Silence speaks volumes

[Erik Eleven]

Kudos to the entire Lakers organization and its players and coaches. I'm big on sportsmanship, and I just thought it should be brought up how classy I think this group of guys is. As a Lakers fan, I greatly appreciate how they carry themselves off the court. It makes me extremely proud to be a Lakers fan.

Not one bad word about the opponent has been mentioned by any of our players. Not one sentence of smack talk in the media has been uttered by a player or a coach. Even when reporters press Kobe for comments about Denver's implosion, he gracefully just states that he's focused on executing the Lakers' game plan and avoids saying anything at all about the Denver Nuggets. It's the right thing to do and he deserves big props for it, I think. So do the rest of the guys.

Just like the quiet guy in a group is often the one with the most intelligent stuff to say, the Lakers are establishing their mental dominance by being quiet, patient and letting their work do the talking. The lack of vanity amongst these young guys speaks for great maturity. They're carrying themselves like seasoned warriors

[Slava]

Excellent post E11.

Also wanted to point out that one play in game 3 when Fisher got knocked down by K-mart IIRC. All the guys just gathered around, lifted him up and just went back to the game without even talking to each other. Thats self restraint and classiness all the way and that really made me so proud as a fan.

[RocketPower23]

We fall down together and we get up together, group hug everyone.

Nice thread EE

[Sedale Threatt]

Same thing happened with one of Martin's fouls on Kobe. He yanked him down by the shooting arm pretty abruptly, then squared up to get in his face...and Kobe just regained his balance and walked to the foul line.

Let the clowns be clowns. We've got a championship to chase.

[Dexmor]

I like trash talking in the game but I like how they are not talking off the court.

[hermes]

the high road is always a nice one to take, great views

[TonyMontana]

I think the class , the success , the brotherhood of this team is and should be directed to the coach and his coaching staff .

Phil Jackson is not only a great coach but he is a man with class and as you all know , he is an educated man a scholar an author of many books.
His parents were ministers and he was brought up with high morals ethics class and values that is really very uncommon these days .

He is a very bright, articulate and a leader (ZEN MASTER) who has had the experience of coaching some of the best players ever to be assembeled in the NBA , form the Bulls to the Lakers .
We all know who these players are , so the reflection of his coaching skills , his methods of Motivational Techniques he uses on his team and players is never seen or heard of in any sports but martial arts , which seems to have helped this team as well as the Bulls to back to back titles .

He turned the Bulls franchise around as he did with the 3 peat Lakers .
And as time has gone by he has made significat changes with this team as well .
Is it no wonder that everyday that this team grows with one and another that it is looking like the old Bulls or the 3 peat Lakers .

I mean as far as his discipline let's take Kobe for example .

You do recall how Kobe and Jackson clashed a lot in the past . While in Jackson's "triangle offense", Bryant had a personal battle with Jackson's ways of coaching his game of basketball and Kobe actually called it "boring."
Some games, Kobe would even disregard P.Js calls for set offense plays and he would experiment with his own one-on-one moves and selfishness , pissing P.J off .
Do you recall when P.J demanded that Kobe should be traded, although Lakers F.O rejected the idea .

Well fast forward a few years and here we are today .
Kobe has grown and matured under P.Js coaching and there are even times when P.J steps back and allows Kobe to run plays or advise the team as he would when M.J was his capitan and the star of his team.

I do give credit to this team , but then we need to take a look at the current team we are facing in the first round .
They have no class , no leadership .
I wonder why .

[joe.linnen]

I do give credit to this team , but then we need to take a look at the current team we are facing in the first round .
They have no class , no leadership .
I wonder why .

I really love the way we play but I love the way our player act on and off the court. As for the current team were facing they need to take a lesson from us. I really do think that they are good guys but just are lost in the moment and you got to be honest as well. Would you be as cool as the Lakers are if your the Nuggets and I'm not saying they're right for their actions either....

[fareweatherfan]

Great post, indeed.

But, I wonder how much of our "class", "silence", etc, is a result of the fact that we are winning, and winning convincingly.

Don't take this the wrong way, I don't intend to take anything away from our guys. I am just throwing this out for your thoughts. I myself believe it is a contributing factor.

Whining, complaining, dirty plays, etc, are more often than not a result of frustration, which is more often than not a result of losing.

[Leonidas]

Team confidence, execution, oh and winning keeps cooler heads. Dope post Dub E. I take my hats off to them myself. Hard fouls are given and they continue to stick to the plan... WIN

[El Hardee]

Great post, I totally agree. It makes me soo proud to cheer for such a business like team. KG and the rest of those Green Douche Bags are very annoying.

War Sportsmanship!

[hermes]

Great post, indeed.

But, I wonder how much of our "class", "silence", etc, is a result of the fact that we are winning, and winning convincingly.

Don't take this the wrong way, I don't intend to take anything away from our guys. I am just throwing this out for your thoughts. I myself believe it is a contributing factor.

Whining, complaining, dirty plays, etc, are more often than not a result of frustration, which is more often than not a result of losing.

winning does make everything easier, so we are seeing a very loose, easy-going team right now, that can get it done when called upon

we have yet to see how they will react when they face adversity, hopefully similar to now

[Squirrel Boy]

The Zen Master does great things. Enough said.

IT'S ZEN BABY!

[DEEP3CL]

It's not called class, it's called being a PROFESSIONAL. Period

[Erik Eleven]

It's not called class, it's called being a PROFESSIONAL. Period

Oh, I'm sorry. How come I get paid millions and millions for what I do then?

Signed,

Carmelo Anthony.

[Slava]

^^ Well said.

[dingclancy]

add the fact that kobe is barely yapping at the refs now. Surprised to see that even after the stupid call on JR three.

[Erik Eleven]

^ Yeah, it's really remarkable. I truly hope his newfound attitude is here to stay. Big props to Kobe for changing the way that he has. He's emerging from being one of the greats that many people hate, to possibly becoming a true untouchable that is loved by everybody

[SashAlex]

To resume the well - said quotes by EE, Id's say that it's just about being a classy professional, a professional who can handle his emotions and not vice-a-versa( like a monkey ).

What did Martin show with his stupid plays against Kobe ? A 0 - 4 sweep ?!

Our players did what they had to do ! Play basketball and execute !
... and the huge "thank you" goes to Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant !

[laker&kobe4life]

Did you guys see when Martin was kind of pushing Kobe in an inbounds play and kobe was just laughing in his face. it was funny as hell and that got martin even more mad. he didn't even stay after the game to congrat the lakers.