Los Angeles Lakers Are Now the Bad-Boy Team Under the Scrutiny of the Media
Dating back to the 2008 NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers have been trying to bring in players who won't back down and are tough, but are also enigmatic.
Ron Artest was viewed as a dirty player and a bully for the way he was acting against Kevin Durant, and the number of scuffles he would have with Paul Pierce in the regular season and in the Finals.
Matt Barnes started his Laker career in 2010 by shoving Carl Landry in the preseason, and then, later in the season, going after his next victim, Jason Terry.
Nobody ever looks at the other side, that the Lakers were really trying to back up their teammates and send a message. That message was that these aren't the Lakers from previous seasons who were going to get bullied and beat up, day in and day out.
The way both Ron Artest and Matt Barnes have impacted the team is positive, in that they brought toughness, physicality and the knowledge that they wouldn't allow this team to get beat up any more. Are the Lakers like the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons of old?
My answer is yes.
We all can agree that it's defense and toughness that helps teams win championships. Take a look at this past finals, when the Dallas Mavericks shut down the Miami Heat both mentally and physically.
The same thing happened to the Lakers in the 2008 finals, because the Boston Celtics were just bullying the Lakers in every way. The Lakers, in response, went and got players who are viewed as being crazy and unstable mentally, but what they really did was get players who weren't going to back down from anyone, no matter if it is an MVP or a scoring champion.
Take a look at Ron Artest. Would you ever want to anger him and make him lose his cool? I didn't think so. This man is on a mission to shut you down by being physical and getting in your head.
At times, it may seem that Ron's lost it, and can't defend as well as the media says but, in all honesty, he is one of the top three defenders in the entire league.
Going up against players who won't back down to anyone, whether they're 6'0" or 7'2", inspires the rest of the team to step up and never back down.
Steve Blake was shoved by Jason Terry, then along came Matt Barnes, shoving Jason Terry with a message, letting him know that he wasn't going to allow that to happen while he was in the game.
When Andrew Bynum shoved J.J. Barea, it was sending a message letting the Mavericks know that enough was enough.
The Lakers are getting older, yes, but look at their players. They are all mainly in their primes, hungry for another ring and ready for any challenge, especially in the 2011-12 season (if there is one).
