NBA
BASKETBALL The
Lakers' Dynasty Could Outdo the Bulls By JERRY
MITTLEMAN
June 20, 2001
Anyone watching
the L.A. Lakers playoff run this year sensed they were seeing history in
the making. Not only did they see Shaq and company win a second title in
record fashion, they saw a team poised to string together an impressive
run of titles.
Although it's
premature to say, my sense is the current Lakers, barring serious injury
to Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant could wind up just as good and probably
even better than the Phil Jackson coached dynasty in Chicago.
The main difference
between the Lakers' dynasty in the making and the Michael Jordan-led Bulls,
is Shaq. Jordan is arguably the greatest all-around talent in NBA history,
but Shaq is certainly up there with the dominant centers of all time. Pairing
a talent like his with someone like Kobe Bryant simply makes the Lakers
unstoppable.
The Lakers
were reminded during the course of this troublesome season that it all
starts with Shaq. It doesn't hurt when you have Bryant, the most talented
perimeter player in the league today, to finish when Shaq doesn't. Let's
not forget, and this might be more frightening than all - Kobe is only
22.
The Triangle
Offense makes ample use of big, talented pivotmen. Phil Jackson never had
a weapon like Shaq in his days at Chicago. He was forced to make do with
totally pedestrian centers. The Bulls succeeded because Jordan and Scottie
Pippen were fantastic slashers to the hole, who either finished or set
up teammates or each other. The Bulls never had an inside-outside game
with talents on the par of Shaq and Kobe, who are capable of exploiting
the Triangle to its full potential. Therefore, the Lakers could be capable
of raising the level of their game to rarefied heights that even the Bulls
didn't attain.
The Lakers'
recent achievement should quell any lingering doubts about Phil Jackson's
stature as a coach. He is up there with Red Auerbach and John Wooden, among
the very few coaches who totally dominated the game. All the talk that
anyone could win a championship with Jordan, Shaq and Kobe is total nonsense.
In fact, nobody other than Jackson has won an NBA championship with any
of these players. Jackson is a coach who takes monster talents and molds
them into champions. Jackson would not win without players of that caliber,
but it's also very questionable whether they could win titles without him.
There is no
NBA team even remotely on the horizon who seems capable of wrestling the
crown from the Lakers. Maybe the competition's only hope is that the new
rules allowing for the zone defenses next year will prevent Shaq from getting
the ball and upset the existing order. When the 24 second clock was introduced,
it was meant to prevent Bob Cousy from dribbling out the clock, and it
did, but it also opened up the game. The new rules are meant to stimulate
creativity and movement. Will they also serve to neutralize Shaq?
Its doubtful. At the moment, it's the Lakers and Shaq's world, and everyone
else is just visiting.
