Rambis Bemoans Lack of Practice Time

Kurt Rambis, at the tail end of his frenetic tour as Laker interim coach, said he doesn’t mind being judged during the chaos.

“Is it reasonable to judge what I can do as a coach given this season?” Rambis said before Thursday’s game, repeating the question.

“I think as long as you understand that there are expectations that a team can have and as long as those expectations are real, that’s the judge of whether or not a coach can bring out the best in the ballplayers. . . .

“I know the players listen to me. I know the players want to do the right thing.”

Rambis had a quick mid-court conversation with owner Jerry Buss hours before the game, though the content of the talk was unknown.

Rambis was hired Feb. 26, with Dennis Rodman having just been signed and the Eddie Jones-Glen Rice trade being heavily contemplated and the lockout-shortened season taking a toll on everyone.

‘We have no practice time to get anything accomplished,” Rambis said. “I don’t care what anybody says, you can’t tell players to do something and expect them to do it without having to go over it and over it and over it again.

“In practice, you build up those consistent habits. That’s something that interim coaches in any situation don’t have a lot of time to do. And especially in this situation in this season because there is no practice time.”

Has he had time to put a Rambis imprint on the Lakers?

“I think there’s been too much going on,” Rambis said. “It’s very frustrating as a coach to not have practice time. . . .

“That’s just where you get everything going in the right direction. It’s very, very important.”