NBA

The Lakers Held A Team Meeting Monday Night To Clear The Air

Kobe Bryant was mad after the Lakers’ February 10th loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, reportedly kicking a trash can in the locker room after his team had just been Linsploded upon on national TV. For Kobe, this was not a huge blowup — the Mamba has been known for strikes much more stinging than a mere kicked can — but it was also a sign that he had had enough. The Lakers held a brief team meeting, beat the Raptors in their next game, and salvaged a 3-3 record on that road swing.

Team meetings have become a theme for L.A. as of late. On Monday night, following an easy win against the Blazers, Bryant and fellow elder statesman Derek Fisher called another players-only meeting, this time to refocus the team after a week full of distractions. Those distractions, in descending order of importance: Pau Gasol being shopped around by the front office, Bryant himself lashing out at said front office for said Pau shopping, and Andrew Bynum complaining publicly about the team spending too much time on shoot-arounds. So the message during Monday’s meeting, according to the LA Times, was this: “Just worry about games. And winning them.”

The urgency to win now, on a broader level, is because Mamba knows his window is closing. He’s 33. But logistically, the Lakers need to stock up on wins right now and improve their playoff position — they’re a 5 right now in West, and if the season ended today their first-round opponent would be… duh duh duhhhh: the Clippers.

Most exciting first round playoff series in years? Yes. First round playoff series that the Lakers want? Absolutely not.

[ESPN.com, LA Times]