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Lakers' Team Report Everyone's (kind of) happy, and Kobe's (kind of) healthy
Posted: Tuesday June 13, 2000 07:28 PM
By John Donovan, CNNSI.com INDIANAPOLIS -- Glen Rice isn't backing off. His coach, Phil Jackson, is standing firm, too. Kobe Bryant can do a bit more than stand, it seems. And so the soap opera that is the Los Angeles Lakers rolled on Tuesday, leaving the thousand or so observers here to wonder: "What next?" The Lakers practiced Tuesday in Conseco Fieldhouse, readying for Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night. Bryant, whose bum ankle may hold the key to the rest of the series, is expected to play, though not at full strength. If you read between the lines, he may be closer to full strength than many may expect. If, that is, something doesn't happen between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday night. "I have a lot of strength in my ankle," Bryant said to reporters Tuesday afternoon. "It's getting better, though. A lot better, actually." Meanwhile, back to the other story, Rice claimed Tuesday that the whole mess he started by crying about his lack of playing time in Game 3 -- a 100-91 loss in which Bryant did not play -- was overblown. "In 48 minutes of a basketball game, things are going to happen that you don't like," he said. "We move on." And this: "I'm just a guy speaking up to try to help his team win." Jackson did his best -- in a short kind of way -- to stay above the media frenzy over Rice's comments. "That's a distraction to you guys. That's what you guys do," he told reporters here. "That's nothing for us." Still, Jackson felt compelled to set the record straight for reporters -- and for Rice, if he paid close enough attention. "Glen and I have had a good relationship all year," Jackson said. "I think Glen and I are clear with what our program is. I play who I want to play when I want to play them and how they play and what I think is best for the team. And that's it." OK, then. The funny part about all this is that if Bryant comes back strong, the Lakers don't need Rice's contributions as much. And, the fact is, they almost stole Game 3 with little from him. Whatever, all eyes will be on Rice and Bryant on Wednesday night.
Strategy of the DayThe Lakers know what it takes to stop the Pacers. Now they're just figuring if they can do it with a gimpy Bryant in there. Bryant, unquestionably the top outside defender on the team when healthy, will not be able to put the pressure on his bad left ankle he would normally need. So he's just going to have to play ... differently. "[I'll be] focusing more on position, as opposed to using my athleticism," Bryant said. "Just playing my angles, just taking the strength of my opponent away from him."
Quote of the DayGuard Ron Harper laid down on a courtside table at Conseco Fieldhouse, flat on his back, to do his interviews Tuesday. When an Indianapolis-area reporter asked him if he could envision a banner in the rafters, Harper said: "I hope not. If y'all get one, you're going to have to ask some other team."
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