Lakers make it one for all

They dominate Celtics from the start and force Game 7 with an 89-67 victory.

The Larry O'Brien trophy was in the building, as was Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell, along with boxes and boxes of T-shirts and hats designating the Celtics as the 2010 NBA champions.None of them became part of the postgame program.The Lakers made sure of it, clearly and convincingly, thumping the Celtics, 89-67, and forcing a Game 7, in case it wasn't clear by the time Russell headed for the exit with three minutes left Tuesday at Staples Center.
Kobe Bryant was solid, Pau Gasol was borderline spectacular and there was no way to ignore a resurgent effort from the Lakers' reserves, who were outscoring Boston's backups at one point, 24-0.So much for the franchise's recent Game 6 wobbles against the Celtics, the Lakers moving past their 39-point loss to them two years ago in a humbling part of their playoff history.Game 7 is definitely necessary. It'll be Thursday night at Staples Center. Home teams are 13-3 all-time in Game 7 of the Finals.Bryant found a way to sift through the previous eight months and 104 games by saying of Thursday night: "It's a game we've got to win. It's as simple as that."He had 26 points and 11 rebounds Tuesday, but it was Gasol who rebounded from a meek 12-point effort in Game 5, coming close to a triple-double Tuesday with 17 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, the latter a playoff career-high for him.The Lakers weren't merely dominant. They governed the Celtics, pushing them all over the court, leading by 10 after the first quarter, 20 at halftime and as many as 27.The Lakers tried to lighten up their team video sessions before Game 6, and apparently it worked, transitioning from impassioned clips out of the movie "Patton" to those uttered by Bluto Blutarsky, John Belushi's character in "Animal House," specifically his fraternal decree that "Nothing is over until we decide it is!"An important on-court sidebar, however, became the tale of two injured centers, Boston's Kendrick Perkins leaving in the first quarter after sustaining a sprained right knee and Andrew Bynum leaving the game for good early in the third quarter after aggravating his sore right knee.Bynum could have played again if needed, but Perkins' injury looked more ominous after he was helped off the court by teammates. An important part of the Celtics' physical front, Perkins will be re-evaluated Wednesday."It doesn't look great," Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said.Bynum said he was held out for precautionary reasons after experiencing swelling in the back of the same knee that has bothered him for almost seven weeks."I just felt really stiff at the beginning of the third quarter," said Bynum, who had two points and four rebounds in almost 16 minutes. "But I'll be ready for Thursday."If the Lakers need further motivation, there's a financial one to win Game 7, each player receiving a playoff share of about $250,000 and Coach Phil Jackson receiving a bonus of $1 million if the Lakers win the Finals. (He already received $1 million for getting the team to the championship round.)Not that anybody was talking dollars and cents. It was more about rebounds and defense.The Lakers held the Celtics to 28-of-84 shooting (33.3%) and outrebounded Boston, 52-39. Rajon Rondo had a quiet night, scoring only 10 points on five-for-15 shooting. Paul Pierce had 13 points and Kevin Garnett 12."Our defense was good," Jackson said. "Our rebounding was better."The Lakers' reserves were decisively better, with Lamar Odom totaling eight points and 10 rebounds, and Sasha Vujacic scoring nine points in 14 minutes. The Boston bench was scoreless until Nate Robinson's reverse layup with 9:56 left in the fourth quarter.Thursday will be a first for Jackson, who has never coached a Game 7 in the Finals. He is 3-1 in Game 7s with the Lakers, most recently a winner in last season's Western Conference semifinal against Houston.After the final seconds ticked down Tuesday, longtime Lakers public-address announcer Lawrence Tanter intoned, "There will be a Gaaaame 7."Indeed, he was right. Somebody is four quarters away from a championship.

