Let's not mince words here, no team has ever come from behind and won a series in NBA history after being down 3-0. Phil Jackson has never coached a team that was down in a series 3-0 either. That's the scenario to be played out in the coming days as the LA Lakers trail an upstart Dallas Mavericks team that has really hit their stride entering this Western Conference Semifinal series. Following Friday night's loss of Game 3 of the series by the Lakers, star player Kobe Bryant still appeared upbeat about their chances to win the series despite the fact the Lakers blew a 16 point lead in the process of the defeat. Kobe thinks they can still come back and win it, and I can understand his line of thinking beyond his own explanation of him just being "crazy".
Kobe is a fierce competitor, one of the best in the league. He's incredibly confident in himself, as proven by all the last second shots he's taken and made in his career. He's incredibly confident in himself and his ability to win basketball games, and with great reason. Kobe Bryant is a great player. This isn't his time though.
Let's cut through the formalities and how Kobe sees the scenario, because honestly I think they way he's portraying it is way out of touch, and I think even a part of him knows it. The Lakers are down 3-0, and blew a 16 point lead in Game 3. Phil Jackson doesn't know how to manage the long term and short term of being down 3-0, he's never worked in such a scenario before. And the Lakers outside of Kobe has reason to not be as confident. They haven't played well, and their not players of Bryant's arrogance, caliber, or instinct. Pau Gasol looks tired and weak. He's taking lots more jump shots and straying away from the block a lot more than in last year's playoffs where he was near dominant. Gasol's played a lot of minutes the last 2 years, his legs are probably gone and his game has suffered. Andrew Bynum is a mental case right now, spouting off about trust issues, and I genuinely think trust issues are an issue in that locker room right now. Kobe may be a leader, but he's not a uniter, and when things go bad for the Lakers they start pointing their figures at each other, with Kobe being the untouchable. It just so happens that the finger pointing is finally happening at the least opportune time, during the NBA playoffs against a very worthy opponent. In that same vein, Dallas looks really strong. Simply put, they're playing really good basketball right now . Dallas's guard play has been exceptional especially and I'm afraid the Lakers just can't hang. Further, LA's bench hasn't contributed much outside of Game 1, and most of that was from essential starter Lamar Odom.
I will give the Lakers at least this much though, if they win tomorrow, their comeback at least becomes plausible. A win tomorrow drums up confidence, especially being on the road. If the Lakers play sound basketball, some of the inner workings of that team calm down and trust starts to come back. They go back to LA then and could then easily win Game 5. At this point, Dallas, who has a history of losing playoff series after being comfortably ahead (2006 Finals for instance) becomes panicked and Game 6 in Dallas is essentially a must win that holds the key to the series. Games 4 and 5 hold the chance for a swing of confidence and for the Lakers to ultimately come back.
The first task though is winning Game 4, and that's the most doubtful. Its going to take an effort from at least one Laker player that is above and beyond the norm. Kobe's got to drop 50 or Bynum's got to get 25 and 15. Someone has to play out of their mind. Someone's got to be the brunt of the offense and instill the fact that Dallas will not creep back into the game like they did in Game 3. I say no team other than the Lakers has a chance at this kind of thing, but the Lake Show can do it. I doubt it, but stranger things have happened.
What's the baseline?
Kobe thinks the Lakers can come back from 3-0, and I understand his confidence, I even concede that LA has a chance. Lots of things have to fall into place though for this comeback to be successful, and I'm afraid its just a thing or two too many.
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