No More Gambling On Talent If Lakers Are Going To Win Title

The Los Angeles Lakers won sixty-five basketball games this season, second most in the league. Still, analysts are left to wonder what could have happened had the Lakers shown up mentally on a night to night basis.

If this Lakers team is going to win a championship this season, they can no longer rely on their talent alone. They have coasted mentally through their last series against the Houston Rockets and the first four games of their current series with the Denver Nuggets.

There is one glaring difference, however, between the Rockets and the Nuggets. Houston was playing short handed, and gave Los Angeles all they could handle in a seven game series, while Denver appears to be just as talented as the Lakers.

Game five of the Western Conference Finals is tonight. and once again the heavily favored Lakers have their backs against the wall with a must win game on their home court. Not only must they win tonight, but they must close out the series in Denver on Friday if people are going to start believing they can win a title.

Too often this post season the Lakers have risen to the occasion of a must win game, only to follow that up with a clunker. At this stage in the game, there is no more room for "off nights".

L.A. still has arguably the best player on the planet in Kobe Bryant, but they will need more than Bryant to survive the Nuggets. Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, and the rest of the cast must show up and show up big.

If not, it could be another season that ends in disappointment and confusion for the Lakers, and with Bryant getting older, they cannot afford to keep wasting these championship opportunities.

May 27, 2009
Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
Submit News!

Belmont Betting Odds: Derby Winner The Strong Early Favorite
Champions League Betting Features Manchester United And Barcelona
Nuggets The Betting Favorite To Even Series With Lakers
NBA Closer To Betting Bonanza In Finals After Cavs, Lakers, Win
Lakers And Nuggets Providing Gamblers With Much Anxiety