How do you turn dysfunction into function? How do you unbreak what is so obviously broken? Can this marriage be saved? Is hope not lost?
"Well, right now I don't think there's a challenge that's as imminent as this perhaps since the '95 season when we had to restructure and remake the Chicago Bulls," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said as his LA Lakers, trailing the Detroit Pistons 3-1 in the NBA Finals, prepared for Game 5.
Those preparations did not include practice. Jackson gave the Lakers a day off aside from their fly-by at The Palace to publicly address the dueling possibilities of having their season ending Tuesday in Detroit or continuing in Los Angeles where they'd attempt a comeback that would be unprecedented in NBA finals history.
PHOTO: AFP
Jackson wore denim Monday, while Kobe Bryant showed up in a green and tan sweat suit and a white visor. Dressed for summer vacation they were, although they insisted they aren't ready for it to commence.
"Understand that history is not necessarily on their side either," Bryant said. "There's both sides of the coin."
Indeed, no home team has ever won the middle three games in the finals since the NBA switched to a 2-3-2 format in 1985.
But no team devoid of superstars has won a championship since 1979, and the Pistons might just buck that trend. A 7-1 underdog when the series began, Detroit was installed as a 3-point favorite to finish off the Lakers in Game 5 and bring the title back to the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1998.
"I sense this team, and what they bring, would be a testimonial of how special our league is, because I think this team tries to play the right way and respects the game and respects one another," said Pistons coach Larry Brown, whose first NBA title would prevent Jackson, from breaking the record of nine coaching titles he shares with Red Auerbach.
Coaches often say that no game is as difficult as a close-out game. Desperation changes the equation for the team that's trailing, and overconfidence from the team that's winning can backfire.
In many ways, the Lakers are like a wounded animal begging to be put out of its misery, and the task confronting the Pistons is to finish the kill swiftly and deny Los Angeles even a glimmer of hope.
"It feels good, but it's really nothing to celebrate right now," Detroit's Chauncey Billups said. "This thing is far from over, and we understand that."
If not for Bryant's heroic 3-pointer to force overtime in Game 2, the series would already be over.
Instead, it's 3-1 -- a deficit Jackson has never faced as a coach in Chicago or Los Angeles.
He now needs to keep his team focused on the moment.
"I think it's the easiest thing to do," Jackson said, "because there's nothing else that sits beyond it, really, than just tomorrow's game.
Nothing stands in the way of reporters on the trail of a guaranteed victory -- not even when the player in question can't remember guaranteeing anything.
At the bottom of a column in a Los Angeles newspaper following the Lakers' 88-80 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, Bryant was quoted as saying: "I'm telling you right now, we'll win Tuesday."
The newspaper never claimed Bryant guaranteed a victory, as Rasheed Wallace boldly did before the Pistons' win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals. But that didn't stop reporters on Monday from peppering Bryant, his teammates and the Pistons with questions about a guarantee.
"I don't understand your question. I promised?" Bryant asked in bewilderment. "I'll go with that, man. It's fine with me."
HAMLETS
The Pistons' practice was invaded Monday by the sons of reserve forward Darvin Ham. Donovan, Dominic and Darvin Jr. took the court to shoot around with the Pistons, posting up rookie Darko Milicic and driving the lane against coach Larry Brown.
"It's fun for them, because they get the whole experience of the finals," Ham said. "This is new for me, and it's new for them, too."
The Pistons often have a family vibe. Rasheed Wallace's children turned up at a practice in Los Angeles last week.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"If it gets any wilder than it did, they might have to break out the National Guard or something," said Rasheed Wallace on the atmosphere Tuesday for the Pistons' potential title-clinching game.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
RSS