HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Chris Tomasson

We’ve got Kobe Bryant and you don’t.

It was pretty much that simple as the Los Angeles Lakers won their 15th NBA title Sunday by defeating the Orlando Magic 99-86.

The debate will continue to rage next season as to who the best player is in the NBA, Lakers guard Bryant or Cleveland forward LeBron James. But Bryant just won his fourth ring and James is sulking at home, having not even been invited to the NBA Finals.

For now, the case is closed.

The NBA Finals usually come down to superduperstars. The Lakers have one in Bryant, and Orlando, while center Dwight Howard is on his way, don’t quite yet have one.

Bryant might not have won another Most Valuable Player trophy this season (James did), but he was the difference in the Lakers winning their first title in seven years. But you better believe Bryant, who scored 30 points in Sunday’s clincher and averaged 32.5 points and 7.4 assists during the Finals, is fine settling for winning the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, named for the first time after the Boston legend.

It only was appropriate that Bryant looked like Russell in Sunday’s clincher, blocking four shots.

The Lakers also won the title this year because of the length on their frontline. They start 7-footers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in the post, and can bring Lamar Odom in to play small forward. That takes its toll on any foe in any seven-game series.

Still, the Lakers weren’t always dominant in the Finals. That’s why it will not be a fun offseason for Magic players and coaches as they wonder why they were unable to take advantage of when the Lakers were vulnerable.

There were several near misses in Game 2, which Orlando lost in overtime. And there was the outright choke in Game 4, which the Magic lost in overtime after blowing a five-point lead entering the final minute of regulation.

Unlike in the East final win over Cleveland, the Magic players were unable to hit clutch shots. And their vaunted three-point attack was off, especially Sunday, when Orlando shot just 8-of-27 from beyond the arc.

In the end, the Lakers needed only to play their best at certain times to give coach Phil Jackson his 10th ring. That breaks a tie he held with Boston legend Red Auerbach for most NBA coaching titles.

The Lakers turned it on Sunday after trailing 40-36 midway through the second quarter. They went on a 16-0 lead to go up 52-40.

That’s when the chants started of “Let’s Go Lakers.’’ Orlando fans, meanwhile, were silent.

Obviously, there were a lot of disbelieving Magic fans who parted with their tickets, and they ended up in the hands of fans wearing purple.

It’s a good bet that Lakers fans will again be seen in droves at next June’s final. With Bynum, who never was quite the same in the playoffs after returning from a knee injury, presumably healthy next season, they should be the favorites to win another title.

Of course, some questions will need to be answered. Will Jackson return in an attempt to win an 11th ring? Will the Lakers be able to keep both Odom and Trevor Ariza, forwards who are free agents? And will Bryant opt out of his contract and leave the Lakers?

It’s highly doubtful the third will happen. Bryant had too much fun finally winning a title outside of the giant shadow of former Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal, the Finals MVP in 2000, 2001 and 2002 when Bryant played the role of supporting actor.

Then next June, the Lakers again might be able to say, “We’ve got Kobe Bryant and you don’t.’’

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Dusty, yellowed pages need not be turned back. It wasn’t a generation ago when he coached the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association in a nearly 100-year-old edifice known as the Washington Avenue Armory.

But there was a time when a Phil Jackson-coached team actually choked big time. And it wasn’t that long ago.

Just three years, ago, Jackson’s Los Angeles Lakers led Phoenix 3-1 in a Western Conference first-round series. But the Lakers fell apart, dropping the final three games to lose the series.

Granted, this Jackson Lakers outfit is much better. And the Lakers, who lead Orlando 3-1 in the NBA Finals, potentially have two home games remaining in the series compared to playing just one of the final three at home against the Suns.

Still, the Lakers remember The Choke. Only eight times in NBA history has a team overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series, and the Lakers’ fiasco against Phoenix was the last occurrence.

Lakers forward Luke Walton said whenever the team has a film session before a closeout game, the collapse against the Suns is featured. He’s counting on the team talking about it plenty heading into Sunday’s Game 5 at Orlando.

