Tom Petty is right, waiting is the hardest part ...
Leaders set the tone and Kobe put us at ease.
Game 7 is hours away yet seems so out of reach ... Friends and family were at my house Tuesday night, savoring the win yet the festivities were tempered. There really wasn’t anything to celebrate.
Thursday night is where it's at.
Game 7.
As a basketball fan, can you ask for anything more?
For a player, it's where dreams are made ... and shattered.
I've never played in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The mental preparation, focus will have to be at its highest peak.
Can you believe this will be Phil's first Game 7 ever coaching in the NBA Finals? Someone told me Thursday will be his 73rd Finals game.
Man.
How am I going to sleep? Tossing, turning. I can't get too amped. I have to conserve energy. I need to rest. Friends and family are not welcome at my home Wednesday evening or Thursday.
Keep out -- I mean it.
I need to listen to Kings of Leon, Elton John's Greatest hits. I'll hit shuffle on my iPod and just relax.
I'm on call, to be there. One and all, to be there. I'd come a running. To be there. I'm on call, to be there.
I will envision what will happen on the court. Dream up different scenarios.
We're home at Staples. We earned the right to play Game 7 at home. A season of hard work and dedication paid off. We fed off the crowd's energy on Tuesday night. It fueled us, it lifted us.
I get goose bumps thinking about the energy level on Thursday night. Is this the biggest game in the 10-year history of the arena? Will the decibel level of the fans literally raise the roof?
No way do we want the Celtics celebrating on our home court, in front of Laker Nation.
No way.
Embracing the Pressure
After Game 5, the media, even my friends were like, 'Kobe must be mad at you guys. What did he say? Did he yell? Did he even talk to you?'
Kobe was the complete opposite. On the plane ride to L.A., he told us, "Fellas, we have two home games left. Let's win them and we win the title. Simple as that. Focus on Tuesday, then Thursday."
Then later he was joking around with us.
When the best player in the world is confident and relaxed, then you follow suit. Leaders set the tone and Kobe put us at ease.
A lot of people handle pressure differently. I like to embrace it and make it work for me. Channel it. I know Ron is feeling pressure -- the pressure of being in his first Finals, especially on a team that won it all the previous year.
Nothing needs to be said about Game 7. It speaks for itself -- the magnitude of the game, the storied rivalry.
Doc Rivers said that Kendrick Perkins is out for Thursday. Our approach, mindset will be the same as if he were to play.
We're leaving it out on the floor.
Who wants it?
Game 7 -- It will simply be the best 48 minutes of basketball you'll watch all season long.
We made a promise we swore we'd always remember.
No retreat, no surrender
Like soldiers in the winter's night with a vow to defend.
I have learned from the legends of the game that the closer you are to the title, the more you need to prepare, focus and the more difficult it is to attain.
Dirty Water “Hey, Walton you bum, Lakers are going down!! ... "Luke, you're a Celtic traitor!"
It's always fun to return to Boston, especially when you play the Celtics in the Finals ... It's been a dark day and a half for me, all of those horrid memories of two years ago are still very fresh in my mind and won't be fully exorcised until we take care of our mission ...
We're staying in the same hotel from two years ago. Flashbacks, déjà vu, you name it. Last night's win was a positive step for us but we have a looong way to go … Funny, the heckles aren't quite as frequent now as they were prior to Game 2 … as we get closer to Game 4, they'll pick up again, for sure ...
D.Fish Homage
Leader, all-time great clutch playoff performer, champion, difference maker, leader ... D. Fish showed why you can throw out the statistics from the regular season, chasing all of those young point guards around and why he is on the short list of great playoff performers. Eleven of his 16 points were scored in the fourth quarter … So many highlights, including a great drive to the basket and one … And you can't overlook what he did on the defensive end, particularly against Ray Allen, playing pesky defense on one of the game's great shooters … With our lead – 17 points – dwindling and holding on by only six to start the fourth quarter, Fish spoke to us, gave us a boost of confidence, saying that before the game, we all would have been happy with a fourth-quarter lead in Boston. He put things in perspective and eased any anxieties we were feeling as the Garden was rocking and swaying, hungering for a comeback victory …
Man, when I saw Fish get emotional after the game, I was getting emotional …he's such a great man, teammate, friend, he's someone you're always rooting for ... not sure how people can count out someone like that, especially given his character and history of achievement in the postseason … Delivering when it counts the most is in the man's DNA ...
Honoring Coach Wooden What a fitting tribute to Coach Wooden on Sunday before the Game 2 tip ... Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and my dad, two of UCLA's greatest players who played on five of Coach Wooden's 10 NCAA title teams gave a touching testimonial … It was very cool to be standing close to my dad as he was talking about how much Coach Wooden meant to him ... I didn’t know my dad was speaking until a few minutes before the game ... My dad has come such a long way from where he was a year ago, dealing with debilitating back pain … He’s traveling now and looks like he's having a lot of fun. He was in Boston on Tuesday and told me he'll be here for Game 4 on Thursday and Game 5 on Sunday ... We're talking about having dinner one of the nights he's in Boston. It will be a funny scene – two Waltons at the dinner table – one Celtic and one Laker. Wonder who will have his food served cold?
"Luke, we're off to Coach Wooden's mansion on Margate in Encino. He's going to show you how to put your socks and shoes on."
Huh?
Next thing I knew, me and my brothers – Adam, Nate and Chris -- would pile into my dad's car and he would make the two-plus hour drive from San Diego to visit Coach Wooden.
We would sit on the couch and Coach Wooden would explain the importance of putting our socks on properly to avoid getting blisters. Then, we had to make sure we tied our shoe laces so they didn't come undone during the practices or games.
