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"Lake Show", Anthony Davis, basketball, Downtown L.A., ESPN, hoops, Kobe Bryant, Laker Nation, Lakers, LeBron James, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Lakers, National Basketball Association, NBA, NBA Finals, pro basketball, Shaquille O'Neal, Staples Center, Western Conference
ONE OF BASKETBALL’S AND SOCAL’S ELITE AND ICONIC SPORTS FRANCHISES WILL BEGIN PLAYING FOR THEIR 17th CHAMPIONSHIP THIS WEEK
2020 NBA Finals Schedule – Los Angeles Lakers vs Miami Heat
- GAME 1: Wednesday, September 30th, 6:00 p.m.
- GAME 2: Friday, October 2nd, 6:00 p.m.
- GAME 3: Sunday, October 4th, 4:30 p.m.
- GAME 4: Tuesday, October 6th, 6:00 p.m.
- GAME 5*: Friday, October 9th, 6:00 p.m.
- GAME 6*: Sunday, October 11th, 4:30 p.m.
- GAME 7*: Tuesday, October 13th, 6:00 p.m.
* If Necessary
- All Games Pacific Time
- All Games at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex, Orlando, FL
My Thoughts Regarding This Lakers Team In The Finals:
It has been ten years since Laker fans have been this happy.
It has been six years of what I’m sure was the place that’s the opposite of Heaven – not only not making the playoffs, but finishing at of near the bottom of the conference while winning as few as 17 games in a season – for Laker Nation; I remember writing two articles on this blog chatting about how the Lakers had fallen after such a long time of dominance.
Here are those two pieces:
I particularly remember giving much respect to those Laker fans who, no matter how bad things got – and they really got bad,
Stuck with their team, continued to fill Staples Center, and vehemently refused to hear about how the Clippers, who were beating them with regularity during those recent years, had taken over the L.A. hoops scene.
Well,
That extreme patience has been rewarded as ICYMI, LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the rest of that purple and gold-clad company will compete for an NBA championship for the league-leading 32nd time.
And will be commencing in their quest to tie their longtime rival Boston Celtics for the most titles, as four more wins will bring them their 17th Larry O’ Brien Trophy.
In the back of my mind, I knew that the Lakers being in the Finals would be a distinct possibility over a year ago when they traded for Davis to team up with LeBron and give that Lake Show their best twosome since Shaquille O’ Neal and Kobe Bryant (RIP).
Incidentally, I was also as sure as I’m typing this that the real NBA Finals would be an all-SoCal conference finals showdown with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the rest of the Clippers, but we all know how that turned out.
If anyone noticed the title of this article, I said that the Lakers were almost back, emphasizing the almost.
That’s due to my conviction that unless four more games are won, I won’t consider that Laker franchise as officially returned from the basketball dead.
For a team like the Lakers, who are comparable to the Celtics, the Duke Blue Devils in college basketball, the New York Yankees in baseball, and the Alabama Crimson Tide and (to drop the name of a local team) the USC Trojans in college football as far as prestige,
When it comes to a championship game or a series,
Anything short of a title is considered a failure.
I know full well that LeBron, Anthony, et.al fully understand that; their play as of late, highlighted by accomplishing something that the Clippers (who by the way have just fired their coach Doc Rivers) failed to accomplish, which was to finish off the Denver Nuggets after building a three games to one lead in their series,
Has been, in stating the obvious, stellar.
When I look at these Lakers and the Heat, one thing stands out in my mind in these Finals…
LeBron James’ experience, as this will be the tenth time that he gets to play for a crown, which would be his fourth if his team wins.
That, I think, is the overwhelming factor.
Along with Kobe and his daughter Gianna’s tragic deaths serving as a motivation in a “Let’s win it for Kobe and Gianna!” kind of way, which is a fairly common thing in sports when a team member dies.
Which is why my official prediction of these NBA Finals is…
LAKERS IN SIX.
I would have them winning in five games, but I don’t want to show any overconfidence as Miami is in the Finals for a reason, having likewise been playing great basketball of late and, in my view, will have nothing to lose.
Which makes any team dangerous.
If I am proved to be right, there’s one thing that will be both unfortunate and a disappointment;
That because of COVID-19 pandemic concerns, there will be no parade on Figueroa Street in Downtown L.A., as a crowd of several hundred thousand crazed purple and gold-clad fanatics lining up Figueroa would be a coronavirus outbreak waiting to happen.
In the meantime, like more or less everyone else in SoCal (except for Clipper fans) I of course am quite happy about what these Lakers have done to this point.
However,
Laker Nation needs to keep in mind that this iconic team will not be seen as all the way back in my book until they get four more wins over the next couple of weeks.