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Phil Jackson sets the bar low for 2005
About the possibility of the Lakers having a losing season or not making the playoffs, Jackson smiled and said: "As my mother would say, perish the thought." The Lakers leave Monday for training camp in Honolulu, where they'll spend 10 days. Jackson said Scottie Pippen will serve as a tutor for Lamar Odom during training camp, and Jackson hopes Odom will fill a similar role for the Lakers as Pippen did for the Chicago Bulls' championship teams of the 1990s. "He's still not 100 percent," Jackson said of Odom, who underwent surgery April 19 to repair a torn labrum in his left shooting shoulder. "He will be established in this organization as a prominent player. I'm going to ask him to step into that level as a responsible player on the floor." With Shaquille O'Neal and Bryant leading the way, nothing less than a championship was the goal during Jackson's previous five years in Los Angeles. The Lakers won three straight from 2000-02. The Lakers were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals in 2003, and Jackson left following their loss to Detroit in the 2004 NBA Finals. O'Neal was traded to Miami shortly thereafter. That left Bryant with a mediocre supporting cast and a new coach, and the results were disastrous. Coach Rudy Tomjanovich left barely a half-season into a five-year contract, citing health concerns, and the Lakers lost 19 of their last 21 games en route to a 34-48 record -- one of their worst seasons ever. Over the summer, Jackson signed a three-year contract worth an estimated $30 million to make him the highest-paid coach in NBA history.
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