Return to Finals no guarantee for Lakers

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The presumption among the faithful is that the young and blessed Los Angeles Lakers will be back to another NBA Finals again soon. Maybe a few more times. The reality may be something quite different. It wasn't just depression, or a sour post-game mood, launched from the wreckage of their Game 6 pratfall in Boston Tuesday night that inspired a bit of wisdom from Kobe Bryant. It was the fact that after winning three titles with the Lakers by the time he was 23, the 29-year-old veteran has learned something about the thrill of playing in June. "The key," said Bryant, "is understanding that this isn't guaranteed to anybody. There are people who have gotten here before and never gotten back." No doubt the Lakers appear to have a promising future. For all of his NBA experience, their recently crowned Most Valuable Player turns 30 this summer. The rest of the core is significantly younger. Their midseason catalyst, Pau Gasol, will be 28, and rising star Andrew Bynum just 21 when next season begins. The main trouble for the Lakers is, the NBA does not remain static. Free agency and trades can drastically alter the balance of power. For every contending franchise that derives its power from stability and smart construction -- say, Detroit and San Antonio -- there are just as many that arrive at the top suddenly. Boston was the worst team in the Eastern Conference last year, becoming a contender on the strength of two blockbuster deals. Another deal you may remember involving a certain large-sized center turned Miami from so-so to hey-hey! Shaquille O'Neal made the Heat an overnight sensation, and a champion within two years. The Lakers may contend for several years, but they will have to negotiate the ever-changing landscape, particularly in the West. As the Spurs age, New Orleans rises. Utah may be one terrific player from a title. Portland's Greg Oden team has yet to be heard from. Free agent Shawn Marion could change someone's fate this summer. And a guy named LeBron James could be the ultimate kingmaker as a free agent in two years. Nothing is guaranteed to anyone. On the other hand, it sure helps to have the home-court advantage, another little fact of life on the NBA's elite playground. If the Lakers plan to return to the bright lights of the Finals, getting the No. 1 seed should be a priority. Where teams played made all the difference in the world as the postseason progressed this year. The Celtics won the title by going 13-1 at home. They were 3-9 on the road. Imagine that. A team that lost only 16 games over the course of an entire season turns into the Clippers on the postseason road. No doubt the Celts-Lakers Finals will be remembered for the Lakers' huge Game 4 collapse and Boston's dominating win in the Game 6 clincher at home. No one will question which team was better. Yet, Boston, the best team in the NBA, lost two of three in the Finals at Staples Center. Over the postseason, 13 of 15 teams with home-court advantage advanced. One home cooking loser was Houston, which was a banged-up No. 4 seed losing to a No. 5 seed, Utah. The other loser was a No. 2 seed, New Orleans, which lost a Game 7 at home to No. 3 seed San Antonio, the defending champions. Both had the same regular-season records. No major team sport turns so decisively on the home-or-away venue. The Lakers, who went 10-1 at home and 4-6 on the road in the postseason, were so good on the road (4-3) before they played Boston that it lulled the experts into believing they should be the favorites in the Finals. There's no answer other than to suggest a neutral site, at least for the Finals. What do you think, Lakers fans? Wouldn't you have loved your chances in a seven-game series against Boston in Las Vegas? That, of course, isn't going to happen. Nor should it. The regular season has to mean something. It was obvious that the Lakers understood the importance of finishing as the best in the West in the final week of the regular season when they ran the table. Fans who loyally follow their teams (and pay enormous ticket prices) also deserve to be rewarded with the chance to celebrate with their teams when the moment arrives. A large part of the experience Tuesday night was the Garden party, with Paul Pierce gesturing to fans high in the stands, and Celtics legend Bill Russell coming onto the floor to hug Kevin Garnett. Home-court advantage is what it is. And you adapt. In the meantime, for the Lakers, there is a bitter pill for them and their followers to digest. No excuses. Acknowledge the Celtics' superiority, and come back harder next year. And learn, of course. Someone asked Lakers reserve guard Sasha Vujacic -- he of the hot-and-cold postseason -- about next year, with the addition of a healthy Bynum to the mix. "We won't be short two games like we were this year," Vujacic said. "I can guarantee you that." Youth. Bryant needs to take him aside, and let him know. The G-word has to go.(Contact Gregg Patton at gpatton@PE.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)