The Network Garden - Mark Sigal's Blog

Pattern Recognition: Dream Team dissage; Amazon the Assassin; Late Bloomers

My goal is to write one 'Pattern Recognition' a week. Just the top 3-4 stories that stayed under my skin. Here's what stuck this week:

1. Kobe vs. Dream Team: Kobe Bryant decided to rally his 2012 Olympics teammates by suggesting that their team could beat the 1992 'Dream Team,' which is widely considered the most skilled, dominant Olympics team of all time. The response was predictable. Michael Jordan shredded Kobe. Magic Johnson retorted via twitter, "The 1992 Dream Team had 11 HOFs, 23 champ rings & the greatest player of all time in Jordan. No chance this years team would take us." But the best retort of all? Larry Legend (aka Larry Bird), who disarmed the whole thing, sagely noting, "They probably could (beat us). I haven't played in 20 years and we're all old now." Amen to that!
2. Amazon's Same-Day Delivery: I have written previously about how retail needs a reboot, and how those retailers that can't differentiate in the age of Amazon-powered 'showrooming' will die. Well, the next game changer is coming, and it's same-day delivery, something this excellent Slate article argues will destroy local retail. Meanwhile, two nice bookend reads to this story were: A) Herb Greenberg ruminating on the question, 'Is Costco Broken?' It looks at how changing demographics coupled with Amazon slowly (but surely) moving into its turf are breaking the big box retailer; and B) How Amazon's platform strategy is the ultimate in co-opetition.
3. Late Bloomer, not a Loser: Loud, brash, pompous and impassioned, Dave McClure is not an easy guy to figure out. Seemingly using little more than duct-tape, perpetual movement and a wee-smidgen of pedigree, he has willed himself into becoming a venture captitalist. If this sounds like I am dissing the guy, it's quite the opposite. Not everyone is born with a silver spoon in their mouth, joins the right fraternity or has the 'native' gift of the midas touch. Some (of us) have to climb steep mountains and get cut over and over again to get to a higher plateau.  Dave's heartfelt piece this week was a reminder of this truth, and put a big smile on my face. It was earnest, exposed and very real. Kudos.

Dynasty's End: Thoughts on Los Angeles Lakers

I am a die-hard Lakers fan. I remember when the Lakers were a middling team coached by Jerry West with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as their star, and not much else.

I remember when Magic Johnson joined the team (with West as GM), and the rise of Showtime. I remember Magic Johnson's shocking retirement, and the fallow period that took place before Shaq and Kobe made the Lakers great again.

I remember the inevitable fall and then the unlikely rise to two more championships, flanked by a still-dominant Kobe and an inspired, skilled giant in Pau Gasol.

In this time, there have been so many tears (of joy and disappointment), so many clutch shots, incredible runs, controversies, injuries, trades and no shortage of drama.

Last night, the Lakers played the Oklahoma Thunder, their first true measuring stick game, and had their hearts ripped out. It's been that kind season.

According to ESPN's Ric Bucher, Kobe noted after the game, "Times change. That used to be us," which Bucher took as a waving of the white flag, and acknowledgement by Kobe of a window that is probably closed.

Distraught, I finally wrapped my head around what bugs me so much about this team this year. There is no a single game that comes to mind this year where the Lakers played a complete game for all four quarters.

They will show a brilliant quarter, or even a great half, but never all four, which leaves a perpetual sense of dread that the other shoe can drop at any time. 

It's little surprise that they lead the league in games decided by 5 points or less, all of which speaks to a talent gap, aging roster, coaching challenges, and a dearth of discipline and will. 

All Dynasties End

We have had a great run, but I suspect it's the end for this unit, barring significant structural change (i.e., shifting to a more bigs focused game, where you use your point guard as a point guard, and Kobe plays off the ball). 

Yet, when I go to my favorite Lakers discussion board, Forum Blue and Gold, and read the anger, the vitriol and the finger pointing, I am left not mad at the Lakers for blowing it, but resigned to the hard truth: Dynasties rarely end well.

Sportswriter Roland Lazenby puts it best, noting how sports is a game of patterns, repetition, trust and practice, and when you SIMULTANEOUSLY change a coach, a system and deal with a difficult transition from one Alpha dog to the next (esp. because while Lakers Center Andrew Bynum may be ready talent-wise to be the guy, he lacks the maturity, hunger and aggression that Kobe brings), the process is inherently fraught with peril, and takes time to foment.

My only point is that it’s easy to blame the new coach for not being the old coach; it’s easy to blame the son for not being like the father; it's easy to blame the front-office for not being able to turn lead into gold, and it's certainly easy to blame the aging superstar for not embracing the emerging star, but ask yourself this.

How often does it work out when the new coach replaces the old legend, or the boy wonder steps into the superstar's shoes?

How often do teams get old and then magically renew without missing a beat? How often does the untrained son take over the family business from dad, the legend, and tomorrow is better than today?

Simply put, a lot of the angst for long-time Lakers fans like myself comes from knowing that these things rarely end without blood and carnage, and that is what sports is all about. 

Related:

1. Repeat Champs: Lakers Seize Game 7, beat Boston, Win Series!
2. The Tiger’s Stripes: Why the Lakers Will Not Repeat as NBA Champions
3. The Anaconda Squeeze: Why the Lakers Will Beat the Magic
4. Lakers-Celts and the Sporting Metaphor