There has been more to celebrate for the Los Angeles Lakers this season than the hiring of coach Phil Jackson, which they hope will mean a return to past glories.
The Lakers finally left the Forum, site of dozens of historic games, to move into the new Staples Center just west of downtown. So the franchise has been trying to make this a year to remember for its fans.
One way has been with souvenir game tickets, each stub colorfully depicting a different Los Angeles landmark–Rodeo Drive, Sunset Strip, Hollywood, Beverly Hills.
When the Bulls arrive here Friday for their first meeting with the coach who led them to six championships in nine seasons, the ticket stubs will feature the giant 30-foot doughnut that towers atop the famous Randy’s doughnuts by the San Diego Freeway.
No, it’s not a symbolic suggestion that the Bulls are mere crumbs in the fancy dessert that is the NBA. But it could look that way.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Jackson said of coaching against his former team. “I think it’s going to be the first time a triangle was met with a triangle.”
Actually, it’s more like a bug being met by a windshield at 80 m.p.h.–the Bulls figure to get splattered pretty good.
Jackson knew what he was getting into. He has a very good team to coach, even without precocious All-Star Kobe Bryant, who broke his hand in training camp and probably will miss another week.
Defense has long been a Lakers weakness, one Jackson was expected to address. And he has–the Lakers have yielded more than 100 points only once this season (in a game they won by 22), and they’re in the top five in scoring defense. Their opponents are shooting 43 percent, they’re forcing almost three more turnovers per game than they commit, and they’re among the league leaders in rebounding.
Those all are staples of a successful Jackson team, and the Lakers appear to be buying into his methods. He has criticized their lack of concentration and identified “cancers” they needed removed. He has brought his odd mixture of spirituality and discipline, and the Lakers seem to have responded, even Shaquille O’Neal, who has been to the woodshed twice for being ejected from two Lakers losses.
“I never could understand why (previous coaches) were afraid to yell at me,” O’Neal said. “I like it when guys get on me. I’ve played with some cats who, if you yell at them, they’re gone for five games. It makes me play harder and work more. I don’t worry about Phil yelling at me. If Phil tells me to go up strong, I say, `OK, I’ll go up strong. You’re right.’ “
That Jackson has been thus far.
“I am always a naysayer,” he said of a prediction that the Lakers might play .500 ball for two months. “I always underestimate how well a team will pick up the offense. But we’ve had some real good performances. We’ve beaten a couple of good teams. And given the fact Kobe will come back in four or five games, we will be a team able to play with talent and speed.”
Which can’t be said of the players currently wearing the familiar red uniforms.
“They have been able to add some players who can play in the offense they’re running, like Fred Hoiberg,” Jackson said. “We always envisioned he’d be a good player in the system we ran. Their rookie No. 1 pick, (Elton) Brand, looks like he’ll make a solid pro. (Ron) Artest is having some games here and there.
“But it’s been tough. It’s a year where they’re kind of planning to find a marketplace and get one or two great players and maybe get back to winning next year. It’s going to take high finance and a lot of salesmanship.”
Jackson doesn’t envy the Bulls’ predicament.
“It’s going to be really tough to do because there are so many franchises willing to go to all ends to keep their players,” he said. “They will sign and trade at last resort, but then you’re going to have to give up something very good. And when you’re talent-poor already, how are you going to get there without adding the free agents that make a difference in a team? It’s going to be very difficult for them.”
Jackson does think about the Bulls. They were his entire NBA coaching life until this season, the turning point in his professional life that got him the fame and riches he enjoys today. He is not without feelings for the team and the city.
“I just anticipate how disappointing it must be for the fans (to lose) the feeling of coming to a home floor and seeing a great performance and hoping for a great game,” Jackson said. “I don’t know what kind of home record we had, but it was phenomenal what the fans had. It’s the sad evolution about sports. It’s the way things are.
“The fear is you don’t want to fall too badly onto hard times that you end up getting in this perpetual rut that’s happened to the Celtics, for example. They haven’t been able to break free and get back into the playoffs for umpteen years. Fans want a team they can root for and identify with, and that part is sad.
“I know Michael Jordan came (to Bulls practice)–everyone was asking me, `Is it because he wants to play again?’ I think he wanted to support the team. Michael sees the team going bad. He’s got friends, guys he’s played with. I think he wanted to support them going through a hard time, and it worked. They won a game.”
That shouldn’t happen Friday.
“I told my coaching staff I sure would hate for us to come out and not play well,” Jackson said. “Obviously, we should win that kind of ballgame on our home floor against a young team. But it’s important for us to play well.
“I’ve had a great . . . what I call postpartum depression of Bulls mania,” Jackson said. “My coaching staff (Frank Hamblen and Tex Winter, who were with the Bulls last year) still has it. When I go in the coaches’ room, they’re watching the Bulls. They’re still kind of tied into their success and failure. I’ve been away from it long enough now.
“There’s no doubt that the success of the Bulls kind of tied us all together,” Jackson said. “So there will be a lot of feelings.”