“We thought we were going to win it,’’ said Walton, looking back at that Phoenix series. “They had Game 5 at their place and (the Lakers believed) ‘we’ll win this.’ But they took care of business. But then we still had Game 6 at home. But we let that slip away (in overtime), and all of a sudden they had all the momentum in the series. And they blitzed us (121-90 in Game 7)… So anything is possible.’’

The Lakers and the Magic players are actually sounding somewhat similar heading into Game 5. Forget that it’s usually the team in the deep hole that is bringing up instances of outfits having battling back.

But the Lakers are doing it also. Following his team’s dramatic 99-91 win in Thursday’s Game 4, Lakers guard Derek Fisher, who hit pivotal three-pointers in both the waning seconds of regulation and overtime, was looking back at how Indiana handled being down 3-1 to the Lakers in the 2000 Finals.

The Pacers that June also had lost in overtime to fall behind 3-1. But they stormed back to crush the Lakers 120-87 at home in Game 5.

“That’s the attitude that Fish is trying to express, that these guys (the Magic) are going to play their hearts out and they’re going to play really hard, and we have to match that,’’ Jackson said.

The Pacers’ attempt at a dramatic comeback was derailed when they lost Game 6 in Los Angeles, 116-111. But that hasn’t stopped Fisher from using that game to try to stave off the Lakers getting complacent Sunday.

Complacency, after all, has been a Lakers’ specialty at times this postseason. They’ve already been blown out three times, twice at Houston and once at Denver.

“I told them… there’s a chance (Saturday’s) practice may be the last practice of the season,’’ said Jackson, rolling out everything he can to get the Finals over Sunday and not have to play a Game 6 on Tuesday in Los Angeles. “That’s also something that gets them pretty excited because practice for players is something that is, at this level of the game, having gone through hundreds or probably more than a hundred‑some practices, they’re excited about not having to come to practice again.’’

It’s also a motivational play that could work for everybody on the Lakers. After all, Fisher and guard Kobe Bryant are the only players still on the team from the 2000 Finals. And the only holdovers from the 2006 collapse against Phoenix are Walton, Bryant, forward Lamar Odom and center Andrew Bynum, who played exactly one minute in that series.

There are 10 Lakers players remaining from last season’s Finals, when a team also held a 3-1 lead. Never mind that it was the Lakers trailing, that hasn’t stopped their eventual 4-2 loss to Boston from coming up regularly.

“We remember what it felt like last year to lose Game 6 in Boston,’’ said Walton, whose Lakers won 103-98 at home in Game 5 to cut the series deficit to 3-2 before getting blitzed 131-92 in Game 6. “We use those disappointing times and painful times as learning tools to stay focused and stay hungry to finally get ourselves a championship.’’

Well, Walton isn’t speaking for everybody. He might be 0-2 in NBA Finals, but Fisher and Bryant both have three rings and Jackson has nine and soon can break the tie he shares with Boston legend Red Auerbach for most titles won by a coach.

But, as legendary as Jackson’s career has been, he once actually choked when being up 3-1 in a series.

Maybe that’s the one thing that gives Orlando’s players hopes. Still, the odds remain long for the Magic.

No team ever has overcome a 3-1 deficit to win in the Finals. And, of the eight previous teams to come all the way back from such a deficit, just two did it while winning twice on the road.

“We’re down 3-1, but we’re not going to give up and lay down,’’ said Magic forward Rashard Lewis. “If we do that, we might as well forfeit and just give them the rings instead of playing on Sunday. We’re here to win a championship. And we’re going to fight. Who knows what’s going to happen. Anything can happen. Anything is possible.’’

Anything is possible?

Those were the exact words uttered by Walton. He knows that even Jackson once blew a 3-1 lead.

FIGHTING BACK

The eight instances in which a team has come back from a 3-1 deficit to win an NBA playoff series:

2006: In a West first-round series, Phoenix tops the Los Angeles Lakers.

