a Chris Jaymes place

It’s somewhat of a contradiction to say that a series will begin after a 2-0 start since only 3 teams in NBA history have ever come back from 0-2 to win the championship, however it does mean that it’s possible. Technically, the home team is expected to win their home games and the road team is desperately hoping to ’steal’ one. That said, the home team in the finals must go on the road for 3 games and is expected to ’steal’ at least one. So, as far as odds go, the team with the 2-0 start is obviously favored to win, especially seeing that this year’s home team, The Lakers, have the best road record for regular season wins. Regardless of all the numbers and figures, the thing that makes things still exciting is the fact that anything is possible.

After game 1 of the finals turned into such a blowout, as a Laker fan you feel a sense of confidence, but then your brain begins to drift and wonder, if the next three games were like this one, would I have a sense of satisfaction. Of course, I’d be happy, but when the excitement of the game ends after 3 quarters you lose the orgasmic finish that as a fan we all love so much, unless of course, your team loses. As fans, we are all contradicted in this way. What we demand of our team is worse than the pressures we impose upon our wives and girlfriends, we want absolute perfection from beginning to end, however… don’t take away the excitement of the journey. You really can’t win if you’re a player and as a fan… you want the impossible.

Seeing that I’m an avid Laker Fan, I obviously want my team to win. And obviously, a 4-0 win sounds wonderful and amazing, but at the same time, there is a selfish contradiction that doesn’t want this season to end. It doesn’t want the journey to end, and the idea of having no basketball to look forward to for the next four months, no press conferences, no ESPN articles, no conversations with strangers at bars and grocery stores about what we’re going through is almost like a subtle death, and the impact of that death gets larger the longer your team continues to succeed.

The death of a successful season such as last year, getting worked by the Celtics leaves you stunned, as you got giving this gift of hope that carries you deep into June for everything to be deflated, and all the success is immediately forgotten by the omnipotent newfound failure. Again, an unfairness imposed upon the players by the fan, as they now ‘failed’ regardless of the fact that they gave us as much basketball as they could have for that entire year. Now, let’s assume the Laker were to find redemtion and win this season. The death of the season is still there, but there is a larger light surrounding the outcome. When the Lakers won three championships in a row in the early 2000’s, how did it feel??

The main thing that stood out to me during those summer days was a shift in the demeanor of the city as a whole. At night, when you were out in public, there was a communal sense of lightness that everyone seemed to have. There was an unspoken affinity that seeped through Los Angeles for a short period of time, and basically… everyone was just a slight bit nicer to everyone else without really noticing why or how. This is what a player brings to a city after a successful run and something the are never fully credited for, aside from a massive paycheck and a massive amount of criticism when they begin the following season without absolute perfection. When the lose, this lightness of being is replaced by an unspoken quiet, as the conversations quickly come to end and our ineffable link together is immediately abandoned.

That said, the question becomes… what means more to the fan, a 4-0 domination? Or an elongated journey that sustains our basketball life just a little bit longer? It’s a tough contradiction that I can’t honestly answer. But I can say, I can’t thank The Lakers enough for continuing to giving me two years in a row of as much basketball as they could possibly offer, regardless of the outcome, and I can only hope that the fans of Orlando offer the same appreciation to their team, as we are both blessed fans at this point.