Some of the Lakers' abysmal rotations can be explained by Dirk Nowitzki's presence. He's as good as anyone in the league at creating open space for teammates, which explains why the Mavericks went 2-7 this season when he was injured. But much of it is also due to the Lakers, quite simply, giving up. After about a quarter they decided they were done. It was time to go home.
What happened to these "proud" two time defending champions? How did they not only lose, but flame out so spectacularly? We'll probably never really know. Maybe they're just getting old. Or maybe the continued, deep playoff runs led to fatigue.
Or perhaps there was something going on to which fans are not privy. There have been rumors that Vanessa Bryant caused Pau Gasol and his girlfriend to split and that, in turn, resulted in Kobe and Pau not speaking. Immediately after yesterday's game, Pau stated, without explanation, ''I have to learn that when something happens off the court, you have to keep it off the court."
I'm immediately reminded of last year's flame out--the Cleveland Cavaliers. Again, there was speculation of an internal, personal split in the locker room: Delonte West had allegedly been sleeping with LeBron James' mother. Again, it was never clear whether the rumor had been manufactured out of thin air, or if it was based in fact.
The question is, in such situations, which way does the causation flow? Are these events actually occuring, causing teams to disintegrate? Or when teams fall apart, do we have a tendency to look for--and perhaps even create--a beyond-the-stat-sheet explanation?
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