After the Jazz went 37-4 during the regular season at Energy Solutions Arena–with one of the losses coming at the hands of L.A.–the Lakers are grateful they have home court advantage in the series, but welcome the challenge of playing in front of one of the toughest crowds in the NBA.
“I think in terms of their personnel, they play really well on their home court…I think that the energy that’s in the building, the fans are excited, the players are really excited,” said Derek Fisher, who spent last season as a member of Utah’s Western Conference Finals runner-up squad.
“At times, I think their intensity in their building is one that isn’t equaled or matched anywhere else. I don’t think it’s the altitude or anything else, I just think that the Jazz play at an intensity on their home floor that’s different sometimes from any other place. It’s always been that way for as far as I can remember.”
Coach Jackson–well accustomed to the Salt Lake City crowd from his days with the Bulls–said, “The energy they play with, the crowd sits on top of the floor, it’s as noisy as any place you’ve ever been in. It energizes the team, it intimates referees who go in there to referee the games. It’s tough—it’s a tough environment to win in.”
After battling an illness that limited him to just 13 minutes in Game 1 against the Jazz, Lakers forward Luke Walton is finally returning to health.
“I think he’s starting to look like he’s coming around, he’s starting to look pretty good,” said Coach Jacksom after today’s practice. “He didn’t feel well on Sunday, but he played anyway and I thought he helped us and he didn’t feel that well yesterday and he sat out practice. Today, he was on the floor.”
When asked whether or not he would be on top shape for tomorrow night’s game, Walton said, “I hope so. I practiced today and I was feeling good for a while, but then I kind of hit a wall. But I’m hoping that if I feel better tomorrow, I’ll be able to get back and play some real minutes.
Walton said that while he expects to play, the amount of minutes he’ll spend on the floor will likely be a game-time decision depending on how his body is feeling.
After spending last season with the Utah Jazz, veteran guard Derek Fisher’s expertise on Jerry Sloan’s system was the talk of practice today amongst his Lakers teammates, even if the guard himself downplayed its value.
“I guess it can be helpful, just in terms of some overall thoughts and things that I know that Jerry and the coaching staff feel strongly about in terms of what the Jazz like to do,” said Fisher. “But, I think that’s about as far as it goes.”
“The game is such one of reaction and being able to make decisions in a split second’s time that it’s hard for it to become bigger than what it is than just information for guys at times when it can be useful. I don’t know how much it’s going to be helpful as the series goes on.”
Coach Jackson said that while Fisher’s time with the Jazz will certainly help provide the team with an enhanced understanding of Utah’s players, his role as a leader on a team full of younger players is of equal importance.
Continue reading ‘Fisher’s Time With Jazz a Boon for Lakers’
You win or you lose, it’s that simple. Staying focused on the other hand is the battle all NBA Players involved with the NBA Playoffs have to fight. After a long 82 game season you must suck up all the bumps and bruises if you want to be remembered as a “Champion.”
“You don’t look ahead in the playoffs; you concentrate on the game that is in front of you.” Derek Fisher said.
That is the battle of staying focused for 48 minutes, it is hard, but the team that gets past that mental block is the team that usually comes out victorious. “It’s tough to sustain the effort and intensity that you need to play in a high intensity playoff game. So we had some ups and downs but we weathered the storm, got the win and now we will prepare ourselves for Wednesday night,” Fisher added.
With a few days before game 2 the Lakers are resting up and focusing on what they need to do in order to beat Utah to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
“We didn’t have our best game, but at the same time we are satisfied by the win, and encouraged about the fact we can play so much better,” said Pau Gasol.
A good sign for Lakers Fans is that this team is focused and ready to make a deep run in the playoffs.
With six steals in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals the Utah Jazz got a quick reminder of how Derek Fisher helped catapult them to the 2007 Western Conference Finals. And also why Lakers fans couldn’t be happier to have him back donning the Purple and Gold.
As a member of last years Jazz team Fisher has invaluable knowledge of Jerry Sloan’s system as well as members of the Jazz.
“He knows the next pass, their sequence, and the habits of their players,” said Coach Phil Jackson after Monday’s practice.
One thing Fisher and the Lakers understand is; when it comes time for Tip-Off on Wednesday the Jazz will be ready, not willing to lie down for the One Seed Lakers.
“Being a former teammate of just about every guy on their team, there are not any quitters in that locker room,” said Fisher. “We will have our work cut out for us on Wednesday night and we will have to come ready to play.”
The Lakers face the Jazz in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semi’s Wednesday night at STAPLES Center.
