LAKERS NOTEBOOK: TEAM NOW FACES MATH'S REALITIES.Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer The mathematicians Mathematicians by letter: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z See also
The exhilarating victory over Dallas on Friday restored a lot of luster, but it will ultimately count as one small step toward respectability, or a decent playoff seeding, for that matter. As the mathematicians have noted, the Lakers See Lake poets might need at least 44 victories, based on last season, just to qualify for the playoffs. Before Sunday night's game, that meant going 36-25 (.590) the rest of the way. Finishing among the top four, and gaining homecourt advantage Noun 1. homecourt advantage - the advantage of playing on your home court in front of fans who are rooting for you advantage, vantage - the quality of having a superior or more favorable position; "the experience gave him the advantage over me" in the first round, could take 57 victories, requiring the Lakers to go 49-12 (.803) the rest of the way. And the Lakers haven't even had a three-game winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" yet. ``We have to work harder now than we've ever worked before in regular- season games,'' coach Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana) is the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, an American professional basketball team. said Sunday, before the Lakers played Utah. ``I told them we have to win 50 games,'' Jackson said, and he doesn't expect it to come easily. ``There's emotional nights and then there are nights you have to go out and do the job not 100 percent physically, or not feeling right or emotionally not as high as you can be. But that's the challenge of being a professional basketball player. ``And building that bond or that communication and that level of sacrifice you have to make to do that requires a tremendous amount of effort. Will you be willing to play harder than other people to win, or want it more than other people to win? ``That's our challenge night in and night out. And some nights, against the best teams in the league, if you have an emotional win like that, it can lead to an emotional lift for a team. But that's not going to get us by in January, or those dark nights in the end of the month of January.'' The schedule is accommodating for a comeback. After playing their first 21 games in 39 days, the Lakers play their next 21 over 48 days. January is their lightest month, with 12 games. And Jackson finally has his best players healthy. ``We had to push ourselves really hard in a short period of time,'' he said. ``We may have had to burn ourselves at both ends for awhile a·while adv. For a short time. Usage Note: Awhile, an adverb, is never preceded by a preposition such as for, but the two-word form a while may be preceded by a preposition. , but I think this week and next week we'll start to get it back.'' --Cuban crisis: Dallas owner Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)[1] is an American billionaire entrepreneur.[2] He is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, an NBA franchise[3] and Chairman of HDNet, an HDTV cable network. tried his best to spin the Mavericks' meltdown meltdown Occurrence in which a huge amount of thermal energy and radiation is released as a result of an uncontrolled chain reaction in a nuclear power reactor. The chain reaction that occurs in the reactor's core must be carefully regulated by control rods, which absorb after they let the Lakers erase a 27-point fourth-quarter deficit Friday. ``I would have been more afraid if we had won by a blowout than the way we lost,'' he told the Dallas Morning News. ``Now we have something to work toward, and we'll work toward it. The payback Payback The length of time it takes to recover the initial cost of a project, without regard to the time value of money. game will be (tough), and it's something we'll look forward to.'' The Lakers and Mavericks don't meet again until April 3, in Dallas. CAPTION(S): photo |
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