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Lakers - Celtics NBA Finals Game 6 Preview

Down 3-2 in the NBA finals against an old foe that keeps finding new ways to beat them, the Los Angeles Lakers are going to need a big Hollywood ending to escape this jam with another championship.
That’s exactly where they’ll make their last stand against the Boston Celtics.
Game 6 is back home Tuesday night at Staples Center, where the Lakers are 9-1 in the postseason, with everybody from Kobe Bryant to the Lakers’ bedraggled bench playing with much more passion and confidence.
“If you look at it, they’ve come home and carried the 3-2 lead back,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “It’s basically home court, home court. Now we’re going back to home court to win it. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, isn’t it?”
Sure, on paper. But two straight losses in Boston led to a dire series deficit for the Lakers, who hadn’t even trailed in any playoff series this season. The Celtics have won three of the last four games, and they’re responsible for Los Angeles’ only home loss of the playoffs.
So why didn’t Jackson or Bryant seem particularly worried before they headed out on their final cross country flight of the postseason? Throughout a trying season filled with injuries and big-game setbacks since a Christmas Day loss to Cleveland, the Lakers have always been able to rise when they absolutely needed to do it.
Jackson even described the Lakers’ locker room as “spirited” after losing Game 5 in their lowest-scoring performance of the postseason in the 92-86 loss. For all their struggles in Boston, the Lakers realize they only have to defend their home court to win their 16th title.
“We have a challenge, obviously, down 3-2,” said Bryant, who scored 38 points in Game 5 while his struggling teammates only managed 48. “We let a couple opportunities slip away, but it is what it is. Now you go home, you’ve got two games at home that you need to win, and you pull your boots up and get to work.”
If Los Angeles survives, a champion will be crowned Thursday in Game 7.
Heading into the finals, the Celtics believed they could beat the Lakers, even with Bryant at his spectacular best, if they shut down his teammates. After all, that’s what Boston did two years ago in the finals—and so far, it’s working splendidly again.
Bryant is averaging 30.2 points per game, while Pau Gasol averages 18.8 points and 10 rebounds despite glaring inconsistency in his game in Boston. That’s just about it: Nobody else in purple and gold is averaging more than Andrew Bynum’s 9.6 points per game.
Yet after losing Game 1 and only surviving Game 2 with Ray Allen’s 3-point shooting binge and Rajon Rondo’s late-game poise, the Celtics aren’t fooled into thinking they’ve got the Lakers on the run in Los Angeles. Boston’s current starting five has never lost a playoff series for reasons that go beyond their talent.
“They’re playing at home. Home is always where your heart is,” Boston’s Kevin Garnett said. “With the severity of the game, it’s all-out on both ends for both teams. This will probably be the hardest game of the season, if not of the series, if not of everybody’s career, this game coming up.”
Yet two straight losses undeniably have frazzled the Lakers a bit, with Bryant noticeably furious on the court while Game 5 slipped away. Even Jackson seemed a bit testier than his usual placid self, yelling at Bryant and Ron Artest during the game and later attempting to inspire his team in the fourth quarter with a false bit of information about the Celtics’ propensity for blowing late-game leads.
Jackson likely senses the biggest danger yet to his streak of 47 straight playoff series victories after winning Game 1. The Celtics sense a golden opportunity for their 18th championship and a chance to join the Boston greats who won multiple titles while repeatedly denying the Lakers nine previous times in the NBA finals.
“The Lakers … got homecourt advantage, but we’ve played the best all year on the road,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re going to have to beat them at their best, because they’re going to be great there, and we can’t expect anything else.”
Los Angeles’ inside game has been its most decided advantage throughout the season, yet Boston largely has outplayed Gasol, the limping Bynum and Lamar Odom down low. The Celtics outscored Los Angeles in the paint 46-32 in Game 5, while the Lakers blocked just one shot—and Bryant did it.
Aside from Artest and his miserable series, the Lakers’ least effective regular has been Odom, the reserve dynamo who played a major role in their Western Conference finals victory over Phoenix. Odom, who said he had symptoms of the flu this weekend, had eight points and eight rebounds in Game 5, along with three turnovers in a fairly passive performance.
The rest of the Lakers’ reserves were even worse: Sasha Vujacic scored five points, Jordan Farmar had one, and formerly reliable Shannon Brown played just 19 seconds.
And then there’s Artest, the only newcomer to last season’s championship roster. With the Boston crowd vocally urging him to shoot, Artest went 2 for 9 in Game 5 to drop to 13 for 43 in the series.
His inconsistent offensive skills and shaky ball-handling abilities have abandoned him entirely in the finals, leaving only his defense—and he played precious little of it in Game 5, when Pierce scored 27 points with Artest and Bryant taking turns on him.
“The offensive part of (Artest’s) game kind of comes and goes,” Bryant said. “He does a great job giving us great production most nights. I just thought defensively we weren’t very good at all. We didn’t get any stops (in the third quarter of Game 5). They got layup after layup after layup, and you can’t survive a team that shoots 56 percent. We’re normally a great defensive team.”

