|
I grew up in San Bernardino, CA, and like many people living in California, I grew up watching the Lakers, and became a hardened Lakers fan.
But in the last two years, I've started watching other teams more often, and there are other teams I like alot: Sacremento Kings, New Jersey Nets, Indiana Pacers, and now, Detroit Pistons.
I was stunned by the Detroit Pistons' dominating performance in the Finals, but I had no doubt in my mind that they are a very capable team. I was equally stunned by the Lakers' poor performance in the Finals. With All-Star and Hall-Of-Fame players, along with Derek Fisher, a veteran with much experience, and Devean George and Kareem Rush, two players who've surprised me this season with their good performances. Unfortunately, those good performances were inconsistent, so those two didn't bring it, so to speak, every game, like they should. Had they done so, the Lakers might have fared better in the Finals.
The Pistons starters out-performed the Lakers starters on every game. In fact, the Pistons as a whole, dominated the Lakers team and out-played them in the entirety of every game. It should have been a sweep had it not been for the miracle plays of Kobe Bryant and Shaq. As a matter of fact, they should not have had to make such miracle plays as they've already contributed about 80% of the Lakers offense, which is really sad. Nobody else stepped up. Gary Payton and Karl Malone were virtually non-existence, and the bench as well. Detroit on the other hand, had players stepping up from everywhere, so to speak. Only two players from their team had any Playoff experience, and that is Cambell and Hunter, but those two had their Playoof experience playing for the Lakers. The Lakers season was a disaster, the Pistons season was a grand success.
I still like the Lakers, but I'm greatly disappointed with their performance in the Finals. On the other hand, I have a new favorite team, the Detroit Pistons.
My friend asks me, "Sad the Lakers lost?"
"Nah," I replied.
The reason why I said that was, I wasn't distraught that the Lakers lost. I marveled at the performance that the Pistons gave; they gave me a performance worth watching. I like a team because of talent, effort, and passion; the Detroit Pistons were all of that. Unfortunately for the Lakers, only Kobe and Shaq were that; everyone else seemed, for the most part, not as passionate about winning the series, at least on the court.
Heh- The New Jersey Nets, one of my favorite Eastern Conference teams, put up a better fight.
Good series. Good job Detroit. I look forward to watching those two teams next season.
I'm going to order that NBA TV package for next season so I can watch all the teams.
I love basketball. ^__^
I run The Infinity Program, a den of villains and swashbucklers.
Last edited by Hyperion on Sat Jun 19, 2004 9:05 pm, edited 2 times in total.
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
