Suns v Lakers III

Physicists have a theory that if someone were to actually figure out how the universe actually worked, a Unified Theory of Everything for example, then that universe would immediately disappear and be replaced with a universe far more strange and baffling. One group of these physicists seriously insist this has already happened more than once.

I, for one, believe it happened two weeks ago. My evidence: the NBA playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks sweep the Memphis Grizzlies without scoring more than 103 in any game? The Chicago Bulls, who two months ago were focusing on who their lottery pick might be are on the verge of eliminating the mighty Heat? San Antonio is in a tied series with the Sacramento Kings?

And the Lakers are playing team basketball?

It's a new universe so baffling that it makes Greg Anthony seem insightful - and that just cannot be right. Something is fundamentally different on the quantum level, and maybe it's time for us to all take a moment and re-evaluate any assumptions our lives might be based on.

For example: the Suns are destined to make the conference finals this year. Clearly a questionable assumption.

Now, by regular season, or old universe logic, it seemed pretty clear. The Suns' only loss against the Lakers came with Nash on the bench. Similarly, they had won their season series with both the Clippers and the Nuggets, who they would have played second round. That left either the Mavs or the Spurs in the conference finals,. Maybe that team (presumptively the Spurs) would be beat up after an almost certain seven game round II dogfight. And maybe Kurt Thomas would be back in the paint to at least make a series out of it. But really, while making the conference finals seemed predestined, winning it seemed overly optimistic.

OK. Throw all that logic out. New universe. One game at a time.

Obviously Phil Jackson got to Kobe Bryant about teamwork and playing in the system and so forth. Perhaps the Zen Master did it by sitting on his all-star's chest with a revolver in the all-star's nose. "Listen, punk! I've never lost a first round series, and I'll go to the slammer before I let that happen..."

Or maybe they just went over the tape - a lot.

Whatever. Not only is Kobe sharing the ball with the rest of the children, Lamar Odom has realized he's an all-star. Further, he's had the zen-epiphany that he's taller than Boris Diaw.

If they'd played like this in the regular season, they could have won the division.

Conversely, if the Suns had played the way they have this series during the regular season, they would have struggled to make the playoffs. They've had a few good quarters, but they've yet to put together a good game. Plus, these Suns are cursed in OT and winless in games decided by less than one possession.

My Beloved Suns are down 3-1, facing elimination.

Few teams have come back from such a defecit. One of them, however, was the 69-70 Los Angeles Lakers, the second seed in the west, who flattened their 4th seed opponent in the first game at the Forum, and then lost the next three straight to face to return to LA, facing elimination at the hands of an expansion team that an LA sports writer derided as "Connie Hawkins and the 10 rejects".

That team, of course, was the Phoenix Suns.

After Elgin Baylor went off for 32 points in game one, a young Paul Silas jumped on him defensively, while Connie Hawkins swooped over and around a hobbling Wilt Chamberlain. But the more Wilt played, the better his knees felt, while Phoenix's center, Jim Fox, found his ankle injury to be getting worse.

Oh, and Jerry West woke up and remembered who he was,the end.

It's a brand new universe. The future is wide open.

Run like hell, boys, or tomorrow you golf!