Danny Green Says Lakers' Season Has Felt Like A Roller Coaster In A Cave
Danny Green was asked to fill in the blank.
This season feels like ----
"A roller coaster," he said.
Only this one isn't exactly fun to ride.
"It’s kind of been like a roller coaster in a cave that you don’t know where it’s going to end," he said. "Or how it’s going to end. Or where you’re going to."
The Lakers have had a lot of ups and downs this season, starting with the drama of their preseason trip to China, to mourning the deaths of former NBA commissioner David Stern and Kobe Bryant, to having their momentum halted by a once in a generation pandemic.
But Green said heading into the the bubble near Orlando, the Lakers have one distinct leg up over their competition.
"Our team has an advantage because we have older guys," he said. "Guys that like to be themselves, stay at home, they have families. [Guys] that have done the partying. We don’t need to be out in the streets or get antsy. A lot of guys have been through that lifestyle. So we’re easily, I think, ahead of the pack when it comes to guys that can sit still and stay at home and not have to worry about being on the scene or doing a bunch of stuff outside the house."
Green said he's excited to be reunited with his entire team Thursday when the Lakers fly to Orlando. He still hasn't seen all of his teammates because they've staggered their workouts in compliance with social distancing protocols.
"We’ll be able to chop it up and I’m sure guys will social distancely gamble or have stories to tell or catch up [from] six feet," he said.
Green said his conditioning is 80 percent where he wants it be, adding that he started training hard soon after the season was paused on March 11 because he thought the hiatus would be short-lived. He regularly ran hills and ran on the beach.
"The other 20 percent is just getting up and down, go 5-on-5, getting in game shape," Green said. "But other than that, I feel like I’m in pretty solid shape."
As for Dwight Howard officially telling CNN on Monday that he's going to play, Green said he's relieved, adding that he's a "good spark for us off the bench, a great protector and actually changed a lot of games for us."
And Green thinks JR Smith, the Lakers' newest addition who they signed last week after Avery Bradley opted out, will only add to their chemistry.
"We have an experienced team, so a lot of these guys have played with JR before," he said. "And JR has been in the league [15] years. Everybody else has been in the league on our team probably an average of eight-plus years. So if you haven’t played with him, you’ve played against him and everybody knows him."
Everything is coming together.
And despite all of the Lakers' challenges, he knows they're in an incredibly unique position.
They're atop the Western Conference with a record of 49-14 and widely favored to win the NBA championship.
Those opportunities don't come around often.
"You don’t get teams like this," Green said. "So we know what’s at stake here and we might not get it again. Guys are getting older. Some guys might not be 100 percent healthy or be able to perform at the level they are this year. Some guys may leave, free agency, things change, things happen. So we all know our team, with our experience within the business, of what’s at risk. If you have a special group, you better take advantage of it this year."
