Last night here in Atlanta I went down to Philips Arena to check out the Hawks and Clippers. Yes, the Hawks won the game, but I wouldn’t read too much into that loss if I were a Clipper fan. Perhaps they will chalk that loss up as a “Magic City loss”. If you aren’t from Atlanta, that’s a common term used in the sports world when an opposing team comes to town and spends way too much time the night before at the infamous Magic City strip club. This will inherently affect their play on the court the next night. I can’t explain the how and why of it, but it happens.
The Clippers have crazy depth. The Lakers have crazy Artest. So which team will have more success in the playoffs? I truly believe it will be the Clippers. The Lakers may have the best player between the two teams, but the Clippers have the better roster. Last night I watched the Clippers trot out a second unit that consisted of guys that would start in most NBA cities: Kenyon Martin, Nick Young and Mo Williams. Chris Paul is certainly better than any point guard the Lakers have on their roster. Blake Griffin is way more athletic than Pao Gasol and don’t sleep on Deandre Jordan. That dude is going to cause problems for Andrew Bynum. The Lakers bench is thin and with Ron Artest (yes, I refuse to call anyone that causes this much drama, World Peace) suspended for 7 games, they are going to be challenged with depth issues in the first round.
Side note on Ron Artest – I thought the 7 game suspension could have been a little heavier. The one arguement that drives me crazy is, “well, he’s been a model citizen for the past 3 years.” Ummm, so he is to be applauded for acting like a civil human being? Congratulations Ron Artest, you haven’t punched any fans the past 3 seasons…great job kiddo! Ron Artest basically cost the Oklahoma City Thunder a #1 seed. Harden was knocked out in the 2nd Qtr of that game vs. the Lakers and OKC definitely missed him For that, the Lakers need to be penalized. If James Harden doesn’t play in the first round due to his concussion, that’s a serious blow to the Thunder.
Bottom line is the Lakers are in trouble. We can expect the soft Pao Gasol to show up again in the playoffs. Andrew Bynum’s temper will get him into some trouble at some point, and Kobe will go off on his teammates like usual. Oh, let’s not forget this embattled team doesn’t have the “Zen Master” Phil Jackson patrolling the sidelines this post season.
The Clipper franchise has waited a long time for this moment. They have a chance to do something they haven’t done in forever – have greater post season success than the Lakers. I want all you Laker frontrunners to convince me otherwise.
Kim Atwater
In the Michael Jordan era, there were several teams in my opinion more complete than the Chicago Bulls and as I have always respected Michael’s elitist talent, I felt that there were other teams that were better like Charles Barkley’s Phoenix Suns. However, the defining factor in post season was Michael Jordan. Having said that you are correct in your assessment of the overall better pieces but I will go on record having stating that the difference in this scenario, again is two words Kobe Bryant. It’s just my humble opinion as a basketball fan!
Kim Atwater
Also, you are so on point about Pau Gasol!