Actually the reason they didn't make the Finals is because Melo's failed miserably the last 4 games of the WCFs that year. The Lakers were ready to go down.
except for the part where they won the NBA championship?? You know, beat every team in their path. That type of ready to go down? yes, the Rockets took them to 9 games, even after Yao went down. Because they Lakers didn't and still don't have the ability to contain scoring PGs. They still won the series, and - oh yeah - the championship. ??
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