I’ve had a couple days to think this over.  For one there is no doubt who the better team was.  It was the Dallas Mavericks.  They made their shots and played shutdown defense when they had to. The Lakers seemed lost at times and forgot that the Mavericks can shoot the 3-pointer almost at will.  With that said it’s apparent that another era has ended in Los Angeles.  How long will it take for another to rise remains to be seen.  Make no mistake that it will rise again.  As long as owner Jerry Buss is willing to let GM Mitch Kupchak continue to make moves to improve the team they will contend.

It was embarrassing to see a two-time defending champion go out the way they did.  Not being swept out of the playoffs, but rather what Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum did to get themselves tossed in Game 4.  Odom’s push of Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki was bad, but was nothing compared to Bynum’s elbow to a defenseless Mavericks guard J.J. Barea.  Problem with Bynum’s bush play was that he’s done it before.  Never learned.  Even worse to me was the lack of respect shown by Bynum after the game.  Grow up and take the beating with some class.

I’m puzzled with Pau Gasol’s play throughout the playoffs.  He admitted that something off the court had affected him on the court.  What that something is wasn’t said, but some believe it was the break up from his fiance.  It’s pretty surprising to think that a great player like Gasol can let something get to him on the court this year when he was winning two championships the last two years.  I know I know, if true it was his fiance and not a jilted girlfriend.  I didn’t see Kobe laying down with all those court dates in Colorado back in 2004.  That Lakers team eventually fell apart too, but Kobe himself didn’t let that get to him on the court.

Phil Jackson is still the greatest basketball coach ever in my opinion.  Only a hand full of other coaches could do what he has done with so much talent.  The Chicago Bulls of the 90s.  The Lakers of the early 2000s.  Those were some great teams.  Phil was fortunate to walk into ready made teams, but you still have to coach and get those players to believe they can do great things. This will be a black mark on Phil’s legacy, but overall it doesn’t tarnish it.  There were problems early on with them, but Phil still managed to keep them in contention going into the playoffs.

Going forward the one advantage the Lakers had was their size. “Pound it in the paint” is what I’ve said about the Lakers ever since they acquired Pau Gasol.  Some folks said that Dirk Nowitzki was going to have a field day with the Lakers.  I agreed with that, but I figured the Lakers would make Nowitzki play some defense and “pound it in the paint.”  I was wrong in that regard.  To me Phil Jackson is certainly gone.  Will he retire?  Yes.  One thing is certain.  It is extremely hard to win a championship let alone the 11 that Jackson has.  What more does he have to prove?  That he can win in New York?  Don’t get your hopes up Knicks fans.

Initially fans are wanting Dwight Howard right now.  I for one think that it is inevitable that he will be in a Lakers uniform.  That’s not me being a homer, but a realist.  What brought Shaq to LA? Money for one, but it was the allure of Los Angeles.  Money will be there, but the one advantage the Lakers have over most teams is that they play in Los Angeles.  New York has the same allure, but they haven’t had success recently like the Lakers.  With the looming lockout this summer there won’t be much player movement.

We will have to wait another year to see where Dwight Howard goes.  The Lakers will have to shore up their bench as well.  For now this team will have to do a lot of soul searching in the offseason and make sure that they don’t embarrass themselves like they did this past Mothers Day.