The right stuff

Maybe it would have to take life in a bubble to make something about an upside-down year come out right-side up.

And so to Orlando last night and the NBA bubble, which worked far better than any nattering nabobs of negativism (aka, "me") predicted it would. Confetti fell from an empty sky in an empty arena, and beneath it the Los Angeles Lakers celebrated a 17th NBA title at about the time the NBA season would be starting up in a normal year.

And that was a right-side up deal for a number of reasons.

One, it was beyond fitting that the Lakers would return to championship form the year Kobe Bryant died, and to whom the Lakers dedicated their season -- wearing the Kobe-designed Black Mamba unis, breaking every huddle with "1-2-3-MAMBA!"

Two, Frank Vogel got a ring, and Frank Vogel is a superior human. Why the Pacers let him go remains an unsolved mystery, but now he's got a ring and they don't, and here is proof that nice guys do finish first, occasionally, when the sun and moon and stars are properly aligned.

Three, LeBron James now has four rings of his own, and a legacy that continues to build. Michael Jordan may be the GOAT, but LeBron continues to advance his case to the contrary.

Plus, Game 6 was a blowout, which meant LeBron did not have to endure more criticism from meatheads for passing up a last shot.

In Game 5 he did that, correctly passing out of a double team to the open man, which is  Basketball 101 to anyone who remotely understands the game. In this case, the open man was Danny Green, a 40 percent 3-point shooter, and he was utterly alone at the top of the arc. Alas, the shot didn't go down.

And so the usual "the superstar's gotta take the last shot," and "LeBron's gotta put it on him," and it's as if no one's watched the man play the game for the last 17 years, how he's a distributor as much as a scorer. Or they've forgotten that MJ passed on last shots himself back in the day.

Of course, Steve Kerr and John Paxson splashed their open looks. So all was forgiven.

In any event, it all ended with LeBron hugging the trophy again. And somehow that was right, too.