As we were doing this, my dad was beaming from the corner of the room. Big Bill, who was a free spirit at UCLA and who learned some of Coach Wooden's lessons the hard way, was now his biggest advocate.
At first, we thought it was a joke but there we all were, sitting on the couch in Coach's condominium removing our socks and putting them back on. Tying our shoes and then meticulously untying the laces and doing it again and again.
The lessons of Coach Wooden didn't stop there. My dad would write many of Coach Wooden's maxims on my school lunch bag.
"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."
"Never mistake activity for achievement."
"It isn't what you do, but how you do it."
"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."
Kids would ask: "Hey, Luke: What did your dad write on your lunch bag today?" which was always followed by laughs.
I was embarrassed.
Whenever I would get disciplined by my dad, I remember him quoting Wooden: "The worst you can do for the ones you love the most, is what they could and should do for themselves."
I remember getting frustrated and saying, "When I get older, I'm going to Notre Dame, dad."
I was at home when I heard the sad news about Coach Wooden's passing Friday night. I was blown away by the international reaction to his death. It speaks to his popularity and impact on the game. He's an icon, someone who I grew up knowing as Coach Wooden and thought nothing of it until I got older and realized that he was Coach Wooden.
I was in college when I started to appreciate his wisdom and teachings. I also started to understand what a big impact he has had on my dad's life. My dad lives by Coach Wooden's maxims and his Pyramid of Success. It's helped shaped him and it's a code he lives by every day.
When I was in high school, I had a great coach in Jim Tomey who taught me a lot about the game. When it came time do start thinking about college, there was an expectation that I would attend UCLA because my last name was Walton.
When I focused on the University of Arizona and met Coach Lute Olson, I thought he was the 21st Century version of Coach Wooden. It was all so impressive -- his winning philosophy on and off the court not to mention the Wildcats style of play, the focus on ball movement, his non demonstrative demeanor on the sideline.
It was my decision to attend the University of Arizona, like it was my dad's to attend UCLA.
Long after my dad retired from the NBA, I saw the special relationship he shares with his former coaches--from his high school coach, Rocky Graciano, to Coach Wooden, Jack Ramsay, K.C. Jones – there are many.
Evan at 30 years old, Coach Olson remains a big influence on my life. I see first hand what a privilege it is to play for another great teacher in Coach Phil Jackson and the opportunity to play in the shadows of Laker greats – Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Jamaal Wilkes, James Worthy – all regulars at Staples Center.
Like my dad, I'm following the same path of staying connected with the influential coaches in my life – Tomey, Olson, Jackson -- men I will continue to learn from the rest of my life.
One of my dad's biggest regrets in life is not calling a game with the legendary Lakers announcer, Chick Hearn. I wish Chick had called one of my Laker games but I was drafted a year after his death. He's someone who would have been great to know and talk Lakers history.
While I never played for him, I saw first hand what a special person Coach Wooden is. I'm reminded of that every time I tie my shoe.
Can you write a better script than this? The last two NBA champs who met two years ago in the Finals …two of the most storied franchises in NBA history who have combined for 32 of the 63 NBA titles ….Celtics -- 17, Lakers -- 15 …. East Coast vs. West Coast … Celtics-Lakers is simply the best rivalry in sports … I have ties to both sides. . .Growing up, I proudly wore Celtic Green .. my closet was filled with that stuff .. I can’t tell you how many times I would go to BostonGarden to watch my dad play … Larry Bird was my idol and I admired the Celtics team play …
Where is my Celtic stuff now? Gone. I burned it long ago. Now, my closet is filled with purple and gold.
I grew up a Celtics fan. Now? Not so much.
Who is my dad rooting for? He says he’s a Celtic but is rooting for the Lakers because of me. I guess being a dad transcends Celtic Pride. He says he pulling for the Lakers. Now let’s see what he says when The Boston Globe calls?
Wake, sleep, eat revenge Been waking up in a shaking sweat my blood running cold
Thirty-Nine Point Nightmare
Game 6 two years ago is still fresh in my head. The 39-point drubbing. The sheer embarrassment. The Celtics celebrating right in front of us … The Gatorade shower given to Doc. I remember the bus ride leaving the Garden, coming to a standstill as fans pushed and pounded the windows, celebrating title 17. Yep, I remember everything about it.
I’ve spent a lot of off days thinking about that game, that experience. Believe it or not, that’s not our motivation for wanting to win title 16. We’re motivated for the chance at another championship.
We’re not playing the revenge card. We’re playing the Larry O’Brien one. We want that trophy.
Artest & Bynum
We’ll have two key players against the Celtics this time around. This will be Ron’s first Finals appearance yet he doesn’t really need any advice in terms of what to expect or how tohandle the enormity of the experience. When we won the Western Conference Finals, he was as calm as anyone out there. We started the season wanting more than the Conference title.Ron is aware of the fact that it’s not celebration time just to be in the Finals, you celebrate if you win the whole thing.
It’s hard to see Drew in pain as he’s been playing through his knee thing during the playoffs. He’s a big, athletic, physical, long body out there and that’s what you need against Boston. We expect him to play a major role in this series.
47-0
Crazy stat. Phil’s teams are 47-0 when they win Game 1 of a playoff series.
What does it mean? Absolutely nothing, especially as it pertains to this series.
It’s mind boggling, really, when you think about that – 47-0. You wonder if maybe that would impact other teams when they see that but it certainly won’t affect the Celtics. And it’s not going to make us relax at all, especially if we win Game 1.
Phil told us this week that we can’t feel this series out, especially with three games in a row in Boston. We got to come out of the gates ready to play. We’ve had intense practices and we need to maintain that level, especially for Game 1, which can’t come soon enough.
I grew up a Celtics fan. Now? Not so much.