Greg Anthony missed Tuesday's practice but made up for it in the weight room.

Los Angeles, California | February 5, 2002

We’ve finally made it to Cali!

After practicing and maxing out the credit cards at Nike Corporate Headquarters just outside of Portland on Monday, the Bulls jetted down to SoCal for a little more practice time and some fun in the sun before the big rematch against the Lakers.

We landed at LAX around 5:30 PM and immediately headed to the hotel located at Marina Del Ray.

Rookie Trenton Hassell, while waiting outside the hotel elevators, did his best to convince assistant coach Pete Myers that he was a worthy golf partner.

“Pete, Pete,” pleaded Austin Peay University’s finest, “if you go golfing tomorrow, I’m your man. I can golf too. I ain’t ever played, but that don’t mean I’m not willing to give it a try.”

“Can you hit the ball long?” quizzed Myers.

“Naw – I ain’t ever been before. But I know I’d be good! Just give me a chance. Hitting a long way? Man, I don’t know. But putting – I’m money!

“Come on Pete, take me with you if you go golfing!”

All Myers could do was roll his eyes, saying, “We’ll see, rook. We’ll see.”

Our first night in town, LA native Tyson Chandler tried to make it over to see some friends at a local high school game, but by the time he arrived, the gym was packed and he couldn’t get in. So that just meant “hangin’ with my peeps someplace else.”

Most everyone else also took a low-key approach for the night, hitting the streets for dinner as well as a little taste of the Hollywood nightlife.

Eddy Curry hits the weights at the Venice Beach Gold's Gym.

Tuesday morning had the team trekking over to Los Angeles Southwest College, located in south-central LA, for practice. After loosening up with a light jog and some stretching, the Bulls got into some serious hoopin’– running a lot of full court transition drills and working through some new offensive sets. At first, everyone took to the court, except for Charles Oakley and injured playmaker Greg Anthony. Both vets were ushered to the school’s weight room by strength and conditioning coach Erik Helland.

I was thinking that this practice would be pretty intense due to the impending Laker game, but there wasn’t much unusual about it. It was definitely spirited, but the players and coaching staff seem to approach every game with about the same focus and professionalism. It’s pretty clear that the guys really just want to get over this hump and start winning all of these close games that they’ve been in. From what I’ve seen, it’s just a matter of time, and the second half of the season should be pretty different from the first.

After practice, the team, sans Anthony and Oakley, headed straight over to Venice Beach’s infamous Gold’s Gym to do some lifting of their own. The Bulls’ normal practice routine, especially on off-days, often involves an hour or so weightlifting session. The previous couple of days didn’t allow Helland the opportunity to get in a full workout, because of the back-to-back game schedule up in Seattle and Portland. But with an off-day in sunny California, Helland was able to get the guys back on their routines.

“It’s really important that the players keep their strength and endurance throughout the season,” commented Helland.

“The [NBA’s] 82-game schedule is incredibly draining. But, if you stay in shape and keep striving toward increasing your endurance, you’ll be able to survive just fine.”

Jamal Crawford looked forward to the workout as an opportunity to build on the muscular physique he’s developed.

“I love this stuff. I feel so much stronger and ready to hit the court. I lift six-days a week – everyday but Sunday.”

After their work with the weights, Chandler and Curry were off to meet some of Tyson's friends from home.

The crowd at Gold’s was something to behold. The World Wrestling Federation was in town to tape their UPN syndicated show, “Smackdown,” at the Staples Center Tuesday night. So a few of the WWF’s best stopped by to get in a workout before having to enter the squared circle later that evening. Their presence at Gold’s didn’t go unnoticed by burgeoning golf prodigy and resident “wrasslin” expert Hassell.

“Yo, Tyson – that dude’s a wrassler – that’s Albert. He used to be Intercontinental Champ. That dude’s bad!”

Standing 6’7” and tipping the scales at 350 pounds, Albert is one of the WWF’s most powerful and colorful wrestlers. Trenton informed us that his trademark-finishing maneuver is the Sit-Down Power Bomb. I’m not sure what that is, but I do know that I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving-end of it.

A few moments later, another WWF superstar, Test, showed up with the lovely and leggy Stacy Keibler – one of, if not the top, WWF diva.

After a solid hour of lifting, the guys packed-up and headed out of Venice to get back to the hotel and make plans for the rest of the day. E-Rob’s big plans included getting his hair braided while Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry planned on some shopping and meeting-up with some of Tyson’s hometown pals.