Poor, sad Lakers

The dynasty is over. All the sports media are quick to pounce on the Los Angeles Lakers’ defeat at the hands of the Detroit Pistons. Everyone is quick to brand the former champions as fodder for vultures. But there is much to look back on, and possibly to build on.

What really happened to the mighty gang from Hollywood? Primarily, the intangibles did them in. The overriding sense of entitlement (fed by tons of press releases by impatient media looking for a quick hook) gave them a false sense of security, not to mention pride.

However, in the Detroit Pistons, they found a nemesis, not like the original "Bad Boys," but more like the foils the Boston Celtics were in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. Larry Brown is a new century’s Red Auerbach, putting together an unlikely collection of role players, built around a defensive monster, Ben Wallace, in the mold of a Bill Russel. While the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal (as in the generation of Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain) hoped to blind opponents with the "bling bling" of their mere star presence, the Pistons bathed in the subdued light of a workman’s ethic. In Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, the new champions found a reincarnation of Sam Jones and John Havlicek, work horses who would run you into the ground.

Often, the Lakers past and present would have double-barreled offensive power, missing the crucial third threat that would make them impossible to defend. The Pistons, like the Celtics before them, relied on a virtual conveyor belt of non-stars, all uniformly inconspicuous, whose strengths were therefore undetectable.

Like Boston, Detroit is a working man’s town, where success in anything is earned, and life offers no guarantees, even for Hollywood leading men. It may sometimes be harsh, but always fair.

Larry Brown knew what he was doing. He was around during the Celtics’ eight straight titles. Some formulas, it seems, are eternals.

So what lies ahead for the Lakers? Perhaps Bill Walton had a point. Before his son Luke joined L.A., he always scored Phil Jackson for having it all, and never having to build a team from scratch. Now, he may get his chance, if he has the stamina for it.

Whatever path each of the Lakers choose will be reflective of their personalities, and will be an indication of their greatness in the years to come.

When you come right down to it, no matter how the voracious global media hurries to find the next big thing, their substance as players and persons can only be determined by them.