Darkness On The Horizon And A Lantern’s Light: Rockets at Lakers Game 7 Preview
If you like to pretend that NBA games have philosophical impact, today’s Rockets-Lakers Game 7 is a smorgasbord.
Don’t believe me? Take a read of Krolik.
But while Krolik primarily covered much of what Shoals touched on, in terms of how Kobe will be viewed, that is, the goat if he loses, the SGOAT if they win the title, I’d like to touch on the implications if this Lakers team, THIS particular Lakers team wins tomorrow,and then if we extrapolate it out to the championship.
In a way, the Rockets performance up until now has only created a heightened opportunity for crushing disappointment if they lose today. Yes, their performance has been epic, inspiring, and brilliant. For a team to overcome the odds they’re up against solely with effort, heart and team play is the stuff that only happens in the movies. If they win tomorrow, it’ll be the validation of the idea that heart and toughness and intangibles are all real constructs and not just spin words attributed to good fortune. It means that if you work hard with your teammates and commit yourself to your teammates, you can overcome anything. Conversely, if they lose, what does that say?
It says that talent and height are the only things that are important. All the values that we hold as sacred in sports, effort, hard work, teamwork, heart, all of that? Means bupkiss if you’re able to rip off the Grizzlies. The Lakers won’t have earned this series, they’ll just have been granted what was already afforded them. Superiority based on physica tools and skill. I’m not trying to villify the Lakers this time. But a team that gets blown out in a pivotal Game 4 and then loses wire to wire in a close-out Game 6 to a team without 50% of its payroll? A team that refuses to close out, box out, communicate or work harder than is convenient? That team is greater than a scrappy team with endless heart led by underrated role players? What message does that send?
I’ve long said that there’s a karmic imbalance in the NBA, and the Lakers advancing would be a great example of that. The Lakers winning isn’t karma, it’s inveitable. Death Taxes. Gasol missing a dunk and getting a soft tap back. All part of the same pool.
What if your NBA champions were underwhelming, uninspiring, spoiled and presumptuous? What isf that team never faced down adversity, never proved itself, just had things go their way and was athletically superior? What lesson does that provide?
These are all answers I fear we’ll have to address after today.
“And then Goliath stomped on David until he was broken and bloody. The End.”
[...] and the championship pedigree belong to the Celtics. But what we saw yesterday, and what Moore was lamenting pre-game, is the tired tradition of superior talent winning out over all [...]