In the past few years the West had been populated by a wild bunch of unruly, violent teams who made a point of running roughshod over the territory and having their way with those who inhabited the division. Their names struck fear into a populace who were incapable of fighting off the depredations and assaults inflicted on them.
They preyed on the weak and undermanned and left a bloody swath in their marchs to the playoffs and beyond.
These manic outlaws who pillaged and ruled with iron fists became legendary, their names spoken with awe: Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, Utah, Houston.
Now like the Federal Marshals sent from the old Forth Smith Gallows to tame the wild territories of west, the Lakers are seeking out these old miscreants and giving them a taste of long overdue justice.
Resembling some apocalyptic horseman seeking to redress a litany of old wrongs, the Lakers are meting out their own special brand of violent retribution. There is no “wanted dead or alive” option here though-only a cold carcass to be trussed up suites this western rampage.
Some have sought us out and come to town looking for the showdown, others, like Phoenix, had to be chased down, hoping for succor and success by fighting it out in their favorite stronghold; but either way the results are always the same, another notch on the gun, another bounty taken, another team tamed.
In just a couple short years the face of the wild, wild west has been turned upside down and the game last night was a clear denouement of the bad old days. A team that used to revel in tormenting us, which seemingly just yesterday took down the Lakers in seven heartbreaking games then twisted the knife the next year with a humiliating playoff route has now found itself just another hapless victim with no answers, no game and no problems for the ascendant Lakers.
So strong, so powerful, so superior to us just a couple years ago, Phoenix couldn’t out-play us in the half court, on the defensive end or even in their old specialty, the fast break. Watching their team lose like this at home, almost like a plaything for this young Lakers team to have fun with, fans in the Sun city must have seen a terrible and frightening future.
It’s a future they share with all the west.
Last night was just a showcase for what remains for all the erstwhile powers of the West. It also showed so very clearly why Coach D’Antoni (not a dumb man) decided to take his bag of tricks to New York instead of suffer season long retribution from his favorite, old whipping boys. The type of beating he avoided having to absorb from such a bitter, emotional rival would have been very hard for Mike to live through…over and over again.
The star of this new master of the West is not Kobe Bryant, or even Pau Gasol..not even young Andrew Bynum. The real star of the team this year is our retrofitted and well executed defense.
Urged upon by his coaches, but resisted by Phil for the last couple years, and finally forced on him by last years Lakers failure and Boston’s success the, old dog decided to finally try a new trick and perhaps to his surprise, the result has worked to produce this new look Lakers hybrid that is on pace to win 70 games.
It’s not a Kobe Bryant explosion that brings about the run like we saw last night, but a steady, grinding defense that wears a team down and leads to that mental and physical fatigue which gives them the opening we seek.
Not the spectacular flood of a Kobe 45 point surge, but a steady drip, drip, drip of stolen passes, harrassment, blocked shots and defensive switches. Addition by subtraction one might say.
With Phoenix’s bloody, fresh scalp now pinned to and dangling on display from our bridle along with the crusty, dried ones of Houston, New Orleans and Dallas there remains a reckoning with just a few more of the West’s true outlaws. Aging San Antonio and younger upstart Utah remain off in the horizon yet, yet they both know we are right behind them giving chase, seeking that violent resolution that has to come. The inevitable results of those conflicts are no more a mystery than ones weve already had.
The Pacific and Western crowns have already been taken in what will turn out to be a very anti-climatic Western race and a new and irresistible law has been laid down. The wild west has been tamed.
