TNT did a great job of recapping the playoffs with a chronological montage of highlights set to “You Know You’re Looking at a Winner”. Even though I was just laying on the ground, it raised my competitive juices to the point the beast inside of me was pounding. I love that beast. I want it to break loose.
The end of the Lakers-Suns series was so telling in terms of the competition breaking point: when 1 entity despite it’s unrelenting will kills over. Steve Nash cried over the failure. The Lakers moved on for another shot at their historic rival, the team that rocked their world in 2008.
I wanted the Suns for two primary reasons. I think the biggest was for Steve Nash. Even at 36, he’s playing at a premier offensive level but despite all his greatness, he can’t advance. Don’t blame him though. I can see Steve’s pain but in all truth, the Lakers are a monster that only a near perfect Suns team would have beat.
The Lakers are glorious but they’re also stacked moreso than any other team in the league. Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum are perhaps the best top 5 players any team has ever fielded. On top of the talent, the Lakers are physically big and the size alone creates a statistical advantage from the outset.
What I see over and over for every team that faces them is an uphill battle that is extremely difficult to turn the corner against. Remember not so long ago when they didn’t have the best bigman in the league, Gasol, the Steve Nash led Suns actually eliminated the Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom led Lakers convincingly two seasons in a row.
Now, the Lakers talent reservoir is so immediately strong, it’s tough to push them to their peak, to find their breaking point.
But sometimes, if you really want to be king, you have to unleash the primal beast inside you. You can’t just play great defense on Kobe. You have to stop him no matter what. And this is the point where the game elevates to the highest levels of the mountain and everything boils to a point. The point only has room for one and if you’re not good enough, you better find a way to get good enough or you will be knocked off.
In the end, one team leader stood to the side, unaccepting of a preliminary trophy and eager to redeem a championship loss. The other team leader broke down, having gotten so close to his ultimate prize of victory.
And this is the beauty of competition. There can only be one.
This competition didn’t reach the highest of levels, but it topped out pretty high up. I love the essence of competing for the only win that counts. It brings about higher performances than what would normally be available.
I can’t wait to knock my opponent off the perch. It doesn’t matter how, I must win. When all is said and done, TCOBO. It must be me.
