Looks like the Lakers are on their way to another great year, old, creaky bones not withstanding. Tied for the best record in the NBA—and having beaten the tar out of the team they’re tied with--they look to make yet another run for the championship.
So, why am I not excited about it? It’s more than just the Kobe scandal, it’s been coming on for years.
Even during the happiness of the Triad years, I couldn’t get all worked up about these Lakers. (Sidenote: One of my friends, an LAPD motorcycle cop, says he hates it when the Lakers win a championship. Too much head-cracking.)
I don’t love these guys and I know why I don’t. They can’t compare to my “first love”—the Lakers of the eighties. Shaquille O’Neal is big and skilled but he isn’t Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kobe Bryant is extremely talented and skilled, but he’s definitely no Magic Johnson. (Has Bryant ever had more than five assists?) Until this year, these Lakers were two superstars and some guys.
It’s not enough to be great in your own right. The really great ones make everyone else look great as well. (There’s only one exception to this rule.)
The Showtime-era Lakers were love-inspiring. Magic, Kareem, James Worthy, Byron Scott, Michael Cooper, A.C. Green and Kurt Rambis made you love them. Then there was the coach, Pat Riley, casually pacing the sideline, too cool to rant and rave at his players—he might mess up his hair/wrinkle his 1000 dollar suit and they didn’t require a tongue-lashing anyway. We loved him too.
Two superstars, three excellent players and two good players who played their roles well made for the legendary run. And no legend is complete without an antagonist, the anti-Showtime personified by the Boston Celtics, legends in their own right, headed by Beantown’s own inspirer of shock, awe and love: Larry Bird.
Perhaps that’s the problem. There’s no arch-nemesis for these Lakers, no Eastern Conference rivalry that brings out the best both teams; no great theater, no drama.
Or maybe I just miss the joy that Magic seemed to exude every time he stepped on the court. Or the way nobody messed with Kareem and the grace of his Sky Hook. Or the way the Forum would erupt with hoots of “Coop!” whenever sixth man Michael Cooper stepped on the floor.
These Lakers might become champions again, a hard thing to achieve. But inspiring devotion is even tougher.
Kareem had the sky-hook, which was an actual basketball shot. Shack has the slam-dunk, which is pure thuggery in my book. I am unimpressed with him and Kobe is a ball-hog.
I watched Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in a three-point shot contest once and they both made something like 20 in a row beyond the line, from all over the court. Damn! THAT'S basketball.
Posted by: Acidman | December 02, 2003 at 05:18 AM
Have to agree with you. I'm an LA ex-pat who has subscribed to DirectTV for 7 years to watch Laker local braodcasts. Why don't I love these Laker teams like the 80s ones?
1) Magic Johnson: Smply the most joyous great basketball player ever.
2) Kareem. Moody, mecurial, but when Magic came to the team he adjusted his role to acomodate the other great player on this team. You never read about he and Magic gripping over whose team it was, unlike a certain duo in purple and gold.
3) Up until this year, the current Lakers have not been as good a team as the Lakers of the 80s. Kareem and Magic would have held their own with Shaq and Kobe, while the other 80s players, Worthy in particular, were far superior to their modern conterparts.
Now with Malone and Payton, the talent is more even. And so far this year I enjoy watching those two profssionals play hard every night in contrast to the continuing dramas of Shaq & Kobe.
Nonetheless, I still watch nearly every game. And if I get Tivo it's all over.
Posted by: Coop-a-Loop | December 02, 2003 at 10:22 AM
On the flip side, (as a Celtics fan) I don't hate these Lakers the way I did the ones in the eighties. Part of that is due to the fact that the Celtics have not faced them in the championship. But I think another part is the lack of respect. Much of the "hatred" I had for the eighties Lakers was out of fear, which is really a residue of respect. They were good, and I hated when they "stole" a championship from us. These Lakers just make everything look too easy. I think it is Shaq's fault.
Posted by: Enrak | December 02, 2003 at 01:51 PM
Enrak: LOL! Excellent point.
Posted by: baldilocks | December 02, 2003 at 02:34 PM