finals report: still have hope

Jun 13, 2008

Posted by Flea


Though Kobe and the Lakers are down now, Flea still has hope.
Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images
i feel beaten up
trying to make sense of what happened last night in game four
it is without a doubt the worst loss i have ever experienced as a
laker fan

one of the worst losses in laker history
if not the worst
why?

to be brought so high up
to be crushed so severely
is a test of ones faith

of course my faith is still in tact
the lakers can still win
always have hope
ray allens layup in the last minute
was devastating
worse than ralph sampsons's turn around jumper from the freethrow line

this is hard to understand
what happened
what happened

the celtics were better
they won
is the only answer

i try to never question phil jackson
i will never know as much about basketball as he carries in an old
pants pocket that he hasn't worn in ten years
but there are some things that i don't understand

why did he call a timeout in the first quarter when the lakers were
crushing the celtics
blowing them out
stopping his own teams galloping momentum

why did he call only one time out
during a run of epic proportions by the celtics
why?

why could the lakers not adapt to what was happening
why did not the stable derek fisher come in sooner when young and
inexperienced farmar was in a pressure situation he had never before felt
why?

why was lamar odom
who is really a player who plays in a rhythm
made to sit on the bench and taken out of his rhythm for so long
why was trevor ariza
who came in and played well as anyone on the floor
never to come back in the game

why did the lakers go from being aggressive to merely trying to
protect their lead
why did they stop running the basketball, which was when they were
having all their success
why did they let the celtics control the tempo of the game

i will never know the answer to these questions
i am just another laker fan
but i don't understand

during a time out in the fourth quarter
i ran up to visit the bathroom
and saw mitch kupchak meandering around tensely in the hallway......

i still have hope for the lakers
i still have hope
hope

Jun 13, 2008 6:50 PM EDT