Lakers win another NBA championship in a strange game seven.  Once again Memphis, thanks for nothing!

SCOTT JACOBS

Kobe Bryant has been business-like and practically emotionless this entire 2010 NBA Finals.  With his eyes on the prize, and a razor sharp focus as brute and untouchable as any athlete in team sports, it was hard to tell just how much another title would mean to Black Mamba.

He answered that question emphatically.

After a strange, but gutsy come from behind game seven win to clinch L.A.’s– yawn– 16th NBA Title, Bryant jumped on the scorer’s table, let out a loud scream, pumping his fists into the air.  He stretched his arms out, bird like really, and exhaled.

Title number five.  Another repeat.

Next year the chance to go for a second three-peat.

“This is the sweetest,” Bryant confidently chided as he stood on the podium, after receiving the Bill Russell Finals MVP trophy.

It was far from the prettiest to watch.  L.A. shot just 32% from the field, but it was an absurd parade to the line that kept them afloat and eventually pushed them ahead.  The Lakers missed 12 free throws, but got to the charity stripe an agonizing 37 times.

The Lakers clinched their 16th NBA championship shooting 20% from the three point line, incredibly bad numbers from a poorly played game.  Until the final few minutes, when two proud franchises finally woke up and gave us a show this one looked like it would go down in the history book as one of the poorest game 7 performances by two teams in history.

And I know this is played out, but once again, the Grizzlies trade of Pau Gasol to the Lakers continues to look like one of the all-time worst trades in the history of sports. In three years Gasol and the Lakers have been to the Finals 3 times, winning it the last 2 years.

So as the Lakers celebrate yet another NBA championship, the Celtics are left to ponder what if.  Up 13 in the 3rd quarter the Celtics looked like world-beaters on their way to an 18th championship.  But then the game got rough, and the Celtics appeared to lose their edge, tiring out as the game hung in the balance.

They ultimately came up short, losing two straight after landing in L.A. confidently ready to knock out the defending champs.

Ironically it was the Lakers’ all everything Bryant who seemed gassed after another long post-season run.

“I ran out of gas,” said an exhausted Kobe after the game.

The Lakers freight train over the NBA on the other hand is still going strong.

Three peat in 2011?  Who saw that one back in 2008!

O right, Memphis.  What, too soon?

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