Reversal of Fortune

I haven't written about sports much lately. That's in part because the NFL season ended (always a depressing time) and now the owners and players are arguing about how many millions (or billions) each will get to the extent there might not be a 2011 NFL season. All this during a time when expenses for the average American (gas, utilities, food) keeps on growing... Talk about a gulf between the haves and the have-nots.

But Sunday's action on the court (NBA, not tennis) reminded me that the playoffs (both for college hoops and the NBA) are right around the corner. Of course, as a Lakers' fan, this has been a strange NBA season.

All the pre-season hype surrounded other teams, notably the Miami Heat. The Heat, who signed Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh over the summer, seemed poised to take the league by storm. They got off to a rough start then caught fire. The New York Knicks have played better than they have in years, the Chicago Bulls are hot, and the Boston Celtics are still a formidable force.

In the west, the veteran San Antonio Spurs have been the toast of the league, rolling out to an impressive record and the inside track to the No. 1 seed. The Lakers, meanwhile, came into the season as the two-time defending champs and preceded to look a little off their game. At first I wasn't concerned, but as the season neared the All-Star break it was hard to ignore the Lakers' weaknesses.

But it was a different story on Sunday. In Miami, the vaunted Heat fell to Chicago, blowing a double-digit lead. It's the third time they've done that in a week, showing the team isn't ready for the big stage and seems to be falling apart when the games matter most. After the game, their coach even said some players were crying in the locker room. CRYING! To paraphrase Tom Hanks said in "A League of Their Own," There's no crying in basketball. At least there shouldn't be.

The Lakers, meanwhile, who were written off as too old and flawed to win again, rolled to their seventh straight win since the All Star break. The team posted a 34-13 lead at the end of the first quarter, was up nearly 30 points at the end of three quarters and cruised to a 99-83 win playing reserves in the final period. Their opponent — the first place Spurs. And they did it in San Antonio.

It's still early March, and there is plenty of season and playoffs yet to be played. But I couldn't help but think that both the Heat and the Lakers sent their fans a message Sunday. In Miami that message was that three superstars playing together don't guarantee anything but headlines. In San Antonio, the message clearly read the road to the title goes through Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson, and the reigning World Champion Los Angeles Lakers.

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