[Previous entry: "Oh, Sh!t ..."] [Next entry: "Happy Trails, Harvey Korman"]

05/29/2008: "Back To The Finals!"

If I'd have told you last September that come June, the Lakers would be in the NBA Finals, you'd have hit me in the head with a stick. And yet, there they are - headed back to the finals after a Game 5 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, 100-93.

Remember where we were during training camp last fall? It wasn't if Kobe Bryant would be traded, but rather when. He'd laid down the gauntlet during the offseason, challenging GM Mitch Kupchak and owner Jerry Buss to make the changes necessary to make the team competitive, and they reacted with inaction and silence. Kobe vented his frustration publicly, and you sensed his time with the Lakers was about to end. Even when it appeared that the team wasn't going to make a deal to send him away, there was just no reason to believe that the team was going anywhere.

Shows what we know. Derek Fisher came home, the team gelled, Kobe found his leadership groove, Mitch got Pau Gasol for free and now we're headed to the finals against either Detroit or Boston. The Lakers have history with both franchises, but let's face it - it's just gotta be the Celtics. All the history ... all the ghosts. Bring on the green!