It’s official?I hate the Lakers.

This year’s playoffs have hardened my hatred for the team that donned the last two championship rings, and with the win on Sunday, will probably complete a three peat.

Every single player on that team makes my blood boil. Shaquille O’Neal is the big blob in the middle who never leaves the key (I think three seconds was called twice in Sunday’s game, although O’Neal had pitched a tent in the paint).

I don’t mind the elbows as much, since it’s inevitable that a man that large is going to hit you. But when the fouls are whistled on the opposing team for attempting to stop him, my blood bubbles at a more intense rate.

Oh, by the way, I would think the officials could note that every single one of his free throws is a lane violation, considering the player has to stay behind the line until the ball hits the rim.

And then there is Michael, I mean Kobe Bryant. I have never seen anyone emulate another player to a greater extent than Bryant does with Jordan.

I accept that Jordan is the greatest of all time, therefore emulating him may not be such a bad idea. However, when I can tell that Bryant changes his voice to sound like Jordan?then I think Kobe is taking it a bit too far.

His jump shot is amazing and he makes everything look smoother then it has to?yet I still don’t like him.

The role players get their due since they do what they need to in order to get the job done. However, is it just me or does Devon George look like the pig, Orson, from Garfield & Friends?

With that said, and the hatred for the team defined, this weekend may have been the biggest farce of a game I have ever seen.

I am not talking about Game 7. The Lakers deserved to win that game. The Kings decided that choking was the way to go at the free-throw line, and Doug Christie and Peja Stojakovic looked like a pair of deer in headlights, as they could not draw iron in crucial three-point shots.

But it should have never come to that. I am not saying the referees were pushing for a Game 7 in the prior game, but it seemed like it when the Lakers shot 27 free throws.

Oh wait, I forgot to mention that was only the number of free throws they shot in the fourth quarter.

ESPN’s David Aldridge summed it up best when he wrote, “When Phil Jackson gripes about the Knicks and Pistons not allowing flow and freedom in a game?when he says that Dennis Rodman is being persecuted; when he says that Shaq isn’t being allowed the same freedoms a man six inches shorter receives, he’s not talking to the guy or gal that asked him the question in the news conference, and he’s not talking to you, dear reader. He’s talking to the three people in the striped shirts who will call the next game.”

Aldridge is not just talking about Phillip, but he’s talking about all coaches hinting at bad calls being made.

The problem was that the Kings had won a close Game 5, in which Shaq fouled out.

So what do you see the for next game? The complete opposite will occur in Game 6, and it always works for the Lakers.

Anyone watching the game could sense the Lakers would pull it out. The Kings had to hit tough jump shots, while the Lakers just eased their way to the line and drained most of the shots from the “charity” stripe.

Refereeing in basketball is amazingly difficult and I can understand the game moves at an amazing pace, but this has gotten disgusting, and now my hatred for the Lakers has boiled to such a point that my blood is on fire.

I hate the Lakers.

For what it’s worth, go Nets.

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