2003: In an East first-round series, Detroit comes back on Orlando.
1997: In an East semifinal, Miami overcomes New York.
1995: In a West semifinal, Houston comes back against Phoenix, winning two of the three on the road.
1981: In the East final, Boston tops Philadelphia.
1979: In the East final, Washington rallies against San Antonio.
1970: In a West semifinal, the Lakers overcome Phoenix.
1968: In the East Final, Boston comes back against Philadelphia, winning two of the three on the road.

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All this talk of Randy Johnson and his quest for 300 wins conjures up thoughts of another tall guy who’s lost a bit over the years on his fastball.

That would be Phil Jackson, the Los Angeles Lakers coach who, unbelievably, hasn’t won a title in seven years.

There was a time when Jackson collected rings more prolifically than a cat burglar. Between 1991 and 2002, he won nine NBA titles, and the only times he didn’t win came when he took a year off from coaching and when Michael Jordan took an entire year and most of another off from playing.

But Jackson long has been stuck on nine titles. It reminds one of The Beatles song “Revolution 9’’, which goes, “Number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9.’’

Jackson has had two NBA Finals chances to fix the stuck record, and break the mark he shares with Boston legend Red Auerbach for most championships won by a coach. But his Lakers underachieved in falling to Detroit 4-1 in 2004 and to Boston 4-2 last season.

“Maybe I forgot something, and that’s the reason why we lost the last two,’’ cracked Jackson as he prepares for the third time to try to win ring No. 10, with the Lakers facing Orlando in the Finals starting Thursday.

You won’t find anyone in the NBA questioning Jackson too much. Nine rings are enough to shut up anybody except Bill Russell, who has 11, although he isn’t exactly giving daily interviews on street corners.

But Jackson is 63. He’s had hip replacement surgery, and has a hard time walking. He sits in a high chair during games, and rarely moves. Those things alone would suggest he would have a hard time being as effective as he once was.

“With everything he’s done, I don’t know why he puts himself through it still and doesn’t just walk away and enjoy himself,’’ Hall of Famer Rick Barry said about Jackson’s health problems, although Barry, despite his knack for criticizing even LeBron James, won’t go so far as to suggest Jackson is any less of a coach now.

Still, if one wants to talk about Jackson’s fastball, it’s reasonable to assume he throws just 95 mph now rather than having the 100 mph heat he did while winning six titles with Chicago in the 1990s and the first three of this decade with the Lakers.

The Jackson magic began to slip when his heavily favored Lakers were stunned by the more team-oriented Pistons in the 2004 Finals. And many observers believe Boston’s Doc Rivers outcoached Jackson in the last year’s Finals, when the Lakers were the pick by many to win.

“As far as getting there, not winning, it’s a big disappointment,’’ Jackson said. “Huge. Detroit loss and obviously Boston loss last year. A big disappointment to both the teams and the coaching staff. We feel like we failed our team as a coaching staff in both situations.’’

But Jackson is back in the Finals. Although Jackson sometimes has looked half asleep on the bench during an erratic postseason, which saw the Lakers get blown out three times, the sting of losing last June apparently has perked him up.

“We’re just looking at this as something to redeem last year’s loss,’’ said Jackson, who admits his Lakers “weren’t quite prepared for the type of game we had to play against Boston. We know what it feels like to lose. We want to come out and amend that.’’

After all, it could be the last Finals appearance for Jackson. He said in an interview with Magic Johnson on ABC earlier this season he might retire when his contract expires after next season.

Whenever he does step aside for good, Jackson might have run out of names to call it. Winning his final championship with Chicago in 1998 was dubbed the “The Last Dance,’’ and Jackson wrote a book in 2004 before stepping away for one season called “The Last Season.’’

“I don’t think he’s taking the approach, ‘We can do this (another season),’’’ said Lakers guard Derek Fisher, who was on each of Jackson’s three Los Angeles championship teams. “I think he’s going to insure we don’t let this opportunity slip by. How he does it, I don’t know.’’

Maybe Jackson, with his fastball not quite what it once was, will resort to some offspeed trickery. After all, Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander didn’t have his best stuff when, in the twilight of his career, he dug down deep with the Cardinals to strike out Yankees slugger Tony Lazzeri with the bases loaded in Game 7 to save the 1926 World Series.

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