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Closing series on road could be tough for Celtics

Boston is ahead, 3-2, in the NBA Finals against the Lakers and would have to win the title at Staples Center. The Celtics are 1-7 in close-out road games in the playoffs over the last three seasons.

An NBA title is just 48 minutes away, a fact the Boston Celtics cannot deny."The moment that is before us, it's starting to rear its head in," guard Ray Allen said.The Celtics, who lead the NBA Finals series three games to two, need to defeat the Lakers one more time, which can come Tuesday night or, if the series goes to a Game 7, on Thursday.
But no matter what, it will have to happen on the road, at Staples Center.The Celtics are 1-7 in close-out road games in the playoffs over the last three seasons, and have lost two such games this season, in Miami and Orlando. In fact, the last time their starting five finished a road playoff series came in the 2008 Eastern Conference finals against Detroit.Last season perhaps stung the worst. The Celtics led Orlando three games to two in the Eastern Conference semifinals but lost a possible road-clinching game and eventually lost the series."Whatever happened last year, I thought we had a great season, we got beat by Orlando," Allen said. "It's a new year and it's definitely been a blessing, but this year has definitely been a lot tougher, and I think the tougher it is, the more you want it."Their playoff road has certainly been tough. The Celtics have faced Miami ( Dwyane Wade), Cleveland ( LeBron James), Orlando ( Dwight Howard) and now the Lakers ( Kobe Bryant).And for a team that finished fourth in their conference after a 27-27 close to the season and was considered over the hill, the run seems remarkable."I think along the way, people forgot, forgot who we were and what we were capable of," Allen said. "We got back to that mentality, but it didn't shake us at all. We didn't worry about what people said, what they thought. People were saying that we were a team that was old, but here we are. We're capable, that's the most important thing and we all knew it."Even though the Celtics beat the Lakers in the Finals in 2008, Rajon Rondo said they carry no mental edge into Tuesday."They're the world champions," Rondo said. "I'm sure they're going to come out and fight hard, so it's not over — the series is not over yet."Said Kevin Garnett: "This will probably be the hardest game of the season, if not of the series, if not of everybody's career, this game coming up."Allen said the Celtics are ready."I think I'm going to see urgency, desperation, a no-quit attitude — and that's from us," he said.Chaos part of Celtics' planOften the Celtics look chaotic, out of control and on the edge of having their emotions boil over.Celtics Coach Doc Rivers can't do much about it either."Listen, I've tried with all of them," Rivers said after Game 5. "Clearly none of that has worked. We have two guys one tech away. I don't know if 'calming down' and 'us' goes together. I would love that, but it hasn't worked out very well."In Game 5, the key moment was Rondo shoving Ron Artest after Artest fouled Garnett in the second quarter. Rivers didn't like the move, which earned Rondo a technical foul, but Kendrick Perkins did."I told Doc that was the right play he made," Perkins said. "A hard foul on Kevin, and he retaliated. He's taking up for his big man."Did Artest flop?"I'm not that strong," Rondo said, laughing. "He did a little bit. He's probably the strongest guy on the court in this series. I've been lifting a little bit, but other than that, I didn't push him that hard."

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Lakers have to hope home is where their heart is

After going quietly in Games 4 and 5 at Boston, Lakers find themselves trailing Celtics, 3-2, and facing possible elimination in Game 6 Tuesday at Staples Center. Rebounding, scoring and post play are notable areas of concern, and Kobe Bryant says it's time to 'just man up and play.'

Uh-oh. It's a Game 6 between the Lakers and Boston Celtics.Lakers fans hate to go there based on recent history, but it's hard to avoid, seeing as how the teams have basically reverted to two years ago, when the Celtics' physically charged 131-92 victory ended the NBA Finals and was either the best or worst game of 2008, depending on perspective.The Lakers returned home Monday afternoon, which might have been the best news for them on a designated travel day where no Lakers coaches or players spoke to the media.

