Source <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">All things Smush I told Smush Parker after he'd followed up his career high in points with a season high in postgame interviews that I noticed him smiling a lot more in this game. It had been rare to see Parker smile at all much of this season, but his game has improved as his attitude has. He said the Lakers' "coaches, GMs and Dr. (Jerry) Buss" all have chastised him for his body language on the court, so he has made a concerted effort to fix it. Said Parker: "I was told it was draining to my teammates." So recently you might have noticed Parker comes off the floor when he's subbed out and slaps hands with all his teammates on the bench rather than frowning or throwing his headband or glaring at coaches. His explanation for all that before is that "the competitor" in him overflows and he just doesn't want to come out. It didn't help that Parker said he was having "a rough family time," which has been since rectified. One more point worth mentioning about Parker's good game: five assists, three steals and no turnovers in 32 minutes. And in case you thought it odd that Buss would make that body-language point to Parker -- as did I -- when I asked how that suggestion was handed down, Parker said it was during a personal lunch date with Buss. "Mano-a-mano," said Parker, who explained that Buss asked Parker to have lunch earlier this season. The funny thing is that Parker did miss those two foul shots with 9.8 seconds left that left the door open for Orlando to force overtime. He was able to stop Orlando's Jameer Nelson, though, to maintain the happy Parker ending. Phil Jackson said he has "issues" with Parker's free-throw shooting -- specifically the need to use his legs more. Parker is 58 of 90 (64.4 percent) this season on freebies.</div> Love it! I have definitely noticed this, he's smiling more, having MORE fun out there, and the best part about it is he is taking his game to a new level. He is really started to earn my respect as a shooter. Lately he has been on fire. Let's all give it up for the new and improved Smush Parker!!
