Fighting Through The Adversity

Published by lakers-fan.com on May 26th, 2010 | Tagged lakers

by Ramneet Singh

“Adversity is a fact of life. It can’t be controlled, but what we can control is how we react to it.” The 09-10 season for the Los Angeles Lakers has been a roller-coaster, with both ups and downs. At certain points the Lakers would play at a sub-par level, while at other times they looked as though they could not be beaten.

The regular season featured a Lakers team that finished at a surprising 57-25 record, with losses against teams like the Clippers, Rockets, Raptors and Hornets.

Entering the 2010 playoffs, the Lakers lost 6 of their last 10 games and many Laker fans were unsure as to how their team would perform against the young Oklahoma City Thunder.

“Never underestimate the heart of a champion.” All of the Lakers’ doubts and uncertainties quickly vanished when they beat the Thunder and won the clincher in the hectic Ford Center. The media and the fans went from questioning the Lakers’ ability, to considering them the team to beat again.

As the Lakers were gearing up to face the Utah Jazz, many people considered the series to be any easy one for Los Angeles. But there were still people who “hated” on the team and particularly their star Kobe Bryant, for being too “old.” From the avid fans across the world to the NBA analysts, people considered Kobe Bryant as someone who lost that “step.” Charles Barkley believed that King Bryant could no longer take over games or be that dominant player that we have come to love. Starting from the early stages of his career, Kobe Bryant has fought through adversity and every time he has answered the call and kept the “haters” quiet.

Game 3 of the second round was proof that number 24 still had that superstar ability. Bryant absolutely took over the game and led his team to a commanding 3-0 series lead. Many naysayers would say, “He had one good game, so what?” Well in case they didn’t know, Kobe had been consistent all series long. In game 4 Kobe put up another brilliant show, pouring in 32 points, not bad for an “old man” huh?

Fighting through adversity has become a habit for the Lakers. The Lake Show had to prove to the world last year that they were capable of winning a ring. Pau Gasol always has to deal with the tag “soft” and Kobe has been fighting all throughout his career.

In the next round, the Lakers will meet up with the Phoenix Suns and as usual, the haters are hating –again. However, we have to ignore those comments, and believe in our Lakers to silence the critics and raise that 16th trophy. We know Kobe will fight, we know Pau will fight, we know the Lakers will fight, and as the Lakers Nation we must always fight!

Follow Ramneet Singh on Twitter @RamneetKB24