By 
Whether or not 7-time champion Robert Horry belongs in the Hall of Fame is a debatable question – the man knew his role as a 3rd or 4th option and he played it better than anyone in modern NBA history. What isn’t debatable is his knowledge and experience in getting the best out of a unit come playoff time. In an interview prior to LA’s win over Denver last night in game five, Horry mentioned that the Lakers supporting cast needed to demand the ball more from Kobe Bryant and get more aggressive. Point taken, Big Shot Rob. Kobe shot only 13 times (one was a heave at the buzzer) and the third best player on his team, Lamar Odom, finally woke up. LA finally looked like the type of cohesive unit that wins championships. In this interview with Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio, Horry proposed a great argument dismissing the notion that Denver wants it more than LA, that desire can have multiple personas, and why players would rather play in Orlando than Cleveland.
Does Denver care more than LA?
“It seems like that because they play with a lot of energy and a lot of emotion. I know when I played… The first thing Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon) says, ‘Do you care if you win or lose?’ I said, ‘Dream, I wanna win more than anything in the world.’ He says, ‘Why? ‘Cause you don’t show any emotion.’ And, that’s how the Lakers are – they don’t really show any emotion. They handle their business like they should. With Denver, they got The Birdman flapping his arms, you got all these guys pounding their chests and doing these things but LA plays with a calm and collective team… It appears that they don’t care more and that they’re hustling more, but it’s not the case, they’re just doing more antics.”
Will Orlando be able to attract more talent than Cleveland in future years?
“It’s gonna be more attractive because you said, the weather, and it’s more family friendly. When you have a family like a lot of guys in the NBA do, they have something to do when you’re out of town on the road. That makes a huge difference, and plus, you gotta realize the economy now, a lot of guys aren’t gonna be able to collect guys and be able to go to different teams right now – they gotta stay where they are.”
Who wants it more, Denver or LA?
“People are always talking about, well, Denver is playing with more energy, they’re going out, they want it more. LA wants it more than anybody ’cause they wanna prove to the world that last year they should have won it. I feel like they got the best talent and the better bench, it’s just for them, everybody be a little more aggressive, that means going to the basket and demanding the ball more and just getting on to Kobe and saying, ‘Hey, give us the ball.’ ‘Cause I know when I played with Kobe, he wants to get wild, take his shots and do his thing. You just have to go to him and say… ‘Hey, we need to be get involved, get us involved, and that’ll make it easier for your game.”
Comments