LOS ANGELES (AP) -Marquis Daniels is the only Boston player heading into the NBA finals with a significant injury, yet coach Doc Rivers believes the veteran swingman will return before the series is over.
Daniels got a concussion when he was hit in the head by an inadvertent elbow from Orlando’s Dwight Howard in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, forcing him to miss the clincher. Although he’s averaging just 1.3 points per game in the postseason, Rivers had hoped Daniels would provide a playoff boost on defense.
“He actually did drills yesterday, had feeling again,” Rivers said of Daniels before Game 1 on Thursday night. “So yeah, I do think he’ll be ready. Before the series is over, I think Marquis will be playing.”
Rivers isn’t certain how veteran big man Rasheed Wallace’s balky back will hold up after several days without significant workouts, but the coach doesn’t sound terribly worried.
u do bike work and stuff, I will watch that more than his actual injury,” Rivers said. “If he just tires quickly, especially the first stint. Other than that, I think he’ll be fine.”
—
T-SHIRT TRIUMPH?: Although the Lakers’ third playoff attempt at dressing their fans in identical colored T-shirts went a bit better than the first two tries, nobody will mistake Hollywood for a conformist town.
The Lakers handed out thousands of gold T-shirts reading “THIS IS THE ONE” before Game 1 of the NBA finals on Thursday night. It’s the third time in the postseason they’ve tried to pull the crowd stunt that’s so popular in other basketball arenas.
But the Lakers’ fans mostly declined to wear the shirts the first two times, with most stuffing them under the seats or draping them over their shoulders, occasionally waving them like a Terrible Towel.
With the arena filled nearly to capacity well before the opening tip in Game 1, thousands of fans actually wore their shirts – although it still was less than half of the supercool Hollywood crowd.
—
PHIL’S FUTURE, PART 228: Although coach Phil Jackson still refuses to say whether he’ll return to Los Angeles next season, he seems to be getting closer to a decision that will make Lakers fans happy.
finals.
Jackson declined to confirm he’s coming back, but acknowledged the Lakers’ return to the NBA finals made the season successful in his mind. The winningest playoff coach in NBA history already has 10 championships, one more than Boston’s Red Auerbach.
While avoiding countless questions about his future over the past several months, Jackson has said a finals run would make him more likely to return – and another championship would almost guarantee his return to defend it again.
“It feels like we’re really headed in the right direction,” said Jackson, who will turn 65 before next season. “We believe in what we’re doing. We’ve got the momentum. I know the Celtics do, too, but this is really the topping on the cake, so to speak. … I’m looking forward to this, and that’s it.”
Lakers owner Jerry Buss is expected to ask Jackson to take a pay cut from his $12 million salary this season, but a significant cut still would leave him as the NBA’s highest-paid coach. Jeanie Buss, Jackson’s girlfriend and a Lakers executive, has said Jackson definitely will coach somewhere next year.
—
STERN TICKETS: Commissioner David Stern must respectfully disagree with President Barack Obama’s suggestions on lower ticket prices in NBA arenas.
Stern, a self-described “loyal Democrat,” responded to Obama’s comments to sportscaster Marv Albert last month. The First Fan says he wishes more NBA tickets were priced affordably for fans – an issue that Stern and his owners already have tackled.
“We do have a minimum of 500 very low-priced tickets in every arena,” Stern said. “Our teams have been working hard to have family nights that include not only tickets, but hot dogs, soda and the like. We’re working very hard to make our games affordable to groups. I know in Dallas, it’s a $2 ticket, sometimes a $5 ticket, sometimes a $10 ticket. We have them all over the NBA.”
Stern has expressed admiration for Obama’s knowledge and passion about basketball in the past. Obama has periodically weighed in on major NBA issues, most recently expressing hopes LeBron James will either sign with the President’s hometown Chicago Bulls or return to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
As for those low-priced seats?
“The president has a standing invitation,” Stern said with a grin. “I’m not sure that he would sit in one of those seats.”
Add A Comment