Advertisement

There’s not a lot to complain about

Share
Bresnahan is a Times staff writer.

The headlines scream from the pages.

Luke Walton can’t get any playing time. Sasha Vujacic and Vladimir Radmanovic aren’t making their three-point shots. The Lakers’ defense was unacceptable against Sacramento. Sun Yue is probably going down to the Development League.

OK, maybe the headlines are sometimes more whispers than screams, but the Lakers are 12-1 and still facing some questions and shrugs from reporters.

Not that Coach Phil Jackson is complaining.

“You couldn’t write everything positive, could you? It wouldn’t be any fun. No fun,” he said, smiling.

Advertisement

In fact, Jackson tends to be more critical than complimentary in video sessions before practice.

“I have to,” he said. “That’s what coaching’s about.”

Jackson acknowledged there was even some nitpicking in stories during the Chicago Bulls’ record-setting 72-10 season in 1995-96.

“I’m sure there was [criticism]: ‘Luc Longley couldn’t run the court, we didn’t have a post-up game,’ those kind of things,” Jackson said. “You have to keep people interested, right?”

Home sweet home

The Lakers are approaching an early-season imbalance of home to road games. After they play Dallas and Toronto this weekend at Staples Center, they’ll have played 10 of their first 15 games at home.

Jackson put it into a pro-Lakers perspective.

“It’s nice to be home during the holiday here,” he said. “It’s good for our team. We’re getting ready for a busy month in December. We want to finish up this month the right way, though.”

The Lakers have eight road games in a 22-day span next month. They also have a home game against Boston on Christmas Day.

Advertisement

Foons?

The Lakers might not practice on Thanksgiving, which would preempt Jackson’s annual “Turkey Trot” scrimmage.

In it, players who are 6 feet 4 and taller (the “Goons,” as Jackson calls them) scrimmage against players that are 6-4 and under (referred to as “Fairies” by Jackson).

Jackson once told the Chicago Tribune that there were “three types of players in this game.”

“Fairies, foons and goons,” he said. “Fairies are 6-4 and under. Foons are in between. Goons are 6-10 and over.”

--

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

Advertisement