Lakers' happiest place could be Orlando

Mamba · Jun 8, 2009

Jerry Buss isn't here and says he isn't coming.

His explanation, as relayed through Lakers spokesman John Black: "It's no fun going to away games when the crowd is cheering against the best team."

Amusing stuff from the Lakers owner, but assuming there are no unstated complications holding him back, it's a little peculiar for a man of Buss' success to be so affected by others' dissent.

It also leaves the Lakers with something to figure out if they wind up in position to pop champagne here: If Buss isn't here — and daughter Jeanie, an increasingly prominent face for the organization, isn't scheduled to come either — who accepts the Larry O'Brien Trophy?

But easily superseding Buss not being here is the fact his team is here for perhaps an entire week beginning with Game 3 of the NBA Finals tonight … and feeling quite good despite landing in a torrential downpour Monday. They have two good reasons:

1. It's 2-0, Lakers.

2. The Lakers are a great road team. One of the NBA's best ever.

The Lakers became the first team in league history to snap two other teams' streaks of at least 12 consecutive home victories in the same season by winning regular-season games in Cleveland (23-gamer ended in February) and Houston (12-gamer ended in March).

The Lakers added to that in the postseason by winning in Denver, brushing aside the Nuggets' 16-game home winning streak that dated to the regular season.

So it would be fitting for the Lakers to be crowned away from their home court. It's understandable that fans back home would prefer to be a part of it, but anyone who has seen these celebrations first-hand a few times can appreciate how meaningful it is for a small group of guys to win a championship on the road.

The community feeling of being one team together all season and then ascending to the championship alone on the road is particularly connective and powerful.

If you ask why the Lakers are so good on the road, it's not just as simple as Kobe Bryant being clutch in the fourth quarter in any arena. If you're going to boil it down, it's more about a lot of guys who share the quality of staying positive.

You've got to be able to stay positive, because you expect the home team to have its moments of crowd-pleasing energy. Jameer Nelson is going to whip the fans into a frenzy, and some schmo such as Marcin Gortat is going to make a big play.

That doesn't mean someone else can't follow that up with the next big play, though. And if you take a look around the Lakers locker room, you see a unique collection of players who can take staggering hits of adversity — in matters that last a lot longer than a three-second violation — and still march forward.

Lamar Odom and the death of his infant son on top of the deaths of his mother and grandmother when he was young. Derek Fisher's infant daughter having to fight a rare cancerous tumor in an eye. Trevor Ariza losing his 5-year-old brother, with whom Ariza used to share a bed, after the boy's fall from a 32nd-floor balcony.

And whatever your opinion of Bryant, his year-long situation while charged with sexual assault was an uncommon, unofficial trial all its own. Actually, what Bryant said back in 2005 — before he really knew Ariza and before Tatum Fisher and Jayden Odom had been born — about that plight offers some broader perspective on staying positive when you hit the littlest bumps on the road:

"It was a terrible time. There's just no other way to put it. But it made us stronger. It made me stronger, that's for sure. Everybody has their crosses to bear, their crosses to carry. If you look at what other people go through — people lose children, people die, all this other stuff. So by comparison, the cross I had to bear was miniscule.

"I still have my family; we all have our health; we're all here. It's just that for a moment in time, things were very difficult. But you come out of that and the sun's still shining."

Can personal struggle really translate into professional growth manifest while feeling unwelcome on a basketball court? Absolutely. If we're honest with ourselves, we all know everything that happens that matters to us — home or work — evokes the same basic feelings and shakes up our same cells.

Recent science shows that uncontrolled negative thoughts trigger production of stress hormones that can damage or even kill brain cells. (Side note: So that's what happened to Kwame Brown!)

No one wants that to happen to the crafty Dr. Buss, so he should stay home if he needs to. Meanwhile, we'll see if his players leave here as cool and smart as they appear upon arrival. If so, they'll have a certain something for him to pick up when they get home.
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http://www.ocregister.com/articles/lakers-home-team-2452278-road-buss

Mamba · Jun 8, 2009

Would you rather close out there or here?

Lost One · Jun 8, 2009

Obviously I want to close out at Staples. But nothing is guaranteed. Play hard, close out in 2 if possible, just get it done. Series ain't over yet, Lakers should be focused, not thinking about the parades.

Moo2K4 · Jun 9, 2009

I'd love to close it out in Staples, but if we can get a sweep or win in 5, that works for me too. As long as we win, I don't care where they celebrate.

Mamba · Jun 9, 2009

Hm, I'm different. I'd rather close out in Orlando. Rubs it in their face, more.

God, I'm so glad Boston didn't close out here last year.

huevonkiller · Jun 9, 2009

Only care about winning right now.

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Lakers' happiest place could be Orlando

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Lakers' happiest place could be Orlando

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Mamba The King is Back Staff Member Global Moderator

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Lost One ...

Moo2K4 NBA West Producer

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huevonkiller Change (Deftones)

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