原文来自：http://www.dailynews.com/lakers/ci_15066912 翻译：松爷
All is right again in Lakerland
Remember when everything was wrong with the Lakers? Way back when, like three weeks ago? Kobe Bryant was old, hurt and on the downslide. Derek Fisher couldn't guard anyone, let alone shoot straight anymore. The Lakers weren't focused, or fleet and athletic enough. Ron Artest couldn't figure out the triangle offense and the bench was terrible. The Oklahoma City Thunder were on the verge of knocking the champs out in the first round, and if the Thunder didn't do it surely the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks or San Antonio Spurs would finish them off. It was over, finished. The Lakers were done, and it was time to find a new champion.
Well, so much for all that nonsense. Three weeks later the Lakers find themselves riding an all-time great lucky streak, one of those nothing-can-go-wrong rides that usually winds up with a parade downtown and Kobe hoisting another championship trophy. Bryant is playing like his old-self - or young-self - the injury problems clearing up and the swagger back in his game. Pau Gasol has been dominant in the paint, any questions about his toughness replaced with renewed admiration for his dazzling all-around game. Lamar Odom, Artest and Fisher have been ideal role players, and the bench has been adequate. Andrew Bynum is limited by the torn meniscus in his right knee, but just being on the court right now, providing another big body in the paint, is invaluable.
The Lakers are complete again, and on top of that they are the beneficiaries of some good fortune. The Nuggets, Mavericks and Spurs have all been cleared from their path, the only team standing between them and another trip to the finals being the Phoenix Suns, who graciously did the Lakers' dirty work by eliminating the Spurs in the second round. The Lakers already caught one break when they faced the beat-up Utah Jazz in the second round rather than the more dangerous Nuggets, rolling through the Jazz in a four-game sweep - no disrespect to the Suns but they just aren't the Spurs or Mavericks. Now comes a six-day break until the start of the Western Conference finals, which profits the Lakers much more than the Suns. The Lakers can rest, recoup and regroup, the time off a perfect tonic for all Bryant's ailments, and a welcome reprieve for Bynum's right knee. Phil Jackson, the veteran maestro, will use the time off wisely, his experience with long pauses between series paying off. For the Suns, it will be a challenge retaining all the momentum they gathered through the first two rounds. The last thing a surging team needs is a long layoff, or any sort of interruption to throw off its rhythm. And that is exactly what the Suns must fight against the rest of the week. And it's not like Phoenix head coach Alvin Gentry has any familiarity with long playoff delays - Gentry's been to the postseason just one other time as a head coach, and that was a first-round loss to Atlanta way back in 1999 with the Detroit Pistons. Everything, it seems, is going right for the Lakers right now.
No doubt the Suns will prove a worthy opponent. They are clearly playing their best basketball of the season, and no team with a point guard like Steve Nash and an explosive power forward like Amare Stoudemire should be taken lightly. Still, the Lakers could not have drawn a more ideal adversary than the Suns in the Western Conference finals. The Suns aren't particularly big inside, a huge disadvantage against a Gasol/Bynum/Odom frontline of the Lakers. They are playing better defense compared with the first half of the season, but it's not like they can lock people down, so if the triangle offense is running smoothly, the Lakers should get whatever shot they want, whenever they want, much like they did against the Jazz. Phoenix has no real answer for Bryant - or Gasol for that matter. And of the Suns' top two offensive threats right now, Artest matches up well against Jason Richardson and Gasol has a three-inch height advantage over Stoudemire. The Suns are primarily a team that got on a roll, and a team like that can be dangerous in the postseason. So for the next week you will hear and read about the Suns' synergy, about how everything came together for them at the perfect time. They are a team of destiny, brimming with confidence and belief in itself, capable of taking out the world champions. It won't mean a thing. The Lakers are just too good. With the long layoff, homecourt advantage, superior size advantage and a rested Bryant, the Lakers just have too much going for them to stumble this close to their third consecutive trip to the finals. This series is over in six games.
