Kryptonite in the NBA

Every so often, usually during the NBA playoffs, I feel like a sports guru and choose to pontificate on my usually strange theories. One example is the idea of “kryptonite” in the NBA. I think all sports suffer from this, but I can’t even pretend to have knowledge about most other sports besides basketball. Kryptonite, as you may know from comic book lore is the space rock that can kill the otherwise invincible Superman. My version of NBA kryptonite is that there are teams that can’t seem to beat other teams, no matter what.

Case 1. Dallas versus the LA Lakers. At one point the Lakers bounced back from 40 points down, in Dallas, to beat them. Embarrassing. The Shaq led Lakers always seemed to find that extra something to beat Dallas, and eventually, Dallas started expected LA to win to. Even without Shaq, as long as Nowitzki is playing, edge goes to the Lakers.

Case 2. Everyone versus Jordan’s Bulls. Utah, New York, Phoenix, Detroit (after 91) and pretty much any other team during the Jordan years. People seemed to expect to lose to the Bulls.

Case 3. The San Antonio Spurs versus the LA Lakers. Any era. Now sure, I admit to being a Lakers fan so my bias is surely showing. Regardless, there is no denying that the Spurs only win when the Lakers are in trouble. Kobe has destroyed the Spurs. Shaq destroyed the Spurs. Fisher has stabbed the Spurs in the heart more than once. At Duncan’s absolute prime, he could not defeat a healthy Lakers team. He knows this. Pop knows it. And no matter how many Championships they win, the team knows that they didn’t have to go through the Lakers to get there. Duncan’s mechanical play will not ever hold up against Kobe’s passion for winning. Fisher can hold off Parker, Luke or Vujacic can cancel out Ginobli, and I don’t care who you match up with Duncan, they are no match for Kobe and Odom or Kobe and Pau.

It’s one of the magical things about the Lakers that makes me a fan. They seem to bring a mystique with them that makes any deficit seem fragile and the last two minutes of every game more exciting - that anything is possible. NBA writers will search to define this “kryptonite” feeling from watching the Lakers/Spurs series this year, I will sit by and watch as the Lakers hit a 3 at a crucial moment and the Spurs just crumble.