EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Derek Fisher took his kids to the park during the day and attended a concert with his wife in the evening.
Pau Gasol had lunch with his father and then passed his test at the DMV.
Kobe Bryant soaked up the buzz of Lakers fans while driving around town.
Coach Phil Jackson watched miles of videotape with his assistants.
The Lakers went their separate ways Wednesday, a day after clinching the top spot in the Western Conference. They were reunited Thursday to study video of the Nuggets and then to have a team dinner.
After two days to rest, recover, relax and reconnect with family and friends, the Lakers will return to their practice court today to prepare for Sunday’s Game 1.
“Most times during the end of the season, any time you get two days of rest for players, they recover better, they’re more athletic, their quickness improves, they have an increased ability to play longer minutes, their endurance increases,” Jackson said. “Shooting and some of the actual basketball rhythms might be delayed a little bit, but it’s worth taking the gamble.”
As the Lakers headed down the stretch run of the regular season, Jackson said he was concerned the heat of the playoff race was taking its toll on the team. There was little margin for error and almost zero chance to rest several injured players.
After all, Fisher has a partially torn tendon in his right foot that requires a two-month layoff before it will heal.
Gasol has been recovering slowly from a sprained left ankle that sidelined him for nine games last month and slowed him for several this month.
Bryant has a damaged right pinkie that needs surgery.
Two days off probably weren’t enough to heal all wounds. Two days away from drills and scrimmages offered a break for the weary, however.
“Rest at this point in the season is always good,” Fisher said. “Just overall, your body, your mind, it’s refreshing just to step away. Sometimes you have to fight yourself to take that down time because you’re so used to doing it every day. You still feel like you have to do something.”
Gasol said he had a busy Wednesday but still felt re-energized.
“Personally, it helped me a lot to give my body a little rest and heal up a little bit,” he said. “It helps to get my mind off of basketball for a couple of days. Now I’m really looking forward to (today’s) practice.
“Usually, you don’t look forward to many practices, but this is a big deal. We’re all excited. We’re all happy.”
Bryant said he knew the playoffs were at hand when he noticed more fans recognizing him as he drove around Southern California the past two days.
“A lot of good energy going on,” Bryant said. “People were honking their horns at me, going crazy at a stoplight. I didn’t get the finger once.”
