ducks
04-07-2007, 10:21 AM
Lakers guard Smush Parker lashed out at Coach Phil Jackson on Thursday after being benched for the entire fourth quarter of Wednesday night's 90-82 loss to the Clippers. Jackson said he thought Parker looked fatigued and was not applying sufficient defensive pressure.
Asked whether he would be ready to play in tonight's game against the SuperSonics in Seattle, Parker said, "I was ready to play [Wednesday] night. I wanted to play [Wednesday] night. I didn't appreciate being benched."
Facing reporters at the team's El Segundo training facility after practice and before heading to the airport for the team's flight to Seattle, Parker was asked what he thought he had to do to get back on the court.
"I feel fine. I felt I did everything I need to do to be out there. I gave up trying to read that man a long time ago," he said, referring to Jackson.
Jackson, who became a Hall of Fame coach Monday, said he and Parker had spoken earlier Thursday.
"He talked, I listened," Parker said. "That's usually how it goes. He just asked me if I got my energy back. I was like, 'Energy? I never lost it.' "
With the Lakers trailing 75-69 after three quarters Wednesday, was Parker surprised he wasn't put back in?
"I'm always surprised when I don't play," he said.
What did Parker think of Jackson's comments that the Lakers' point guard didn't put enough pressure on the Clippers?
Parker only shrugged.
Does Parker, who has started every game since signing with the Lakers as a free agent in August 2005, assume he will be in the starting lineup tonight?
"I don't assume anything anymore," he said.
Before Parker faced the media, Jackson explained his thinking.
"It just didn't feel like he had the enthusiasm to get up there and press the ball and do the kind of things Shammond [Williams] and Jordan [Farmar] and Sasha [Vujacic] would do," he said of Parker, who "has been fatigued a little bit, so we're just watching it."
Jackson also said that, in comparing Parker's last performance against the Clippers with what he saw Wednesday night, he knew "something was not quite right."
This isn't the first time Jackson and Parker have clashed. Last month, Jackson took Parker out of a game against the Phoenix Suns late in the fourth quarter because Parker was struggling offensively and defensively. The two had words, and Parker spent the rest of the game pouting at the end of the bench.
Parker had been with three NBA clubs and one team in Europe in his three professional seasons before joining the Lakers.
Concluding a two-year deal that pays him just under $800,000 this season, Parker, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end, was asked whether his latest confrontation with his coach could affect his future with the team.
"That's something that will take care of itself," Parker said. "Right now, I'm just worried about the season."
In describing Parker, Jackson said, "Smush is a very introspective person. I guess that's the best word I can use to describe him in terms of being quiet."
He wasn't quiet Thursday.
Asked whether he would be ready to play in tonight's game against the SuperSonics in Seattle, Parker said, "I was ready to play [Wednesday] night. I wanted to play [Wednesday] night. I didn't appreciate being benched."
Facing reporters at the team's El Segundo training facility after practice and before heading to the airport for the team's flight to Seattle, Parker was asked what he thought he had to do to get back on the court.
"I feel fine. I felt I did everything I need to do to be out there. I gave up trying to read that man a long time ago," he said, referring to Jackson.
Jackson, who became a Hall of Fame coach Monday, said he and Parker had spoken earlier Thursday.
"He talked, I listened," Parker said. "That's usually how it goes. He just asked me if I got my energy back. I was like, 'Energy? I never lost it.' "
With the Lakers trailing 75-69 after three quarters Wednesday, was Parker surprised he wasn't put back in?
"I'm always surprised when I don't play," he said.
What did Parker think of Jackson's comments that the Lakers' point guard didn't put enough pressure on the Clippers?
Parker only shrugged.
Does Parker, who has started every game since signing with the Lakers as a free agent in August 2005, assume he will be in the starting lineup tonight?
"I don't assume anything anymore," he said.
Before Parker faced the media, Jackson explained his thinking.
"It just didn't feel like he had the enthusiasm to get up there and press the ball and do the kind of things Shammond [Williams] and Jordan [Farmar] and Sasha [Vujacic] would do," he said of Parker, who "has been fatigued a little bit, so we're just watching it."
Jackson also said that, in comparing Parker's last performance against the Clippers with what he saw Wednesday night, he knew "something was not quite right."
This isn't the first time Jackson and Parker have clashed. Last month, Jackson took Parker out of a game against the Phoenix Suns late in the fourth quarter because Parker was struggling offensively and defensively. The two had words, and Parker spent the rest of the game pouting at the end of the bench.
Parker had been with three NBA clubs and one team in Europe in his three professional seasons before joining the Lakers.
Concluding a two-year deal that pays him just under $800,000 this season, Parker, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end, was asked whether his latest confrontation with his coach could affect his future with the team.
"That's something that will take care of itself," Parker said. "Right now, I'm just worried about the season."
In describing Parker, Jackson said, "Smush is a very introspective person. I guess that's the best word I can use to describe him in terms of being quiet."
He wasn't quiet Thursday.