Major Trouble Behind the Scenes?

Really Lost One · Nov 19, 2008

Just imagine if Kobe Bryant ever got in Shaquille O’Neal’s face right there on the court the way Trevor Ariza did with Lakers teammate Sasha Vujacic on Tuesday night.

You can be sure YouTube would’ve been invented sooner than 2005. The world would’ve needed it right then and there for breathless and repeated devouring of that footage.

Would the Lakers have gone on to win such a game in which Bryant and O’Neal argued openly?

Well, the Lakers won most of their games with Bryant and O’Neal together. But there is no way that those Lakers would’ve gone on to win the way that these Lakers went on to win after Ariza went at Vujacic early in the second quarter.

This team rose above the negativity as if it were nothing at all, broke open a close game and wound up laughing all the way to the finish line.

It was truly an amazing turnaround. Beyond that, it’s an amazing testament to the possibilities if these Lakers can brush tension aside in that manner immediately after their first loss of the season.

On Tuesday night, they stood there in that dark moment, calmly accepted it and just went to find the light switch on the wall. Their room brightened, and a party started.

Phil Jackson and Bryant have been forced recently by reporters to relive the past feuds with O’Neal in advance of another meeting with him Thursday night in Phoenix. The experience served Jackson and Bryant well, because they were totally cool in dealing with Ariza and Vujacic.

The discord arose after Ariza had the ball under the basket and passed it out to Vujacic on the wing. Rather than move it back to Ariza or another teammate, Vujacic just held it for a beat and then launched a 3-pointer out of the flow.

The shot missed badly, and Vujacic was soon called for a foul, leading to an automatic timeout with 8:37 left in the second quarter.

That’s when Ariza got in Vujacic’s face and stayed there as the players walked from the far corner of the court back toward the Lakers’ bench. Bryant shepherded Ariza toward the end of the bench and stood in his way while Ariza, who has a temper that his furtive demeanor belies, remained so keyed up that he just kept pacing.

Jackson benched both Ariza and Vujacic. As play was resuming, Jackson did something he never does: He left his usual area and walked to the end of the bench to address the matter directly with Ariza.

“It’s just something that we want to keep internal, so I’d just as soon not talk about it,” Jackson said after the game. “Trevor let it out, and it was unfortunate to see that on the court.”

Jackson also made a point late in the game to take Vujacic to task for misreading a play on offense. Assistant coach Kurt Rambis also spoke to Vujacic at length during another timeout about proper decision-making on offense.

Neither Ariza nor Vujacic wanted to dwell on the incident afterward, although Vujacic managed to make clear where primary responsibility lay by saying: “I wasn’t doing anything. I was playing basketball. … Have I done anything? Have I reacted inappropriately? Was I unprofessional?”

Said Ariza: “It wasn’t anything big. We both want to win. We’re out there and we’re competing, and we just had a little disagreement, that’s all.”

Maybe Vujacic was on edge early in the game just because he had aggravated injuries to both his left ankle and left elbow. For sure Ariza was already a little grumpy as he fought an upper respiratory infection.

But even though this sort of flare-up actually happens fairly often in practice – especially with Vujacic, who is truly gifted at being annoying when he wants to be – this could’ve been much more than “a little disagreement.” The Lakers simply handled it – in two main ways:

• Chicago tied the score, 36-36, on Vujacic’s foul, but Bryant entered the game then and scored the next two baskets – and the Lakers never trailed again. (Jackson shrewdly restored order to the Lakers’ game by having the five starters from last season’s playoff run – Bryant, Derek Fisher, Vladimir Radmanovic, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol – out there playing almost right away – and playing the right way.) Bryant was magnificent in setting a tone for the second half, when he orchestrated the Lakers’ lead jumping from five to 15 points. He took the good vibrations seemingly a step too far by passing up an open fast-break basket to throw an alley-oop back to a surprised Ariza … yet the net result was a bigger thrill and better on the scoreboard when Bryant nailed a 3-pointer instead. Jackson felt good enough then to pair Ariza and Vujacic on the court again (and yes, they did pass the ball to each other).

• On the Lakers’ bench at the start of that second half, reluctant reserve but exceptional people-person Odom showed what a unique connector he can be for this team. Odom has had conflicts in the past with Vujacic – including one just a week ago in the visiting locker room in New Orleans after Vujacic didn’t bring back a borrowed bottle of Radmanovic’s body wash out of the shower, leaving an exasperated Odom to go fetch it. But in this case Odom plopped down next to Vujacic and chatted amiably with him. After the first timeout of the second half, Odom moved to a seat near the end of the bench, right next to Ariza, and immediately got Ariza smiling with a few dance moves to “Simply Irresistible” over the Staples Center speaker system.

Bryant and Odom then made sure the game was sealed with more grins and giggles when Odom fouled out early in the fourth quarter after playing just 22:14 … and Bryant set a career high for uncontrollable laughter in a game not even fully a blowout.

Bryant just found Odom’s misfortune with the referees and gestures of frustration that hilarious, and co-captain Derek Fisher joined in by walking over and theatrically waving a towel to cool Odom off.

Odom couldn’t help but laugh about it, because everyone else was already laughing about it. And now we know just how capable this Lakers team is of coming together, to the point of making some remarkable chicken salad.
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http://www.ocregister.com/articles/vujacic-ariza-bryant-2233071-lakers-odom

Nah just kidding, I saw the game yesterday but for reason, I guess I missed out on this incident. Glad to see Lamar stepping in and showing his true colors. He's a great chemistry guy after all!

michau · Nov 20, 2008

for those who missed it

http://www.lakersmedia.com/video/index.php?p=477

Shapecity · Nov 20, 2008

Kurt Rambis addressed this last night and said both players have moved on.

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