Kobe Bryant better get out his credit card.
The Lakers are again in a watch-and-wait holding pattern, their reward for winning another playoff series before their next opponent is decided.
Advertisement
Lakers work on wait training
After winning the clincher in Utah, they will practice today, but they won't know their opponent until Monday night.
Advertisement
They got together at a Melrose Avenue Italian eatery more than two weeks ago to watch the last game between Houston and Utah, with Bryant picking up the tab.
They'll probably reconvene Monday night to watch Game 7 between New Orleans and San Antonio. The bill probably will be slid in front of Bryant.
"I guess you can't break tradition now," forward Luke Walton said without a trace of sorrow.
The Lakers closed out Utah with a Game 6 victory Friday, which meant a day off Saturday. They'll report again to practice today, even though they won't know whom they'll play Wednesday at Staples Center in the opener of the Western Conference finals.
They went 2-2 against the Spurs and Hornets this season, including home victories against each of them in the final week of the regular season.
They beat the Spurs on April 13, 106-85, busting open a 53-53 halftime tie with an improbable 45-19 run that lasted until the game's final minutes.
Two days before that, the Lakers led the Hornets by 30 and had to hold off a furious rally in a 107-104 victory.
The Spurs and Hornets are locked in a home-court-dominated West semifinal, but whom do the Lakers want to emerge?
They wouldn't state their preferences publicly, but the Spurs happen to be the defending champions, winners of four of the last nine NBA titles, and the Hornets, well, they're a fun team to watch. (Not to mention that the Hornets, seeded second in the West behind the Lakers, have some injuries in their frontcourt, All-Star forward David West battling a back injury and center Tyson Chandler playing with a bruised foot.)
Of course, the question came up right away, mere minutes after the Lakers' 108-105 victory over the Jazz.
"Isn't that life? You can't even untie your shoes and everybody's like, 'What's next?' " guard Derek Fisher said with a smile. "Obviously, the Spurs are the defending champs and until they're done, everything goes through them. They still hold the crown. The Hornets have obviously shown they're not here by accident. I know a lot of people are waiting for the other shoe to drop. . . . They're a serious basketball team."
