SWEPT!

Yes I know. I am looking silly right now. Silly for saying that the back-to-back champion will definitely be going back to the NBA Finals to defend their crown. I made a prediction before the play-offs started that the Finals this year will be another Boston vs. LA showdown. However, as we all know by now, the champs were swept in the 2nd round by Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks. The Boston guys as of this writing are also in trouble against the Big 3 of South Beach.

I've been a Lakeshow fan for so very long. The sudden crash landing is not new. It happened before, and they proved that they can bounce back. I've been a Maverick Hater ever since Mark Cuban owned and took control of the team. I think he and Ron Artest would be a good wrestling match-up.

Well, it's not only me who predicted that LA is going back to the NBA Finals and win it all. Renowned NBA analyst Brent Barry and Sekou Smith and a lot of NBA columnists and bloggers around the globe said the same thing. Hundreds, thousand maybe even millions made that silly prediction. Basketball junkies everywhere say that they will win it all. LA dropped a lot of games before the All-Star break, bounced back after the break, only to falter again before the play-offs. That's normal, that's just who they are. Unpredictable. That is the identity of the LA Lakers. They can play good basketball for stretches and play lousy basketball for stretches. That kind of attitude finally caught up with them. When they tried to turn the switch on, the fire wasn't there anymore.

Their inability to put the ball in the hole is not the main reason, Kobe can still score, the big guys can score, it was their defense that pushed them out of the play-offs.

The 4-0 mauling from the Mavericks is a tough pill to swallow, most of us thought that LA will even up the series and win it in a game 7 finale.

It did not happen.

Here are some facts during the LA - Maverick series:

1. LA is playing tired basketball. They've been deep in the play-offs and reached the NBA Finals for three straight years. The number of games they played is almost equivalent to an extra regular season. Playing a ton of games finally caught up with their older legs. Of course, playing tired is not an excuse, but it was evident during the series.

2. LA can never guard a pick and roll or pick and pop. Dallas run the same play a lot of times and as usual, LA failed to defend the play a lot of times.

3. Pau Gasol went back to 'soft mode'. Fatigue might play a role, but it was not the Pau we saw during their championship run. Pau played a very poor series. Outplayed, outclassed humiliated by Dirk Nowitzki. Pau's 2011 post season basketball is a total disaster. It might force the management to ship him out of LA.

4. The Zen Master was outcoached by Rick Carlisle. The strategy of Rick of putting guys who can shoot the 3 played a key role to the Lakers' demise. LA's big guys are too slow to react every time Dallas swings the ball from side to side, often leaving a Dallas guy wide open for a 3 point shot. 3-point shooting was the Maverick's weapon of choice. Phil was not able to solve that mystery. If in-game adjustments are what Coach Pop (SA Spurs) does best, adjustments in a 7 game series is Phil's strength. He failed to do it this series.

5. Dirk is Dirk. You can limit him, but you can't stop him from scoring. He carried his team all throughout the series, but for me, the team's MVP is Tyson Chandler. He brought something that Dallas don't have years ago. He brought Toughness to a team labeled as soft. Dirk was often criticized because he refuses to bang bodies. Tyson Chandler changed their culture.

6. Kobe made less than 10 lay-ups the whole series. He became a jump shooter. More shots from the outside, fewer drives to the basket. It might be due to the sprained ankle he suffered during the series against the Hornets. It can also be due to the suffocating defense of the Mavericks, Was he tired? Who knows?
For me, Kobe has lost his explosiveness. I hate to admit it. He's only 32 years old but in professional basketball, 32 is considered old and 2 to 3 years away from retirement. His will to win and mental toughness is incomparable but when fatigue and old age collide, your body reacts slowly to what your mind wants you to do.

7. Finally, the Mavericks are hungrier than LA. They want to win that ring. This is probably their last chance to do it. It's now or never.