LAKERS INSIDE LOOK: TWO CAUGHT LOOKING AHEAD GRANT, HORRY PLAY VITAL PARTS BUT MIGHT DEPART.Byline: Karen Crouse Staff Writer PHILADELPHIA - Ask the Lakers and they'll tell you they're firmly rooted in the moment for as long as these NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association. The team winning the Eastern Conference Finals earns one of the two berths in the championship round, with the other going to the team that wins the Western Conference Finals. last. Most of them are being completely honest. Then there are forwards Horace Grant Horace Junior Grant (born July 4 1965 in Augusta, Georgia) is a retired American basketball player. He attended and played college basketball at Clemson University, before playing professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he became a 4-time NBA champion. and Robert Horry Robert Horry (born August 25, 1970 in Harford County, Maryland) is an American National Basketball Association basketball player. Currently playing for the San Antonio Spurs, Horry is is known for his ability to make clutch shots in big games. , who wouldn't be human if they didn't sometimes catch themselves looking ahead. Grant's contract expires with the Lakers in a couple of weeks and The Goggled gog·gle v. gog·gled, gog·gling, gog·gles v.intr. 1. To stare with wide and bulging eyes. 2. To roll or bulge. Used of the eyes. v.tr. To roll or bulge (the eyes). One's immediate future is blurrier than his vision ever was. His body is screaming at him to retire. His mind is telling him to staple himself to the Lakers' home court and play for paper clips if he has to because only a fool would leave the party as soon as that most reclusive re·clu·sive adj. 1. Seeking or preferring seclusion or isolation. 2. Providing seclusion: a reclusive hut. of guests, Dinah Stee, arrives. Grant's no fool. But he is 35 years old, which is like 70 in basketball years. ``I just appreciate every moment of these Finals, regardless of if it's my last one,'' Grant said before Wednesday's Game 4 at First Union Center. ``This is a great situation to be in.'' If the Lakers are able to lock up their second consecutive NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= title, Grant said ``it would definitely make my decision tougher because it could be the start of something really good.'' If Grant stays, he'll have to take a pay cut. Of course, that would be a small price to pay to be an intimate part intimate part Sexology Any primary genital area–groin, inner thigh, buttock or breast. See Boundary violation. of Dinah Stee. Horry, 30, can opt out of his contract with the Lakers after these playoffs and he has compelling personal reasons for doing so. His wife and two children live in Houston, where they can be close to the medical care his 7-year-old daughter requires for a congenital throat defect. To while away some of his idle time The duration of time a device is in an idle state, which means that it is operational, but not being used. during these drawn-out playoffs, Horry compiled a list and checked it twice. He wrote down all the cities with weather that is nice. ``All the cold cities were straight away eliminated,'' he said. Horry went down the list of remaining cities - Miami, Orlando, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Sacramento, Oakland, L.A. - and scratched off any that were more than a two-hour flight from Houston. These days Horry admitted he looks at his list and sees the Lakers, the Lakers and ... the Lakers. ``This is a special time of year,'' admitted Horry. His wife, for all the added responsibilities their two-household existence heaps on her, will understand perfectly if he decides to stay in L.A. ``She can see how happy I am this time of year,'' Horry said, ``as opposed to other years when I was at home watching the Finals on TV.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Horace Grant has several choices in front of him when he becomes a free agent at the end of this season. John Lazar/Staff Photographer |
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