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While Phil, Kobe and Pau head into the interview room to address the media after practice, the rest of the team deals with the reporters on the floor. Each corner of the floor is given a podium, mic, backdrop, and speaker setup to make it easier for the mass of reporters to get the answers to their questions.
This particular setup has been Lamar Odom’s home for the past two days.
The Lakers returned to the Garden floor this morning for a practice session following their 98-88 Game 1 loss to the Celtics last night. When the team came back out from their film session they were broken up into two groups–Bigs (Centers/Power Forwards) and Smalls (Guards/Small Forwards).
Taller wing players like Trevor Ariza and Sasha Vujacic fall into the Smalls category even though they both go about six-foot-seven because their game is perimeter based. Kobe Bryant on the other hand spent time with the Bigs (as you can see above), working on his high post and baseline moves with Kurt Rambis.
More from practice to come.
Reserve guard Coby Karl was the first Lakers team member to hit the floor tonight, besting Trevor Ariza by a good five minutes. They were followed by Luke Walton and then Ronny Turiaf.
Expect to see a lot of white mixed in with the yellow & black seats of the Garden. The team is giving away white shirts that “Gotta Beat LA” on the front. One is draped over each seat.
It’s just before 6pm on the east coast, a full three hours before tip, and a lot of the media members have already arrived. This ice sculpture featuring the logos of the Lakers & Celtics along with the Finals script is being displayed in the media dining room.
Hype and posturing can finally take a back seat as Game One looms just a few long hours away (this 9pm start makes for a long day). Yesterdays rain has subsided, but the fog has remained and the temperature outside is about 60 degrees.
The team just got back from shoot around at the Garden and now has about six hours before they have to start heading back for Game 1.
I indulged in a northeastern institution this morning–Dunkin’ Donuts. These outnumber Starbucks in this city about 6 to 1 by my rough count. Everything I got was pretty tasty.
There are a lot of things I love about Fenway Park and the Fenway Frank is not one of them. As an outsider I feel like I reserve the right to go against this revered form of the hot dog. In the interested of full disclosure, I don’t like Dodger Dogs either (who wants a hot dog that extends past the bun).
The Fenway Frank takes one of the most simplistic foods and makes it even simpler, taking the bun out of the equation and replacing it a single piece of white bread. The next item on the Sox list of things to do is to take the word “be” and replace it with just “b”.
There’s not a lot of middle ground on the Fenway Frank, you love it or you hate it. Something I love about Fenway–the only mustard they have is spicy mustard. The way it was intended to be. That stuff can make anything taste good.
Boston is a Red Sox town. No matter how focused the city is on the Celtics this week, it’s still the Sox that stir the drink (with the Patriots coming in a close second).
So in accordance with my “If two teams are battling for first place in the greatest cathedral of the game with the home team’s ace on the hill then you have to go” rule, I made it down to Yawkey Way last night to see Beckett and the Sox take on the Rays.
Baseball has always been my first love and it doesn’t get any better than a game at Fenway. Being able to tack it onto a trip to a Lakers/Celtics NBA Finals is a pretty good deal too.
Just to show that the Celtics are never to far from any New Englanders mind, various “Beat L.A.” (see video below) and “Let’s Go Celtics” chants broke out between breaks in the action.
“Beat L.A.” shirts were also on sale outside of the ballpark.
As was reported in the LA Times yesterday, finding a room in the Boston area has been pretty tough due to a convention and college graduations. Through the weekend contingency plans such as flying to Providence, Rhode Island or Manchester, New Hampshire were considered until finally securing enough rooms for the traveling party at a hotel on the harbor.
Today we made the move from the temporary hotel to the one that the team usually stays at when they visit Boston.
The whole process is kind of strange. You put your bag outside your room and then get on the bus to head to practice. After the media session and run through, you get back on the bus, go to a different hotel, get new keys, and find your bag waiting for you in your room.
All these hotel rooms have started to look the same to me as we’ve progressed through the playoffs, so when I found my bag sitting inside my room upon arrival it was like I was in the same place and someone had made the bed. I can’t imagine what doing this for a whole season would be like.
The Finals became real to me today as I got my first glimpse of the Lakers purple against the green and parquet (I feel like I’ve typed “parquet” 400 times and we haven’t even tipped off game one yet) of the TD Banknorth Garden.
Something about those colors clashing and knowing what is on the line makes everything seem right in the basketball world.
FROM LAKERS.com
