Lynch Gives an Assist, and Van Exel Has 23

VANCOUVER, Canada — The handwriting wasn't exactly on the wall Sunday night for the Vancouver Grizzlies, who were in enough trouble already considering their last-place record and the arrival of the Lakers.

But this wasn't far off.

The story was on the wall.

An article in the Vancouver Province in which George Lynch ripped the Lakers, his team for three seasons before a trade sent him north, had been posted in the visitors' locker room at GM Place, in case anyone there didn't see the 20 or so copies that had been passed around. They came, they read, they conquered, using the comments as motivation for what became a 95-82 victory over the Grizzlies before 19,193 that included a personal-best 23 assists for Nick Van Exel.

"We took it and saw what he said," Eddie Jones said after scoring 21 points to help the Lakers win their sixth game in a row, their best run of the season. "That's something that really pushed us. It made us really aggressive."

Said Van Exel: "Everybody read it. We just wanted to come out and play hard. It's not like they're Houston or anything."

Lynch apparently doesn't think much of the Lakers, either. His former team knew that from the headline:

LAKERS WILL COLLAPSE, SAYS LYNCH

Lynch had gone from 50.8% shooting as a rookie to 46.8% to 43% last season before being traded, along with Anthony Peeler, to clear salary-cap room for Shaquille O'Neal, so maybe Laker players figured it was about time he made some shots. But what a time to do it, when it would become prime bulletin-board material.

"I don't think they're a better team than we [the Lakers] were last year," Lynch told the Province. "I guarantee you after the all-star break they'll fall apart. They've got some good players, like Eddie, Shaq and Nick, but they don't have a guy to do the little things well. A team like Chicago has a [Dennis] Rodman or a [Randy] Brown. The Lakers don't have a guy who does the the things that don't get you noticed but help you win ballgames."

And:

"They've got problems there, too, with Nick and Del [Harris, the coach]. These two guys don't get along, and I have to say, I don't blame Nick. He's a free-and-open type of guy, and he needs space to be his best and maybe they've had problems with too much control. But when you get in a tough game down the stretch, you've got to have your coach and your point guard get along. If they don't, it's not going to work."