Watching the finals this year was just amazing probably best finals I have seen in a long time. Maybe it was the whole underdog factor and knowing we wanted to knock the arrogant lakers off their high chair. Part of it was hatred for a team that seemed to think they were God's gift to basketball.. anyways it was a great finals and it was nice to see KMalone miss out on his best chance to get a ring. *back to the topic. watching the finals one thing that seemed to stand out more than anything was the Lakers Lack of Energy / Lack of Hustle / Lack of Heart .. we may think the Pistons were the superior team and rightfully could be argued, but part of me wondered why the Lakers always seemed to be moving in slow motion. My thought was they just ran out of gas.. the season wore them down.. They had to battle 3 tough teams to get to the finals. first round: Houston - we didnt put up much of a fight (actually seemed like the Lakers didnt even take us seriously at times) but we play physical and tough defense which takes its toll. second round: Spurs - another tough defensive team with the leagues best player in TDuncan. third round: Minnesota - top Western conference team . no team was easy all 3 put up a fight .. Lakers in the finals seemed to be exhausted, or maybe since they are an older team that caught up to them. If the Spurs / Kings / TWolves made the finals instead of the Lakers who would you think had the best chance to beat the Pistons? personally I think all 3 teams would have beaten the Pistons.. what do you think? (something different to discuss) J
I'd say San Antonio would have come out on top. If Sam Cassell and Troy Hudson were healthy, Minnesota vs. Detroit would have been a pretty close series. I'd say toss up. However, they were hurt, so Pistons probably win easily. I don't think Sacramento, w/ a 70% Webber, Peja Stochokeavic, and their lack of D could have come out on top.
I think Minnesota could have won against Detroit. Had Cassell been healthy (yeah I know, excuses excuses, it's part of the game) then they would have made it to the Finals. San Antonio, on the other hand, had no excuse. They blew it plain and simple. They took a commanding 2-0 lead and simply collapsed. Even though we only won 1 game in the series, I believe that the Rockets played them bettr than anyone in the playoffs except for Detroit of course. That series should have been ours but experience and a little luck won it for LA.
