Lakers Have to Prove Themselves

After Tuesday’s (May 5) practice, the Lakers were on the defense when asked about their Game 1 loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday night. Kobe Bryant, who had 32 points on 31 shots in Game 1, told reporters that his fellow Lakers were a “little edgy” and that he was “more than anxious” to see how they will respond on the court tonight during Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. While Bryant may have gone as far as hinting the Lakers’ 100-92 home loss was a good thing, Coach Phil Jackson was apparently irritated at practice yesterday.

“I think last year was a cakewalk to the NBA Finals. It feels good to be tested a little bit. If you’re going to be a champion, you’ve got to be tested, you’ve got to answer those bells, you’ve got to answer the call,” said Bryant. When asked about the Lakers’ poor showing against the Rockets, the usually even-keeled Derek Fisher bristled, saying, “We don’t have to answer questions about toughness. We have to win games. You can ask all you want, but it doesn’t seem to come out until we lose. The 65 times we won, it wasn’t a big deal, but the 17 times we lost, it was a big deal. Now losing Game 1 on your home court, all those questions start to come back up, but the way you silence that is win games, win a series. That’s what we have to do.”

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