly effective and aggressive Lakers team that suddenly had taken over a game seemingly lost.
With a new ascendant star putting them in position to grab victory from defeat it was an old fading star who flared up to seal the deal as he has done so often in the past. They say the last thing a boxer loses when he declines is his punch. Last night Derek Fisher showed the last thing a basketball player loses when he declines is the memory of how to win the clutch when all else has failed him. No longer able to defend younger faster players, missing his first five three point chances, driving into Dwight Howard in a humiliating challenge at the basket which resulted in the expected rejection of his shot, Fisher showed in two clutch moments we so desperately needed that he still has the memory of how to win when giving the chance. With 4.6 seconds left and control of series about to leave LA and land right in Orlando’s eager lap Derek hit an improbable three to send the game into overtime. He topped this by nailing his second three straight and true with 31 seconds left in overtime to give us this win and to give the Lakers the series. With those two incredible pressure shots, Derek showed that despite all that age has stolen from him, on this night, in those two moments of desperation and necessity he still has the memories of winner. It was a fitting denouement to championship season and to a championship career of a very special player. It is these memories that the young Orlando team still has to learn, still has to earn and what separated two teams last night.
The series is now over. It will end either in game five at Orlando or game six in LA. For the team that lost so bitterly last year it will be sweet redemption. For fans so disappointed last year, it will be sweet relief and celebration. For Kobe and Phil it will be final exorcism of their own particular few ghosts that have hung around their spectacular careers: Shaquille O’Neal and Red Auerbach. For veteran players like Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol it will be a sweet taste of championship champagne after years of unrewarded work and effort. For Trevor Ariza it will be the start of new and terrific career, a final affirmation of the player he has become. For Derek Fisher it will bring the glow of his fourth championship in this his toughest of all seasons, in a year he to take on father time as well as younger faster guards but still showed his memories of past glory were as fresh and spry as his body used to be.
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| Lakers unofficially officially end 2009 championship | Log-in or register a new user account | 3 Reviews/Comments |
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Re: Lakers unofficially officially end 2009 championship
by EpicMess on Jun 12, 2009 - 07:13 PM
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"But on a night when Orlando needed him to be a spear, jabbing and sticking the Lakers remorselessly with strike after strike, he could only be a sword who ended up cutting both ways"
My friend, that was some beautiful writing; basically poetic.
Mad props.
-Ant
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Re: Lakers unofficially officially end 2009 championship
by lakeshowsd (lakeshow2kbey0nd@yahoo.com)
on Jun 12, 2009 - 11:00 PM
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You said it all, Randy. This is a game that will be heavily discussed, analyzed, dissected, and criticized. The results seemed all too familiar because every year in these Laker Championship runs, there are these nail biter, miracle wins. 15th championship. Sounds good, doesn't it?
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