It started wearing. I needed a place to open up my horizons, to be renewed and refreshed. Jackson has done so in Los Angeles, where his Lakers are undefeated in the playoffs and huge favorites to win their second consecutive NBA title whether they face Milwaukee or Philadelphia in the Finals, which open Wednesday. Yet, for the aging cyclist, this season has been no easy ride, beginning with the Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant discord that threatened to tear apart the team. It's actually one of the things I learned from Jerry Reinsdorf.
Decisions sometimes make themselves.
If you keep your temper and equanimity around it, it will work out. Not only did they find that form, they've been even better than they were. Like everyone else, Jackson had his doubts. I call it the 'Rider Effect,' he says, referring to troublesome guard J.R. Rider, who wasn't his only discipline problem. I had to quadruple them.