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Phil talks about what the Lakers need to do in game 3:
O.C. Register: Overall, Jackson wasn’t too concerned about his team before leaving for Games 3 and 4 in Denver.
“We’re OK,” Jackson said. “We’re going to play all right. What we have to do is get more physical with this team.”
Remember when Ron went into that horrible shooting slump? He explains why… though I think he should take anatomy again.
Yahoo! Sports: I couldn’t shoot the ball anymore. He hit me right at the point of my collarbone, so, like my whole left side of my neck, and my left chest was so tight. I couldn’t even sleep on it, he hit me that hard and it had been downhill ever since then
It’s always nice when two competitors have a deep respect. Melo threw down some respect on KB24…
Denver Post: On Monday at Staples Center, after the Nuggets arrived in preparation for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, Carmelo Anthony suggested that no two teammates on Team USA became closer at the Beijing Olympics than him and Kobe Bryant.
“That’s my man,” said Anthony, who then flashed a smile. “But I don’t know him this week.”
O.C. Register: After averaging 18.2 points and 11.7 rebounds, while averaging a team-high 42.8 minutes during the Lakers’ six-game Western Conference semi-final playoff series elimination of the Utah Jazz, Lakers forward Lamar Odom’s production took a nose dive in the next two rounds.
In the five-game Western Conference finals against the San Antonio Spurs, Odom averaged 12.8 points and 9.6 rebounds and then in the NBA finals, in which the Boston Celtics defeated the Lakers in six games, Odom averaged 13.5 points and nine rebounds.
It turns out that there was a justifiable reason why Odom’s numbers dipped. By the time the Western Conference finals rolled around, he was suffering badly from tendinitis in both of his knees.
Odom’s condition in his right knee became so bad that he seriously considered having arthroscopic surgery this summer.
However, he opted for an extended rest and the pain dissipated. His knees improved to the point where Odom was able to spend a portion of August working out in Las Vegas with a number of other NBA players, including newly-signed Clippers guard Baron Davis and NBA finals MVP Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics.
In addition to his knee condition, Odom suffered another slight setback this summer. The day before his youth basketball camp, held at the new Hangar Athletic Xchange, Odom was strickened with food poisoning.
However, his stomach has stopped churning and with his knees healthy, Odom is expected to be at full strength when the Lakers open training camp in four weeks.
Fox Sports: Because teams, players, coaches and referees all reveal themselves in various ways, every play of every game is fraught with meaningful revelations. And the pressure inherent in a championship series certainly ups the ante.
So then, here are some nuggets of transcendent meaning that can be gleaned from the latest Lakers-Celtics set-to.
- While Doc Rivers did a superb job, he was way off-base in deriding Phil Jackson for “whining” about the refs after the lopsided 38-10 foul situation in Game 2. Since he’s been there before, Jackson knew that the public airing of his grievance would work to his team’s benefit — and it did. In fact, it always does. In other words, loudly complaining about being short-changed by the refs in a playoff series is as much a part of a coach’s job description as formulating a game plan. Besides which, Jackson’s protestations were entirely justified.
- With all due respect, the only plausible reason for Lamar Odom’s lack of on-court awareness is that he suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder.
In any case, Odom is imminently dispensable and must be dealt for someone like Ron Artest, Udonis Haslem or Shane Battier.
- Sometimes how a team plays is more significant than whether they’ve won or lost a specific game. Which was the case with the Lakers’ sloppy, error-filled victory in Game 5 that certainly pointed to the probability of their getting swamped in Game 6.
I guess one sinking ship was enough for the actor and fellow Lakers fan…
Boston Herald: Lakers’ superfan Leonardo DiCaprio couldn’t stand the sight of his team taking the worst beating in NBA Finals history the other night – so the “Ashecliffe” star Departed the Garden halfway through the third quarter.
DiCaprio was in his usual perch – inside the Celtics [team stats] ESPN Message Boards – with Red Sox [team stats] GM Theo Epstein and his bride, Marie; Dropkick Murphys frontman Ken Casey; uberchef Todd English and PR prince Keith Gainsboro.
But Leo’s misery didn’t end there. We hear the sweet staff at Honey’s Cafe & Bakery in Medfield whipped up a Celtics cake at the request of the Hollywood hunk’s driver yesterday.
Apparently, the wheel man wanted to have the cake on the seat when Leo got in the car.
“I guess he wanted to rub his nose in it,” said our spy.
In a season where our own team configuration was hanging in the balance, I feel the Lakers shocked the world getting to the NBA Finals. This was a season where tweaks were made to improve the team and a season where a young superstar named Andrew Bynum started to emerge. We started off, establishing ourselves around the league. Then Bynum went down, Gasol came in.
As Lakers Nation, we should feel proud of this team and how far they have come. But at the same time, sit down, and remember how you feel right now. Now is the time to focus on this summer. Now is the time we wait for young Andrew Bynum to come back to us and get ready to prepare for a war.
You see, while we were embarrassed in front of the entire world, there is a more important goal now. This is the time to start preparing to derail the Celtics of their pursuit of their 2nd straight NBA championship. This has just began… Give credit to the Celtics and their amazing, historical defensive performance. Remember how you feel right now. Congrats to the Boston Celtics. they were the better team and they played like it. We congratulate them… and at the same time, we here at TLN say we will see you next June, with Bynum and gang, ready to get revenge… ready to derail you.
Congratulations to the 2008 NBA World Champion Boston Celtics.
This is funny stuff. Matt Damon yelling court side, Phil turns around and says something…
ESPN: A friend of mine sat courtside with Matt Damon in seats to the left of the Lakers’ bench. During the third quarter, with Damon cheering on the Celtics in a green Celtics cap — great job by him, by the way — Phil Jackson barked at Damon, according to my friend, “Sit down and shut the f— up.”
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