Lakers at Clippers 12/21/11 7:30 pm PT

yeah, they are bound to pick up little injuries after such a long layoff
small sprains and bruises, nothing bad though... normal

whats also normal is how they sucked that first game
and maybe again today
like the article says, they are relearning how to play ball
im loving it
how awesome was brown calling a time out a minute or two into the 3rd quarter to pull kobe to the side and get in his face for not putting his arm in the shooters face when someone made a 3 in his grill while he played defense with his kobe glare instead of his arms
mike brown looked him in the eye and gave him a mike brown glare and then told him to put his motherfucking arm in the air and his hand in the other dudes face
game recognize game
kobe nodded his head and went back into the huddle like a good honest player should
that was awesome
mike brown is telling kobe that while he is a superstar he is still a player and he is still the coach
and that dynamic is way more important than just between kobe and mike brown
its that the rest of the team sees and understands what is going on between the two
thats the dynamic that you best need in a modern professional with these mega stars that make many times more than the entire coaching and front office staffs combined
its the best way to build great team chemistry
which is what we have not had under phil jackson
and his once seemingly earnest but eventually more condescending sounding bullshit all these years
thats why we had a team with so many weapons yet we under performed so often when it counted the most

we all know that the kobe/phil lovefest was a farce, the players knew it too
they have never respected each other
but they are both good corporate men, or they have had to become because of credibility tarnishing events in the past for both
lots of money at stake, and lots of legacy as well
so they buried the hatchet and did everything they could to humble themselves a bit and get
shit done
but there is only so much trust they have between each other, real trust... not after previous betrayals
so they only work so effectively, but not as well as they should

so there was no love lost between them when there wasnt any there to begin with

the players see and feel this every day at practice and in games
they all know it way more than we could
and it affects their game, its got to
thats a big time part of chemistry imo

i think kobe will play harder this year that he has in a while
he will play for his coach
and the players will play for kobe and the coach because they wont feel like afterparts
look how many players mike brown had out there dressed in the lakers purple and gold for that preseason game
there was like 20 dudes out there
never seen that shit before
but he wants everyone to feel like a laker in a game with all the pictures and the house rocking at least one time
even if they dont get on the floor much or at all, im sure its still something great
and it might have been something the veterans came up with and suggested to the coach due to the camaraderie that arose during this compacted training camp schedule that had guys spending way more percentage of their days together than under normal situations
a lot of shit had to get done in a very little amount of time
and remember that the whole lockout thing really tested the solidarity of players league wide
so i think there might be some level of a huge sigh of relief when players of different nba-economic backgrounds got back into a training camp type of situation where its just about getting back in shape and in getting the teams gameplan down
im guessing there is a little chemistry bump from that because it had the possibility of being the direct opposite of a bump if that reported players rift was pushed further
instead everyone kinda worked together and tried to make the best deal they could make for all and still get back on the court

those extra camp invites probably get paid a nice chunk of cash for every extra day they are on the roster
and one more day of playing with superstars
and being a laker

so thats pretty cool