Finals Bound!

LA has done it again. For a second straight year, the Lakers are heading to the NBA Finals. But the bigger story is how dominant they were in the clincher.

They dismantled Denver 119-92 while on the road. All of you LA haters must be sick now. You all thought Denver was going to come home and blow them out the water. I guess you guys forgot you were playing the best team in the NBA. And if your a Denver fan, then i think your going to need a new team. I would recommend a team that plays with effort, and passion because this Nugget team didn't.

"We have guys on the team that are very smart basketball players, so I could communicate something to them and they can just take it out on the floor and do it. And we were able to kind of learn on the fly" stated Kobe Bryant on ESPN.com.

And Kobe did just that by teaching and mentoring during the game, while also still showing leadership. Kobe began his decoy role once again in the first and mainly second quarters. He got all his teammates involved in the beginning, then closed the quarters out.

You would've thought Denver had a game plan to stop Kobe from doing both facilitating and scoring.

Then it became the Kobe and Gasol show. I guess Denver didn't watch much tape of how horrible their defense was in the first half because they played the same way in the second. Gasol dominated the 3rd quarter on defense and offense. I knew if Gasol played as aggressive as he did last night, the game would be relatively easy. He is too strong, quick, and long. Denver kept double teaming Gasol which allowed his teammates to get open and let him be the unselfish player he is. LA finished the game with 5 players in double figures which was more than enough for the win.

But the game wasn't about who had to play better or step up. It was who wanted it more. Who wanted to win this game? Who wanted to continue on in the playoffs? Who didn't want to go home? Clearly we got that answer.

Denver easily showed they didn't want it, from the start of the game to the finish. The Nuggets only managed to stay in the for the first half because of J.R. Smith who came off the bench to drop 24 points. He had to play well for them to win everyone felt, but with no help, it didn't matter how well he played. Melo had a solid 25 points, but he couldn't hit a shot if his career depended on it. And his double team defense was horrendous because he didn't know whether to commit or go back to his man. Then you have Chauncey Billups, who looked as if he hasn't won a championship and been to numerous conference finals. He played horrible defense and led the team with 5 turnovers. Click here for Denver's lack luster stats.

Now there is no doubt in my mind LA will win the NBA title. They way they've played these past two games, has been scary. And no matter if it's Cleveland or Orlando, neither team has the drive as do these Lakers.

You can tell they want this more than anyone. Even while being presented the Western Conference Finals trophy, they still weren't happy because their main goal hasn't been accomplished. LA knows that they have gotten extremely better since their embarrassment in last years finals. They've got experience, confidence, determination, and passion which should lead them to a title.