May 16, 2003

THE LAKE SHOW: CANCELED: The

THE LAKE SHOW: CANCELED: The elimination from the playoffs tonight of the L.A. Lakers puts the final nail into the coffin of the NBA's '90s era- completing the process set in motion when Michael Jordan retired as a player and was subsequently dismissed by the Wizards. Sure, there's a better-than-average chance the Shaq/Kobe Lakers will win at least one more championship, but the fact that they were mortal (in a way that the Jordan-era Bulls never were) just proves that the league has entered a new era- the end of the NBA's Three-peat Period.
Yes, I know Tim Duncan and the Spurs won the championship in '99, the year before the Lakers began their run, but it's not just the Spurs: the Lakers starting next year will be just another contender. And with the influx of European and other foreign-born players, the dilution of talent in the league ever since the expansion of 1989 may now finally be subsiding- just in time for the arrival of LeBron James in the league next year.
And one more note about the Lakers-Spurs series, specifically the Phil Jackson heart scare: when I was in high school my rabbi had a similar scare, when blockages were found in his arteries that required an emergency angioplasty. Following that the rabbi (a Bulls fan and like Jackson an ex-hippie) proceeded to take three months off in order to recover. Phil Jackson, after having almost the same surgery, took three days off- and before the series was over his former teammate, Dave DeBusschere, died from a heart attack. Was anyone else just a little bit creeped out by his decision to return immediately? Like maybe Phil could have a heart attack at courtside at any moment?
Michael Wilbon's got a good column today on the demise of the Lakers.

Posted by Stephen Silver at May 16, 2003 06:00 AM
Comments
Post a comment









Remember personal info?