duncan228
06-04-2009, 12:58 AM
Lakers focused on redemption; Magic smile in face of adversity (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Lakers_focused_on_redemption_Magic_smile_in_face_o f_adversity.html)
By Jonathan Feigen - Houston Chronicle
LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant smoldered.
Gone was the giddy exuberance of his early NBA Finals appearances when everything his boundless ambition could imagine seemed within his grasp. There were no signs of the triumphant MVP swagger he brought to last season’s Finals when he seemed to relish every moment of his presumed trip back to the top of the NBA.
He and the Los Angeles Lakers spoke Tuesday as if they had been blown out of the 2008 Finals. And while the Orlando Magic basked happily in their role as party crashers, hoping to achieve the greatness the Lakers consider part of their DNA, the Lakers ached for another championship series to begin.
“This is what I play for,” Bryant said with a look and tone as stern as a senator staring down a Supreme Court nominee.
“As a team, the emotion that we have with this team is a little different this time around than it was last year. A little calmer, more ready to go.”
Before long, Magic center Dwight Howard climbed to the same spot on the podium Bryant had occupied. He looked at the chair set up for Lakers coach Phil Jackson and said, “Hey, Phil’s chair! Can I sit there?”
When he left the room and was introduced to a representative of the Disney Channel, he was smiling again.
“The Disney Channel?” Howard exclaimed. “I love the Disney Channel.”
Thirty minutes earlier, Bryant looked as if he would elbow Miley Cyrus to get a loose ball.
“I think everybody here was pretty calm, just ready to roll,” Bryant said. “We’ve been through this hoopla last year. I think a lot of it was obviously new to everybody, guys that haven’t been there before. This time around we just kind of know what to expect.”
While the Lakers, the winningest franchise in NBA history, are pursuing their 15th championship, the Magic have never won a game in the Finals.
The Lakers’ nucleus is largely unchanged since last season’s Finals. Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue are the only Magic players to have ever before advanced this far.
Jackson is tied with Red Auerbach for championships won by a coach with nine. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy has never before taken a team this far.
“We’ve always been overlooked,” Howard said without a trace of bitterness. “We were overlooked in the first series against Philly, we were overlooked against Boston, we’re overlooked against the Cavs, and we’re still overlooked. Everything we see, everybody picking against us, it motivates us. It drives us to do something greater.”
By Jonathan Feigen - Houston Chronicle
LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant smoldered.
Gone was the giddy exuberance of his early NBA Finals appearances when everything his boundless ambition could imagine seemed within his grasp. There were no signs of the triumphant MVP swagger he brought to last season’s Finals when he seemed to relish every moment of his presumed trip back to the top of the NBA.
He and the Los Angeles Lakers spoke Tuesday as if they had been blown out of the 2008 Finals. And while the Orlando Magic basked happily in their role as party crashers, hoping to achieve the greatness the Lakers consider part of their DNA, the Lakers ached for another championship series to begin.
“This is what I play for,” Bryant said with a look and tone as stern as a senator staring down a Supreme Court nominee.
“As a team, the emotion that we have with this team is a little different this time around than it was last year. A little calmer, more ready to go.”
Before long, Magic center Dwight Howard climbed to the same spot on the podium Bryant had occupied. He looked at the chair set up for Lakers coach Phil Jackson and said, “Hey, Phil’s chair! Can I sit there?”
When he left the room and was introduced to a representative of the Disney Channel, he was smiling again.
“The Disney Channel?” Howard exclaimed. “I love the Disney Channel.”
Thirty minutes earlier, Bryant looked as if he would elbow Miley Cyrus to get a loose ball.
“I think everybody here was pretty calm, just ready to roll,” Bryant said. “We’ve been through this hoopla last year. I think a lot of it was obviously new to everybody, guys that haven’t been there before. This time around we just kind of know what to expect.”
While the Lakers, the winningest franchise in NBA history, are pursuing their 15th championship, the Magic have never won a game in the Finals.
The Lakers’ nucleus is largely unchanged since last season’s Finals. Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue are the only Magic players to have ever before advanced this far.
Jackson is tied with Red Auerbach for championships won by a coach with nine. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy has never before taken a team this far.
“We’ve always been overlooked,” Howard said without a trace of bitterness. “We were overlooked in the first series against Philly, we were overlooked against Boston, we’re overlooked against the Cavs, and we’re still overlooked. Everything we see, everybody picking against us, it motivates us. It drives us to do something greater.”