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They held a clear-the-air team meeting before Wednesday morning's shoot-around, with Kobe Bryant very directly asking Dwight Howard if he disliked playing with the long-time Lakers star.

"Guys went at each other a little bit," said a person who witnessed the meeting.

Coach Mike D'Antoni started it by saying he was tired of reading newspaper stories about players questioning his offense or wanting more touches. Bryant and Howard each fell under that category after the Lakers' lifeless 95-83 loss Monday in Chicago: Bryant said the offense needed to slow down while Howard expressed displeasure after taking only five shots.

D'Antoni then told the team to stop worrying about offense and start playing better defense. The Lakers are fifth in scoring (102.6 points a game) but 26th in defense (101.4 points a game).

He then asked players to speak up. Steve Nash went first.

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D'Antoni, for his part, told reporters that the team would "maybe slow it down" on offense. He reiterated his defense-first assessment.

Nash, in his first season with the Lakers, said he didn't care how they played, whether it was via pick-and-roll or fastbreak or whatever. He just wanted everybody to be comfortable in the system. It was seen as a sacrifice by Nash, who played four seasons under D'Antoni's run-and-gun offense in Phoenix and won two NBA MVP awards while doing it.

Bryant also spoke up, acknowledging he could be "hard to play with" and asking Howard if that bothered him.

Howard's answer was unclear, though he did not engage Bryant in nearly as vocal a manner as Bryant engaged him.

"He didn't go back at Kobe," said the person who witnessed the meeting.

It was not known how long the actual meeting lasted, but the Lakers' shoot-around went an hour longer than expected.

Howard was contrite with reporters afterward, saying he was sorry for demanding more touches two days earlier. The meeting seemed to have affected him.

Kilroy wrote:Did they have smores and sing Kumbaya?

Hippies.

gotokyo wrote:Sounds like D'Antoni doesn't realize his fast paced, run and gun offense is effecting the defense as well. In other words D'Antoni is a stubborn idiot.

SlavaMedvedenko wrote:I have a feeling this will break Howard more than make him tougher. Nash, Kobe & Artest were either born with a thick skin or acquired it after adjusting to the NBA. Howard really hasn't. He's been babied ever since he knew he could jump high with the ball.

Kilroy wrote:It may break him down this season, but I'm OK with that...
I think he needs to be broken... So he can develop as a player and a person. Kobe had to deal with Shaq early in his career and I think that helped make him who he is today...
Dwight's been handled with Kidd-gloves from day one pretty much. He wanted the spot light on a bigger stage, well now he has to deal with it... Now people say GTFO when he complains.

But the down-side is that he may regress a bit more this season. I just hope he accepts the challenge and at least works hard this off season...

Well know pretty quick what he's made of.

ballaholick wrote:i would have paid big bucks to be in that meeting lol

moonpie wrote:I can see it now. Lakers and Memphis tied on the final possession-Lakers ball. Kobe has it at the top of the key with Dwight calling for the ball against Marc. Kobe, in a show of solidarity

dockingsched wrote:

moonpie wrote:I can see it now. Lakers and Memphis tied on the final possession-Lakers ball. Kobe has it at the top of the key with Dwight calling for the ball against Marc. Kobe, in a show of solidarity

stopped reading right there.

dockingsched wrote:

gotokyo wrote:Sounds like D'Antoni doesn't realize his fast paced, run and gun offense is effecting the defense as well. In other words D'Antoni is a stubborn idiot.

i don't think its the fast pace so much as effort. i mean, don't the lakers every single time get down by a bunch at the start when they're fresh and every single time begin to shut things down and make a valiant comeback when they're suppose to be tired?