The Hoop Doctors are happy to announce we have chosen a winner for our first ever ‘Be a Hoop Doctor’ blog entry contest. A huge congratulations goes out to Matthew Eisenman from CT, USA! Matt has won a Hoop Doctors tournament style gym bag, and his winning entry posted below. The Hoop Doctors writers themselves chose the winning entry. Matt has told us he loves hoops and as you’ll realize from his winning entry below, he loves the Los Angeles Lakers!
The Los Angeles Lakers, A Dynasty in Progress
The Los Angeles Lakers were back and Kobe was having fun knowing that he could trust his teammates. Earlier that year he criticized his teammates and the general manager Mitch Kupchack for basically everything that was going on and the overall collapse of a once great team. Well it seemed like everyone heard Kobe’s message and started working on everything they could do possible to improve and make this team better. Well they did and the player who he most criticized, Andrew Bynum, was improving at the fastest rate and quickly emerging as a star. It all was going great until Big Bynum went down. This put the Los Angeles Lakers in a very vulnerable position and knowing that unless something miraculous happened there season was over. That something miraculous did happen and its name was Pau Gasol. A 7 Foot Spaniard from the Memphis Grizzlies was acquired by the Lakers almost directly after Bynum went down. They traded that years first round pick Javaris Crittenton, long time disappointment Kwame Brown, a couple of first round picks, and the draft rights to Pau’s brother Marc Gasol who had not played a single NBA game yet and was also drafted that same year by the Lakers. This man, Pau, came to the team and had an immediate impact. He fit picture perfectly into the triangle offense and played past his great potential. Now this gave Kobe something to be thrilled about and they quickly all meshed together and made it seem as if Pau had been playing for this team his whole career.
They were off to a great start with Pau as their big man down in the post. It seemed like nothing could stop them until Pau went down with a high ankle sprain leading him to miss a good amount of time roughly two weeks. They were disappointed but new they needed to keep it together and quickly bonded and played well enough to stay atop and compete for the top spot in the west. When Pau came back that was there goal, to be atop the very competitive west and secure a 1st place seed for the playoffs. They did that and then it was on to the playoffs where only there biggest challenges were just ahead of them. There was one problem though, what about Bynum when is he coming back? He was supposed to return during the first round of the playoffs when they got the bad news that he would not be coming back. He is their center, their big man, their shot blocker. How can they do it without him I thought. Well they did like they did that whole year and came together as a team trampling on teams and doing things as a team instead of individual efforts. It was a magical season they found themselves in the second round after an early sweep against the Denver Nuggets.
Round two it was on to the Jazz. A great line up which featured many young talented players such as Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and Kyle Korver the biggest three point shooting threat I believe in the NBA to this date right now. They gave the Lakers some trouble after L.A. won the first two games. They brought it to six games where the Lakers closed it off and it was just another lay-up as they looked ahead to bigger and greater things. It was up to their leader Kobe Bryant to get the team ready to face who ever it might be and not to take anything too light.
Now on to the biggest challenge so far, their next opponent was the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. They were favored in this match up as people began to say, “This young Lakers team has very little experience in these big situations.” No matter what people said they were not going to give up they had a series to win and they were going to give it their best efforts no matter what anyone person would say. They had to attack the Spurs and one person in particular would be Manu Ginobli who was struggling through some injuries and was not shooting well throughout the series. Until game three where he returned to form and played like the old Manu Ginobli did to beat the Lakers in that game. With the Spurs down 2-1 the Lakers knew they must go at the Spurs and not let them get back into the series. They did that and after a controversial call on a shot Brent Barry got hit and missed the shot the Lakers had won the Western Conference Title. On the other side you had the Celtics with the big three. Their leader Kevin Garnett and two other strong key players being Paul Pierce and Ray Allen together they put together the best record in the NBA but were not playing like it in the playoffs. They battled through game seven after game seven and made it to the NBA Finals where a classic rivalry was renewed as the Celtics and Lakers would meet once again.
Lakers and Celtics NBA Finals, it does not matter what type of fan you are casual or basketball or even a cricket fan. Anybody who liked sports watched these finals. The Lakers entered play only losing 3 times the whole post season and not losing a single game on their home floor. The Celtics well there path was different more loses but only one loss on their home floor made it look as if it would be a great battle of one of the greatest rivalries in sports. Well the Celtics played well and captured Game 1 with the strong leadership performance of Paul Pierce after he got injured to come on the floor and play it out and win. Game 2 was looking the same with a lead over 20 with just over 7 minutes to go the Lakers came back and cut the lead all the way down to 2 but it just wasn’t enough a couple of free throws and that game was over the Celtics were going to be headed to Staples Center up 2-0 on the Lakers . The Lakers were not about to lay down so they proved that in an easy Game 3 win at staples and they won convincingly. It was looking to be the same result for the Lakers as it was in Game 3 in Game 4 but once the Lakers got comfortable with a 25 point lead they got careless and started turning the ball over and taking bad shots. The Celtics roared back in champion fashion and came all the way back and took the lead and kept it ceiled with a Ray Allen lay-up . Well there was one game left in the Staples Center to play and with the Lakers down 3-1 the series looked to be over. They gave them there best shot and took game five making it go back to Boston where the final outcome would become a reality. Who would become Champion of the NBA? Do the Lakers have any fight in them? Who is going to show up to play? All those questions were answered in that Game 6 game. The Lakers came out kept it close for a while but then the big three and the bench stepped up and it was yet another Celtics win over the Lakers capping their 17th Title as a franchise.
The Lakers did not take it to harsh and looked at the positives after they had lost thinking there is always next year and with Bynum coming back who wouldn’t be looking up the sky is the limit. He was only leading the league in field goal percentage before he went down. He was rebounding and scoring and blocking all that toughness the Lakers were looking for in the series against the Celtics. As for the other young players Sasha Vujacic the outstanding shooter who came off the bench and was a high energy guy plans to resigns with the Lakers and was quoted after the NBA Finals loss, “I can guarantee that next year we won’t be one game short.” Another key player and annual winner of Best Cheerleader on the bench, Ronny Turiaf, who the Lakers plan on resigning as well, was the most high energy guy off the bench and gives 150% every time he gets in the game. He provides some low post presence and depth among the injury prone big men of the Lakers. They look to have all the pieces back for another year and another run at the title with the newest version of the Twin Towers since David Robinson and Tim Duncan. After all there oldest guy this year was Derek Fisher everyone else will be 30 years old or younger. This team is looking at nothing but the best for their future. Do not be surprised to see a Celtics Lakers Finals again but with the other team coming out on top instead of coming in second place.
