The Legendary NBA Finals the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers could provide
Tuesday’s NBA action on TNT was fantastic to watch. Why? Because the entire world had the opportunity to witness the two teams who will meet in the NBA Finals perform in the fashion that makes them the two best teams in the league.
Sorry Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs, I’m not talking about either one of you because you’re the third and fourth best teams in the league. The Spurs might have the best record, but throughout the season, they never had the best team in the league while the Celtics hurt themselves by trading away Kendrick Perkins.
I’m talking about the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Bulls have shocked the world this season with a 51-19 record and are currently a half-game ahead of the Celtics. Derrick Rose is having an amazing season and should be the league’s MVP. I’ll know the award is about politics if he doesn’t get the nod. Tuesday, the Bulls obliterated the Atlanta Hawks (40-31) 114-91. Headed into the season, the Hawks were supposed to be the team that the Bulls are, kind of ironic.
Not only should Rose win the MVP, but coach Tom Thibodeau should win Coach of the Year because of his impact on the team. The Bulls were 41-41 the previous two seasons and were easy first round playoff matchups for the big dogs such as last season’s Cleveland Cavaliers. Now, the Bulls have the best defense in the league and currently own first place in the Eastern Conference.
The Western Conference crown is owned by the Spurs record wise, but when it comes to which team will represent the Western Conference in the finals, most say the Lakers.
Los Angeles has battled through losses to the this season’s horrible Cleveland Cavaliers and endured comments from legendary Lakers Jerry West and Magic Johnson saying this team is too old and doesn’t play defense. At 51-20, the Lakers are the second best team in the west and have returned to their intimidating clutch play status.
The Phoenix Suns (35-34) found out the hard way, when the Lakers defeated them 139-137 in triple overtime Tuesday. Of course, Kobe Bryant was the main factor as he went off for 42 points. Ron Artest scored five of his 18 points in the last two minutes of the final extra period to help the team pull off the victory and Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol added 29 and 24 points.
If the Lakers play like this, they can beat anyone in any city. I don’t care how old their NBA profiles say they are, they’re still the defending champions with a man who is determined to solidify his name in history. I think if he quit today, Kobe would go down as the second best shooting guard to ever play the game, behind Michael Jordan, but this isn’t enough for Kobe. He wants six rings.
The way it goes in Los Angeles, what Kobe wants, Kobe gets…If they can defeat the Bulls.
Los Angeles doesn’t have to worry about anything in the west because the Spurs are not as good and the third seed Dallas Mavericks fizzle every post season. Even if both teams brought its A game to a seven game series, the Lakers could beat both of them.
Chicago is the only team to stand in the Lakers way. Chicago can beat the Celtics, but if the Celtics do make it to the finals, they’re too small to play the Lakers big men. Perkins is traded and Shaquille O’Neal can’t stay healthy. The Bulls have the size and the defense to beat the Lakers.
I think an NBA Finals between the Bulls and the Lakers could go down as one of the best seven game series to ever be played. Think about it, Bryant wants to tie Jordan with six rings while Rose wants to bring the championship back to Chicago and become the next Jordan-like figure in Chicago. If you walk the streets of Chicago everyone is talking about Rose, but it will never be the same without a ring.
The matchups are perfect for a legendary series:
- Energetic Joakim Noah against slow and methodical Andrew Bynum
- Two of the best offensive power forwards in the league, Gasol and Carlos Boozer
- Premier defender Artest against the Bulls number two scorer Luol Deng
- Solid defender Ronnie Brewer and three point marksmen Keith Bogans against superstar Bryant
- MVP Rose against the entire Lakers squad because Derek Fisher or Steve Blake are not on his level
Plus, both teams use the bench in great fashion. Odom, Matt Barnes and Shannon Brown have been main contributors for the Lakers while Omer Asik, Kyle Korver, Brewer and Taj Gibson have done the same for Chicago.
I know it is never wise to get your hopes up for a certain situation to happen in the NBA because the odds are usually not in my favor, but I have to hope for this series, especially with a looming lockout.
What better way to lead into a lockout than an amazing 7-game NBA Finals between two of the NBA’s largest markets, the Bulls and the Lakers?
