I agree. The guys mentioned the "switch mentality" more than once. And they said the same thing you've said - that the Lakers aren't going to be able to give less than 100% and come from behind once they're facing tough competition.
:: sighs ::
You have
no idea how deep this runs -- not just the Lakers, but their fans as well.
I'm watching Game 2 with some friends at the house, two Laker fans, one neutral, and myself. The Lakers go up 8 points with seven minutes left
in the first quarter, and the Laker fans are putting the Rockets away for the series. No more wins, over in five. They were serious, seriously. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
And here's the thing: before the series started, the LA media had the Lakers either sweeping Houston or winning in five. This is
before Yao went down. And when Houston "stole" Game 1, it was because the Rockets played the best game of their lives and the Lakers played the worst game of theirs. It wasn't because the Lakers got outhustled, never bothered to show any emotion, and lost the game because they were outplayed. No, it was because the Lakers didn't take the Rockets seriously, and now that they had won Game 1, it was going to be over in five.
Now, with certain individuals picking against the Lakers in the WCF, the LA media is pretending that no one is giving them a chance. ESPN's poll had the Lakers favored 60/40, and one of the afternoon radio show hosts got on the air and said "everyone is doubting the Lakers, no one thinks they have a chance to win, and if you pick the Lakers, people are going to call you a homer"! I'm not making this up. It's like these people down here can't fathom the idea that certain basketball fans don't worship the ground the Lakers walk on. Colin Cowherd said this morning that he turned off "Kobe: Doin Work" 20 minutes in because it was boring (and it was), and Laker fans dogged him all day long for being a Kobe hater. It never ends.
And, like you said, this team thinks they can just turn it on and win whatever game they need to, that they can just cruise, because this is their year. Maybe they are that good, and maybe they do win the championship, but when I look at a team like the Cavs and the way they've approached their postseason -- not just the fact that they haven't lost a game, but the way they have never looked like they weren't serious about winning a championship -- there's a huge difference between them and the Lakers.
Huge difference. And that's why Mark Jackson said he's done picking the Lakers, not because he doesn't like them or thinks that they
can't win, but because they aren't hungry like the Nuggets and the Cavs are.
As much as I dislike the Lakers, it's their fans that really bug the hell out of me. As much of a sense of entitlement the players have, the fans believe that they "deserve" to win every year, that Kobe "deserves" a championship and Finals MVP, that Phil "deserves" a tenth ring, etc. Bratty, petulant, arrogant Laker fans are the biggest reason I don't like the Lakers.
