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?
