Without a doubt Phil Jackson is one of the best coaches to ever step foot on a basketball court. His 11 World Championships as the head man of the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers is a feat that will probably never be equaled. This season Jackson was looking to pull off a third three peat as champion as the Lakers came into 2011 as the two time defending champions. After their Game 3 loss in the Western Conference semifinals to the Dallas Mavericks, the Lakers are looking down a 3-0 hole and the possibilities of a third consecutive championships are getting dimmer by the minute.
The Lakers have fate going up against them. In the history of the National Basketball Association, there have been 98 series that have opened up with a team up 3-0 and each and every one of them went the way of the team with the upper hand. The Mavericks were able to win 98-92 at home on Friday night and with the next two games in Dallas, there is a good bet that Dallas will be advancing to the Western Conference finals. Dirk Nowitzki was able to chip in 32 points and 9 rebounds and with the Maverick's ability to neutralize and shut down Kobe Bryant, Dallas is seeing sights and those sights are on the Larry O'Brien Trophy that comes with being the world champions.
Andrew Bynum was the leading scorer for the Lakers in Game 3 and seen Lamar Odom score 18 and Bryant score 17 with only four points scored during the intense fourth quarter. The game went back and forth during the last quarter but he Mavericks were able to hold on for the victory.
Game 4 in the Mavericks and Lakers series will go down on Sunday afternoon and will be broadcast on ABC at 3:30 PM EST. Kobe and the Lakers are saying that in no way are they out of it while still looking down that 3-0 hole. If the numbers are any indication and history tends to play out, the Dallas Mavericks are looking to pull off the sweep of the Lakers on Sunday and try to win it all.
