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| Downtown Milwaukee |
First, Magic Johnson drilled the Los Angeles Lakers in
his version of basketball boot camp, then he ran them in a game until their
lungs burned and their legs buckled.
If the Lakers don't collapse from the pace he's
pushing them, they might be a decent team -- though not likely a playoff team
this year.
For the moment, Johnson's victorious NBA coaching
debut, 110-101 Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks, gives him the highest
winning percentage among active coaches. A few losses and he'll have the worst.
He gave himself until early Monday morning to celebrate.
"Winning as a player, you get to enjoy it.
Winning as a coach, you got to go watch films," he said. "I'll get up
early, 5:30, and watch them. I will enjoy this night."
He liked the way the Lakers ambushed the Bucks from
the start in one incredible half, an adrenaline rush from the opening jump to a
66-35 lead, and the way they responded to a fierce comeback in the second half.
The lapse in the middle, he knew, was from a lack of stamina and unfamiliarity
with the new defense he installed.
"We wore them down," Johnson said, "but
we wore ourselves down. The thing that caught up to us was fatigue. I'm so
proud of the guys. To take one practice and change the whole defensive scheme,
they weren't used to it. They did an excellent job. Milwaukee came back like
every professional team will. We have to keep up the pressure to the end."
He wants the Lakers so fit they can pressure teams on
defense baseline to baseline, tipoff to buzzer. He figures the Lakers don't
have the size and strength to win, so they must rely on quickness, endurance
and intelligence. Smart shots, clever passes, keep legs and ball moving.
Johnson wants them running the way the Lakers did when
he controlled the ball in Showtime. He could use a guy like himself on the
roster. Controlling the tempo from the sideline isn't as easy as it is on the
court, especially against better teams.
The Bucks are one of the worst teams, losers of eight
straight on the road. Beating them by just nine points in a sold-out Forum and
blowing most of a 36-point third-quarter lead do not inspire overconfidence.
That means more boot camp for the Lakers, who remain six games behind Denver
for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot with 15 games to go.
"If I can keep them believing in themselves and
saying that this is the way we can win and work ourselves into shape in terms
of playing this style, we're gonna be fine," Johnson said. "This way
that we play is tailor-made for this team because we create a lot of havoc and
problems."
They created plenty of problems for the Bucks in the
first half.
"It looked like the Lakers of old,"
Milwaukee forward Blue Edwards said.
"They played a better first half than any team
we've played all year long," Bucks coach Mike Dunleavy said. "I mean,
nobody's done that to us."
Nobody's made a coaching change like the Lakers this
year, bringing in someone of Johnson's stature and personality. He came in
charged up, and that's how his players reacted.
"I've been around him enough that I know when
he's hyped up," Lakers assistant Larry Drew said. "And this was one
of those times when he was really hyped up and ready to get this first one
under his belt."
Some TV fellow gushed to Johnson that his entrance was
like the arrival of Elvis Presley. Johnson winced at the comparison but
couldn't deny the influence the excitement had on him and the Lakers. There
were more than 17,000 fans standing and cheering for him when he stepped on
court, dancing to
"I Feel Good," watching him as much as they watched
the game.
"No question about it," Johnson said.
"The guys got a big kick out of it. They got an emotional high out of it.
They don't want it to be just tonight. They want this type of crowd every
night. And I told them, if they give this type of effort, the people will be
here.
"No matter what happens, I will always remember
this day and this game because the guys put forth the effort. They're
dead-tired right now."
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