Rival revival?

By Gary Dzen

November 23, 2007

1 minute to read

Is it still a rivalry?

Listening to the fans in the building tonight, absolutely. There have been quite a few “Beat L.A.” chants so far tonight. And the crowd is infinitely louder than Wednesday night, though Friday night games typically are more rowdy.

But ask the coaches and you get a different story.

“Rivalries develop from playoff experiences,” said Phil Jackson. “Now it’s two games (per year). But it’s still traditional teams that are watched teams throughout the league.”

Doc Rivers said it hasn’t been a rivalry as far as the players and coaches go since he got here.

“We’d like to be a part of it,” said Rivers. “Both teams have to do their part. Both teams have not. I was never a part of that. You (the media) probably know a lot more about it than I do. As a kid I just watched the games. I wondered why the Lakers and Celtics only got to play on Sunday. Because no one else got to play. Those were the only two teams playing it seemed like. They were the only teams I got to see on TV.”