One live morsel could be found on the Twitter account of Lakers executive Jeanie Buss: "Just picked Phil [Jackson] up at the airport. He is concerned but upbeat . . ."It was a good summary of the words coming out of the locker room in the immediate aftermath of Game 5, where the Lakers were again outrebounded and again outscored in the paint in a 92-86 loss that put them down in the series, 3-2.If they can't fix those areas Tuesday in Game 6, Staples Center might be a silent venue Thursday night, though the Lakers were resolute."We'll respond," forward Lamar Odom said. "Our energy is still up as a team. Our confidence is still there. The series is not over."Is he sure?"It's the third win for them," he said. "It's not like the trophy is theirs. They still have to win more and they have to do it on our home court."Of course, Odom could do plenty more himself to back up his words; he's averaging a puny 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in a series in which the team with the rebounding edge has won every game.Along those lines, Andrew Bynum's stat line from Game 5 showed one positive number for the Lakers, almost 32 minutes of playing time, but then a lot of zeroes — no made free throws, no blocked shots and, of greatest interest, no defensive rebounds. He had only six points and one offensive rebound.Many eyes will also be on Pau Gasol, who had only 12 points and was stuck on nine until hitting a free throw with 2:25 to play.He was one of many Lakers who weren't exactly hyperventilating after Game 5."We're in a good situation," he said. "As tough as it is losing these last two games [in Boston], we're going to fight for a championship at home. We're in a position that I think we would all be happy in being at the beginning of the season."It'll be intriguing to see whether Kobe Bryant again takes over the Lakers' scoring on his own, a premise that was met with quietly open arms by the Celtics, who almost sensed the rest of the Lakers becoming spectators as Bryant scored 38 points on 13-for-27 shooting Sunday.Bryant was unstoppable in the third quarter, scoring 19 points on seven-for-nine shooting, but the Lakers curiously lost ground, a six-point halftime deficit growing to 10 by the time he checked out with 1:49 left in the quarter.The Celtics didn't seem bothered at all. Gasol was the only other Laker to score in double figures, and he was a distant second."From the standpoint that [Bryant]'s providing points for his team and he's in a rhythm, it's a bit dangerous," Celtics forward Kevin Garnett said. "But for the rhythm of his team, I think it works in our favor. I can't even come up with any words because his flow is just deliberate."Garnett had another interesting observation."They usually run the triangle and it wasn't really typical for what they did tonight," he said.Bryant, meanwhile, was very positive in the locker room after the game, even if he didn't show it in another interview session in which he stuck his chin on his left hand and avoided reporters' questions as if picking his way through rapidly eroding earth.One query seemed to get him going, though, a question about the need for him to address teammates about their recent shoddy play.The Lakers' point total in Game 5 was their lowest of the playoffs, and it came on the heels of an 89-point non-outburst in Game 4."Just man up and play," Bryant said. "What the hell is the big deal? I don't see it as a big deal. If I have to say something to them, then we don't deserve to be champions. We're down, 3-2, go home, win one game, go into the next one. Simple as that."Simple enough. A season with championship-repeat aspirations hangs in the balance.

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Lakers - Celtics NBA Finals Game 5 Preview

