The 5-0 Purple & Gold got back on the floor Monday morning in preparation for their first road back-to-back of the season. Here are a couple of bullet points from Phil Jackson’s post-practice media session.
As good as the Lakers have been over the first five games of the 08-09 season there are things that can be improved. Jackson mentioned spacing and turnovers as the big things they worked on today at practice. The season is still young and the team is adjusting to their new lineup combos and the new looks of the teams they’re playing.
The team as a whole didn’t talk much about the Mavericks or the Hornets at today’s practice. They’ll save that for tomorrow when they coven for shootaround in Dallas. Just staying in the moment.
The Dallas Mavericks sport a 2-4 record and have struggled with some bad losses (a 19-point blowout at home by Cleveland and losing to the Clippers Sunday) as they adjust to the post-Avery Johnson era. After yesterday’s game Dirk Nowitzki came out and questioned the team’s effort, basically saying that it’s not about the x’s and o’s but the effort the team gives on a nightly basis. Phil pointed to three things that could be effecting them. A) Disappointing finish to last season, B) Change in leadership, C) Adjustment to a new style of play. He also mentioned that a fast start might not be as important to a veteran laden team. “Nobody likes to lose once the season’s there, but the pressure of getting off and getting to a great start is something they went through a few years ago when Avery whipped them into a 67 or 66-win season. They know the value of doing that and the drawbacks.”
