Ten Year Playoff Rewind!"/>
Ten Year Playoff Rewind!0
Posted In Blog
Ten years ago around this time, the 2001 playoffs were going on. In the Eastern Conference, the Indiana Pacers were still the 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and the NY Knicks, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic were all still a part of the postseason. Seeded very differently than they are in today’s playoffs, Reggie Miller and Allen Iverson were looked at as the primary highlights in the East while Kobe Bryant was a defending champion. Allen Iverson would eventually lead his team through each round to reach the NBA Finals and battle today’s western conference favorites.
Doug Collins was commentating that Finals series instead of coaching it and Philly would take game one during the Phil Jackson, Shaq and Kobe era of the Lakers franchise. The Lakers would go on to win the series 4-1 and achieve the second trophy in their three-peat.
The most memorable moment from the 2001 playoffs would have to be, in my opinion, how the Lakers responded to the adversity facing them as they entered the postseason. This was the year that Kobe and Shaq’s relationship was on the rocks to say the least, and the tension couldn’t be cut with a steak knife.
Shaq was demanding trades and criticizing Kobe for his offensive selfishness and Bryant would attack O’Neal’s defense. The back and forth was entertaining to the public but no one really believed that the two would be able to overcome their personal disagreements for the advancement of the team. Can’t be right all the time!
It is amazing how much things can change and how quickly it happens. Allen Iverson is playing overseas because his career was on a freefall in the states. Reggie Miller is a commentator and just had his record broken by Ray Allen for career three-point field goals made. Doug Collins is coaching the Philadephia 76ers and the Lakers are not nearly as frightening to compete against as they were 10 years ago. I wonder how we will be looking at the game ten years from now. I wonder how many superstars are still going to be household names and how many are going to be forgotten?
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