Friday, March 20, 2009

Forcing it when it shouldn't be forced

The Lakers are 54-14 this season, but 6-3 in March -- a "malaise," as Phil Jackson describes it.

'They got down and disgruntled ... I think it's just the idea that 'nothing's really gone well for me lately, and how am I going to get this going the right way?' Forcing it when it shouldn't be forced, or being too passive when you probably should step up and play harder, or with more aggression. Those are things that we're dealing with."

According to veteran PG Derek Fisher, despite winning 54 games thus far, there is a sense of frustration in the locker room.

"This is real," he said. "It's not a soap opera. So when you're part of a group, part of a team, you have to respect the fact that guys are going to have different, I don't want to say agendas, but just different things you go through. I know we've had a great season thus far, but we want so much more. That's where the frustration is coming from. There's probably not any other team that's frustrated with a 54-14 record, but we know what the end goal is."