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are headed to a pivotal Game 5 of the NBA finals, the latest big moment in basketball’s biggest rivalry.
The Celtics can move a win away from an 18th championship, and a 10th in 12 meetings with the Lakers.
Kobe Bryant can inch closer to a fifth title, a chance to further cement his legacy.
Have to love it, right?
Not if you’re Bryant.
“I’m miserable,” he said Saturday.
That’s because of the Celtics, who guarded him well in the fourth quarter of their 96-89 victory Thursday that evened the series at two games apiece, and simply won’t allow him to be as spectacular as he was against Phoenix in the previous round.
Game 5 is Sunday, and the Lakers expect to have centerAndrew Bynum back after he played only 12 minutes in Game 4 because of a sore right knee.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson thought Bryant looked tired in that game, and Bryant was even asked if he’d tweaked his knee. Combine that with all the talk of how well the Celtics have defended him, and suddenly those doubters that surfaced when Bryant looked so worn down late in the regular season are popping up again.
“That’s what they do,” Bryant said. “They show up, disappear, show up, disappear. That’s part of it.”
He can silence them again with a big effort Sunday. That’s not easy against these Celtics, who didn’t flinch when they had to faceDwyane Wade in the first round or LeBron James in the second, and weren’t fazed when Bryant scored 30 in the Lakers’ series-opening victory.
Bryant managed only two field goals in the decisive fourth quarter of Game 4, and Boston limited him to only one in the last 12 minutes of the previous game.
“They don’t want me to beat them, so they put three guys there,” Bryant said. “Nothing we haven’t seen before, it’s just when you win those games, like Game 3, nobody talks about that because we take advantage of it. And if you lose the game, everybody talks about that. It’s part of the process.”
Moody but not as angry as he was during most of last year’s finals, when his own kids were calling him “Grumpy,” Bryant said he hadn’t been watching any coverage during the off days. So he’s missed the highlights of Nate Robinson leaping onto Glen Davis’ back as those reserves powered the Celtics down the stretch of Game 4.
But he may have heard some of the talk about how well another reserve—Tony Allen—and the Celtics have contained him, so Boston coach Doc Rivers would like to quiet that chatter so Bryant doesn’t find himself with even more motivation Sunday.
“Definitely that’s one, but you also know it’s a Game 5 and it’s 2-2. I don’t think there’s anything either one of us can say that is going to rile us up any more than being in a Game 5 in the finals tied 2-2,” Rivers said.
“But, yeah, Kobe is pretty competitive from what I hear, so there’s no doubt that the more you talk about it, the more the target is on. But that’s fine. The one thing I know about Tony, he’s not going anywhere. He’ll be there.”
And he’ll have help. With Pau Gasol the only other Laker who’s hurt them, the Celtics can afford to turn even more attention to Bryant, who is averaging 28.3 points but on just 41 percent shooting.
“Our whole thing is all five guys doing it together,” Allen said. “And when you got all five guys on the same page and focused and in tune on (assistant) Tom Thibodeau’s defensive strategies, I think it makes it difficult for guys, superstars.”
The finals are tied after four games for the first time since 2006. Of the 25 series that were tied 2-all, the winner of Game 5 won 19 of them.
A victory in Boston on Sunday gives the Lakers two chances to wrap it up at home, while a loss means Bryant is closer to going 0-2 against Boston in the finals. He said he couldn’t go down as the greatest Lakers player ever if he never beats the Celtics.
Bryant considers Jerry West to have that title. Yet he never beat the Celtics either, whereas Magic Johnson did it twice.
“What is everybody’s fascination with the Celtics in terms of going down in history?” Bryant said. “It’s a little weird to me.”
With Bynum’s injury, and Ron Artest and Lamar Odom’s inconsistency, the Lakers have had to play Bryant and Gasol major minutes. The burden is heavier on Bryant, who has battled injuries throughout the second half of the season, and it’s likely the reason for his fourth-quarter struggles.
The Celtics are the older team but seem fresher, since a more productive bench has allowed their starters to get some rest during the series. Jackson would like to give Bryant the same opportunity.
“I’ve got to find a little space and time for him to give him some rest in that situation so he can come back with renewed energy,” Jackson said. “But after he’s played 30-plus minutes, to have that kind of energy to finish a game out is important to us, and we’ve got to get that back.”

OTHER NEWS: For those inquiring, the Lakers confirmed that center Andrew Bynum is expected to start in Sunday's Game 5.

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6-11 Injury Update: Andrew Bynum

Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who was able to play just under two minutes in the second half of Thursday evening’s Game 4 loss in Boston, underwent an MRI on Friday that revealed no new damage to his right knee.
According to Lakers spokesman John Black, Bynum also had fluid drained from the swollen knee on Friday, the same process that occurred before the Finals opened in Los Angeles last week (May 31).
Bynum said after Game 4 that he hoped to play in Sunday’s Game 5; he will be officially listed as questionable for the contest.
In the meantime, the 22-year-old will continue a variety of treatments on the knee to get it as ready for action as is possible.
Bynum had been a solid force for L.A. in the team’s first three games against Boston, including a 21-point, 7-block, 6-rebound performance in Game 2 and his nine points with 10 rebounds in Game 3, and was noticeably missed in Game 4.
“It bothered us in the second half not having Andrew be able to come out and play the start of the second half,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. “He tried a couple minutes, but it just wasn’t there for him. We’re glad we have a couple days off and we can kind of get him back hopefully in position where he can help us out again.”
Both Jackson and Bynum’s teammates praised what the young big man has shown from a toughness standpoint while battling through his injury, with Kobe Bryant saying that he thought ‘Drew would “be fine,” that he’d “bounce back and give it a go.”
We’ll have another update right here after Saturday’s practice.

