As the Lake Show returns to the friendly confines of the Staples Center tonight, No. 2 expects the troops to step their game up.
“There’s a sense of urgency to play much better,” D-Fish told the Press Enterprise. “I don’t think we’ve looked at our games any differently after clinching the West, but with that next goal of winning the championship being so far removed from today, collectively we had a hard time putting that carrot this close instead of that close. We lost sight of what we needed to do night-in, night-out.”
The Lakers will have a chance to play much better tonight against better competition in the form of the Houston Rockets. Already ticketed for the playoffs as well, Houston is a team LA could see again in the later rounds of the postseason.
LA has had Houston’s number in their three meetings this season. Derek is averaging 6.6 points per game against Houston this year and has seven assists in the three meetings.
No. 2 matches up well with Rockets guard Aaron Brooks who he’ll be defending this evening.
With a win tonight the Lakers would claim their 60th victory of the season, a milestone they haven’t reached since the 1999-2000 season.
REST ROOM
Though Lakers coach Phil Jackson has expressed a desire to get to 60 wins sooner rather than later, he also continues to mention possible rest for his three veteran stars, Derek, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant.
Over at Lakers guard Forum Blue and Gold, site commenter Darius has an opinion on the issue:
“But what about some rest for the weary? As I pointed out, Kobe looks tired. Gasol’s minutes are through the roof. And even though Fish has actually played less lately, he’s also our oldest player and has already had a month long stretch of games this season where he was consistently playing thirty five plus minutes nightly. Is Phil going to idle down the team to recharge their batteries before the playoffs?”
Expectations are, if tonight’s game gets out of hand one way or the other, all three players could see extended time on the bench.
Tip-off of tonight’s game is scheduled for 7:30 PST and all the action can be seen live on ESPN.
RELATED STORIES
Hoping to get well at Home (The Press Enterprise, April 3, 2009)
http://www.pe.com/sports/basketball/lakers/stories/PE_Sports_Local_S_lakers_03.3e15630.html
Up next for Lakers: Houston (The LA Times, April 3, 2009)
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-tonight3-2009apr03,0,3697704.story?track=rss
Rest Assured (Forum Blue and Gold, April 3, 2009)
http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2009/04/02/rest-assured/