It seems as though sports fans are always hasty to dismiss proven champions. I have fallen victim to this perilous habit as well. Defending champions are either too old, their previous championships were flukes of some kind or other teams seem primed to knock them off their pedestal.
Last season, everyone dismissed the Celtics as being too old. They entered the postseason in the third spot in the Eastern Conference behind the Cavaliers and Magic. Many people believed the Celtics were not only too old to win again, but the team would struggle to do so without homecourt advantage.
Suddenly, the Celtics showed their championship mettle and dismissed Orlando and Cleveland before coming up a little short of their second championship in three seasons.
I think Rudy Tomjanovich said it best back in 1995: “Never underestimate the heart of a champion”. Tomjanovich made this statement after his Houston Rockets had won their second consecutive championship as the sixth seed in the Western Conference. The 1995 Rockets are the lowest seeded team to ever win a championship.
After an up and down first half of the season, the Lakers are suddenly looking like the team that has won the last two championships. Since limping into the All-Star break losing seven of their last fourteen games, the Lakers have suddenly won 13 out of 14 since the break.
After the team’s triple overtime win over the Suns on Tuesday, Chris Webber had this to say about the Lakers in the TNT studios:
“My takeaway from all of that is the rest of the NBA needs to get ready. We always talk about Kobe (Bryant) is old, we talk about everything else. The fact of the matter is while everyone talks, everyone insinuates and everyone tries to figure it out, this team always comes together. Kobe and Derek Fisher are not going to let these guys get out of sorts and start thinking about things besides the playoffs. What I took out of it is this team is real, you can talk about the roller coaster this year, but these guys are for real and the NBA needs to take note.”
Now that the Lakers are looking like the Lakers again, it seems as though all of the panic or joy (depending on who you are talking to) has subsided to an extent.
Who can forget all of the cries from worried fans about dealing Ron Artest and/or Andrew Bynum? Bynum and Artest’s performances since the break have been a major reason why the Lakers have won 13 of 14 games. The Lakers have surpassed the Mavericks for sole possession of second place in the Western Conference, and the team is tied for the second best overall record in the league.
On that note, some still question the Lakers’ worth as champions. As sports fans, we all dislike certain players and teams. This is only natural, and it is one of the things that makes following sports entertaining.
However, whether I dislike a team/player a little bit or a lot, I have always tried to maintain a certain level of respect for their accomplishments and accolades. Maybe I sound silly, but I believe all sports fans should do the same.
I am surely not saying the Lakers are guaranteed the championship this season. In addition, I was just as mystified as the other basketball fans when the Lakers were getting beat by the Bobcats and Cavaliers.
When will fans start giving championship teams the benefit of the doubt? I am not just talking about the NBA or this year’s Lakers team but any league or team.
On any note, it looks as though the Lakers are rounding into shape, and the team will be ready to defend its title this spring. But it will not come easy. There will be losses. Some will probably even be by substantial amounts. But it will be no reason to label the team as chumps and not champs.
Joshua Sexton is a lifelong basketball fanatic, who watches as many games as possible. In addition, He has played and coached the game at the high school level. He has recently started writing about the game of basketball.
