They say that the winners get to write history. I wasn’t around back in the Russell years but I am guessing that Boston fans had a perception of LA and the Lakers which gave rise to the softness label. I do remember the 80’s and very clearly recall that “fakers” tag along with the derogatory view of glittery LA and how the fans were fake and the team was soft even as the Lakers were winning 5 championships to their few. Even when the Lakers were beating a very tough Detroit team there was a perception, less valid but still pressed by some, that the Lakers were a finesse team. Boston and Detroit were blue collar teams. Remember the Lakers only beat Detroit because Isaiah had a bumb ankle. I can’t remember all the excuses coming out of Boston back then. Now, I might agree with the finesse tag but there was a mental toughness to the 80’s Lakers that cannot be argued against. Even as nobody could claim that a team centered around Shaq in his prime was anything but physically tough lets not forget that until Utah was put aside, they didn’t have the mental fortitude to win the big games either… until they could. Now, this is speculation but, I am pretty sure that if the C’s had a team worthy of meeting the Shaq-Kobe Lakers then there would have been a line of thinking that these Lakers were too soft leading to that series. It is simply how the Boston fans think and how their media presents the narrative and when the Celtics win then it becomes the general perception. The winner writes history. If you think about it, that is the story we sort of tell regarding the Blazers who were too mentally weak to hold a 15-point lead in the 4th quarter of a game seven and what else is the tag “Queens” supposed to say about Sactown’s team?

Kurt speaks to this in his latest comment but it bears repeating, its a little sad that we are so focused on who wins the last game of the season that we often miss out on appreciating all the great games played by some very good, very talented, very spirited teams. They say we never remember who came in second. I remember. I remember the Blazers. I remember the Kings. I remember the Nets. I remember the Spurs. I remember the Pacers and the 6ers. I kind of remember the Nuggets and I remember the Jazz. I remember the Lakers and this year I’m going to remember the Celtics.

NOBODY knows if the Lakers are “tough enough” to win the NBA title. So to come in to this forum, using a very simplistic term like “tough” to compare this team to the Celtics, and saying that they cannot beat them because of it, to come off as certain they cannot (and that is how you come off), generates a lot of frustrated comments from Lakers fans who understand that nobody is certain about anything point.

Some Lakers fans have seemingly severe emotional scars from the finals last season, which is too bad. Because this is a fun and beautiful team to watch, the offense is spectacular and the defense is improved. This is a fun team to watch play, and it is one of the three best in the NBA, a team certainly a contender for the title.

I feel bad for fans who are “championships or bust” and can’t enjoy the game and this team for the great things it is doing. Life is about the journey, not the destination.

Thanks for your guidance. I agree that you will need to maintain vigilance to keep the best F,B, & G qualities with an increased volume and variety of new posters.

Although I appreciate the interesting attributions and personal philosophies, I’d like to make a few points about the Lakers in tonight’s game. Perhaps i can consolidate a few of the earlier comments.

During the first and second quarter, the Lakers were outscored by Memphis–and gave up 61 points by half time. Even without the distraction of the Bynum “drama,” that has not been unusual with the Lakers of late. What is unusual is that they won going away on the basis of a defense that gave up only 37 points in the second half: they did it with defense!

They did it with alignments and substitution patterns similar to their run last year after Gasol joined the team, and Gasol picked up some of the scoring slack, Lamar took on a more active role in the offense, and Trevor was the new X factor.

Little used Chris Mihm did his best imitation of Ronny Turiaff with agressive picks and defensive positioning, adding more rebounds and about the same number of fouls.

It is what we are likely to see for the rest of this road trip, and if this type of defense continues, I like the Laker’s chances–even against the “Crabs” and the “Leprechauns.”

What do you think Celtics fans and the Boston media were saying after game six against Atlanta in the playoffs last year? That the Celtics were warriors, a tough team? Not exactly. This was a soft team that may escape Atlanta but was doomed long term.

We know that to be wrong. In the first round of the playoffs, we still were not sure the Celtics were the best team in basketball. But they win the title and all their sins are washed away. That is how conventional wisdom works. I think this is a tougher Lakers team, but to be honest nobody knows right now any anyone who is certain is foolish at this point.

But Lakers fans, I think, want to believe and hope for the best.

Don’t get sucked into the game Joe and anon want to play, the bate you into an argument game. It’s very third grade. And that will be ending here as well.

But there are a lot of people who think the Lakers are a soft team. As I’ve said before, I think the conventional wisdom is that teams are soft until they are not — the Lakers win the title and suddenly they are tough, or tough enough. Until then, soft will be the default answer for anyone who can’t come up with something better. Lakers fans need to accept on some level that is the default for many fans and challenge it with smart thoughts. But in the end, the only thing that changes that perception is a title, even though a title and some level of toughness are not hand in hand.