When asked by a reporter if he thought that the Lakers would be able to withstand the type of “smash mouth” basketball that the Jazz are going to bring upon the Lakers during the rest of their series, Kobe Bryant replied in a simple manner with his usual quite confidence, “It doesn’t matter to us.”
In case you haven’t been able to tell at all this season; Kobe Bryant has complete confidence in this team.
“We aint no punks,” Bryant added. “You want to play ugly, we’ll play ugly. You want to play finesse, we’ll play finesse. It doesn’t matter.”
It’s easy to see why Kobe has so much faith in this squad. Examples such as finishing with the best record in the Western Conference, sweeping Denver in Round 1, and a victory over the Utah Jazz kick off this series show the Lakers are ready for anything.
“We have to continue to practice, continue to tweak things,” Bryant added.
As the elder statesman of the team, Derek Fisher would like to see his young Lakers team remain focused on taking care of business in the playoffs. “We’ve done a good job so far in the postseason of taking it one game at a time.”
“We want to focus on every game like it is a game 7,” Lakers star Kobe Bryant stated at Mondays practice regarding Game 2 against the Jazz on Wednesday night.
The entire Lakers roster knows the importance of protecting their home court against the Jazz.
“It’s a big game; both teams will approach it that way. As you saw yesterday there will not be any quit in the Jazz or any of their players. It’s not what coach (Jerry Sloan) teaches or what he believes in,” explained Lakers guard Derek Fisher. Fisher should know, he spent all of last season helping Utah advance to the Western Conference Finals where they fell to the eventual champions, San Antonio Spurs.
“It will be a big game, like every game in the playoffs,” Fisher reiterated.
Pau Gasol, who joined the Lakers mid-season, is starting to learn the ins and outs of the playoffs. “They’re pretty conscious also about going down 2-0 it is hard to come back, and we know the importance of going up 2-0.”
While the Rockets and the Jazz are still embroiled in their First Round series, the Lakers continue to prepare for battle against whichever rival emerges.
With four days off already since sweeping the Denver Nuggets, Lamar Odom described the overall mood of the team as “Energetic, upbeat, outgoing. Everybody’s in a good mood,” said Lamar. “We’re in the playoffs, it’s the best time of year.”
The forward added, “This is a good time for us to practice. It’ll be a tough game tonight…I’m looking forward to watching it, seeing who comes out victorious.”
“It’d be fun to play on Sunday, but if not, we’ll wait,” said Odom in regards to a possible Game 1 this weekend against Utah should they defeat Houston tonight. Kobe echoed his teammate’s statement, revealing that “If we play on Sunday, we’ll be ready on Sunday. If it’s Tuesday, we’ll be ready on Tuesday.” Bryant also mused that he hopes the Jazz win so he can stop answering hypothetical questions and start talking about matchup specifics.
Continue reading ‘Lakers Bond as They Await Next Opponent’
Despite some experts’ assertion that too much rest between opponents can do more harm than good in the playoffs, Kobe said that the Lakers are taking full advantage of the time off.
“It’s always good,” said Bryant. “You get a chance to recover and get your mind right for the next series.”
“I think for us, we look at it as an opportunity to sharpen our edge,” said Kobe, when asked whether or not the break hurts the team more on the offensive end or the defensive end. “We were playing well in the first series, but we’ll be able to play much better. This time here, we just take it to sharpen our minds a little bit, our mental game and how we want to approach it and try to be better the next series.”
Regardless of whether or not the Lakers face off in the Second Round against the Jazz or the Rockets, Bryant said that the team’s preparation will not change.
Continue reading ‘Lakers Grateful for Extended Rest’
While fans may be surprised by Luke Walton’s breakthrough performance in the Lakers’ First Round sweep against the Nuggets, Kobe said he saw signs of improvement long before the forward averaged 14 points in the four games–third best on the team–in the series.
“He had a stretch last year where he was playing extremely well,” said Bryant, reminding everyone of Walton’s emergence as an all-around threat when Lamar Odom was injured at the beginning of last season.
Although he struggled with injuries and inconsistency during the 2007-2008 season, averaging only seven points and four assists, Kobe said that it wasn’t due to a lack of ability.
“I think for him, it’s a matter of confidence with him,” said Bryant. “Sometimes, he’ll get down on himself and be a little hard on himself…more than he should be. There’s been some times this year when after a game, after a tough loss where he went one for six or zero for six and I’ll tell him, ‘Look, Luke—I went five for thirty. Shake it off.’ You’ve just got to stay in his ear a little bit, keep him confident because he has all the tools, he has all the gifts.”
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