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Lakers - Celtics NBA Finals Game 4 Preview

Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher had a pretty productive relationship when they first came into the NBA together, winning three titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and forging a friendship that belied the differences in their personalities and their skills.
“It’s not because our games are similar, it’s not because of talent similarities or any of that,” Fisher said Wednesday after the Lakers practiced for Game 4 of the NBA finals against the Boston Celtics.
“It’s just that we’ve experienced a lot of good and bad things together. Because we’ve been through those fires, we’re just comfortable relying on each other, and I think he knows and I know that if anything in the world happened, if there was one person that would stand up and say, ‘I’m here for you,’ you know, it would go both ways.”
A tough and emotional point guard with a history of clutch performances, Fisher made five baskets in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers to a 91-84 victory over Boston on Tuesday night and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven NBA finals.
His signature play this time wasn’t a long-distance heave—like the one he sank against San Antonio with 0.4 seconds left in 2004—or a series of jumpers like those that turned things around in Game 4 of the finals against Orlando last year.
Instead, Fisher helped clinch the victory over Boston when he followed through on a breakaway layup before being flattened by three Celtics—including 300-pound Glen “Big Baby” Davis and 6-foot-11 Kevin Garnett. Fisher, who’s 6-1 and 210 pounds, converted the three-point play to turn it into a seven-point game.
“He’s very, very, very, very tough—mentally and physically,” Bryant said. “He doesn’t back down from anything or anyone.”
Fisher played the first eight years of his career with the Lakers, winning three titles in the Shaq-and-Kobe era before signing with Golden State as a free agent in 2004. It was only then that Bryant appreciated what kind of friend and teammate he had.
“Fish and I, we’ve always been close, though I think when he left we became even closer, as weird as that seems,” Bryant said. “Everything happens for a reason. It’s kind of good to see him kind of come full circle and be back here again.”
Fisher was traded to Utah in 2006 and spent a year there, but when his daughter, Tatum, developed eye cancer he asked to be released so he could move to a major city where she could be treated. He said Wednesday that she’s doing “great”; she and her twin brother Drew will turn 4 this summer.
“I’m hoping that I can bring them a big, gold trophy as a gift for their birthday,” Fisher said.
Fisher was moving back to Los Angeles to be near the doctors—with or without an offer from the Lakers. The fact that the team needed a point guard at the time, had the cap room and realized what it was missing since Fisher left makes him think that there’s “something else higher than me that was in control of all that.”
It didn’t hurt that the Lakers added Pau Gasol soon after, and then made it to the 2008 finals—his first season back—before losing to the Celtics. Last year, Los Angeles repeated as Western Conference champions and beat the Magic for Fisher’s fourth title.
Now they’re in the finals for their third straight year since Fisher returned.
“Of course, anytime I’m on a team I expect to win, but it’s hard to imagine that it was planned out,” he said. “But, you know, I’m a believer in a higher power, and it’s quite an interesting plan that He had.”
With two more victories, Fisher and Bryant will earn their fifth title in 11 years as teammates, a tenure that has coach Phil Jackson comparing their partnership—both personal and professional—to a couple of Hall of Famers he coached with the Chicago Bulls: Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
“It’s not unusual for players that have played together … to have a relationship, especially when you have winning,” Jackson said. “They have a wonderful relationship, not only in communication but also in knowing how to play with each other in a way that’s supportive.”
Fisher is the more vocal of the two, the one more likely to call out his teammates with a motivational speech like the one he delivered before the start of the fourth quarter on Tuesday night. Bryant relies instead on a quiet intensity; there’s often little doubt how he feels, but you have to read it on his face.
Bryant compares the difference in styles to Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Fisher said he’s the more peaceful of the two, finding a way to fit in among strong personalities like Bryant, Jackson and Shaquille O’Neal.
“My only concern is for us to win,” he said. “I love everybody. But if we don’t win, I don’t love you as much.”

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