PHILADELPHIA _ With his team gathered around him on the court at Temple University, Tarik Black reminded all those listening that they were lucky. He urged his teammates not to take for granted the opportunity they had to play in the NBA, to play in a way that made loved ones proud, even those who already are proud just out of filial loyalty.
Black had asked Lakers Coach Luke Walton whether he could speak to the team after practice. So did forward Thomas Robinson, who spoke just before Black. Their goal was the same their coach had a night before when he urged his team not to give in to mental weakness in their play. It was all geared toward trying to help the Lakers (10-18) emerge from their eight-game losing streak.
"Guys voiced some opinions and made some good points," Walton said. "That's what we're looking for. We want guys constantly stepping up. It's not easy for young guys in this league to do that. I was happy with the response today."
The Lakers held a practice in Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon, after riding buses from New York. They will face the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night, in the third game of their seven-game, 13-day trip.
On Thursday, they worked to release the sting of that eighth consecutive loss, which came on Wednesday night to the Brooklyn Nets.
After Wednesday's game, Walton challenged the players not to be mentally soft in their approach.
"I don't think that we are mentally soft," Walton said. "I think at times we play mentally soft. There's a big difference. We got a group that we had a lot of success early on, relatively speaking, and I think we lost our priorities and lost our focus on what we were doing to have that type of success."
Indeed, before their eight-game slide, the Lakers were one of the NBA's most pleasant surprises. A year after going 17-65, they started the season 10-10. While last season their 10th win came in February, this season it came in November.
It proved heady for the young Lakers.
"I know we were getting a lot of love around town," Walton said. "I know that feels good. I know when you feel good, sometimes you lose some of that toughness and that edge and you want to keep it."
