Oh, yeah, basketball.
Even with all the attention and fascination focused on the Lamar Odom-Khloe Kardashian wedding, the purpose of the Lakers' media day Tuesday was to talk about, you know, the Lakers. And the focus in that regard was on the challenge of repeating as NBA champions, something no team has done since the Lakers' run of titles from 2000 to 2002.
"The bull's eye gets bigger after you become the champion," said Derek Fisher, "and then (so does) everything that happens, good and bad, as the defending champion, so there's more kind of scrutiny with the ups and downs of the season ....
"Even in winning 65 regular-season games last year, there were so many ups and downs and good stories and bad stories. So there'll be much more of that this year. But we plan on being better than we were a year ago. And if we're willing to put in the work to do so, the winning part will take care of itself."
Said Kobe Bryant, "It took us a long time to get here, so it's not something we want to give up because of our own inability to move forward or not take the season seriously, or focus like we did the year before. If someone's going to take it from us, we want them to take it from us with us being 100 percent focused."
Fisher and Bryant, of course, have experience in repeating their teammates lack.
"What we tell them is it's not rocket science," said Bryant. "It's the same principles we did last year. It's the same philosophy that we had: You have to come win it. We have a chance here, we have the talent to win another one, and if we don't, it's because of our lack of focus, or something else. Or an injury here and there. That's something we want to try to avoid, and try to defend our title.
But you don't have to have been part of a back-to-back title team to understand how difficult the challenge is. As Pau Gasol noted, the six teams that haven't been able to repeat are ample illustration of the point.
"That's just how hard it is," said Gasol. "If we're going to be able to repeat, we've going to start working from day one and it's going to be a great challenge. And we'll see if we can do it.
"I'm really confident about what we have here, our team, our chances, but now we have to prove it. We have to show it all over again. Everybody's going to try to beat us, try to beat that champs, and that's going to be even more challenging. And that's motivating. To me, that's a good position to be in."
Portrait of the Artest: The only significant difference between the 2009 champions and this year's team is the signing of Ron Artest, who moves into the forward slot held last year by Trevor Ariza. Artest has acknowledged that, if the Lakers don't repeat, he'll likely be blamed, and he reiterated that on Tuesday.
You know, you've got to take responsibility," he said. "You can't put it all on Kobe. "You've got to take some responsibility of your own. Obviously, this is going to be a team effort."
He was asked if the Lakers had taken a risk in changing by signing him -- a question more specifically addressing altering a championship roster than any questions of chemistry or Artest's past.
"I think there's a risk making a commitment to anybody," he said, adding -- not exactly diplomatically, given the talk of Odom's wedding -- "You can ask anybody who got married, and got divorced. Some people are paying a hundred million dollars."
What does Artest bring that the Lakers didn't have before?
"We know what a different player than he is than Trevor," said Bryant, "some of the things that they do differently from each other, but in terms of how we're going to mesh that into what we do, we're not really sure yet. It's something we'll figure out as the season goes on.
"But he'll be a huge help."
Fresh: Bryant was asked how long it had been since he'd come in to training camp as rested as he is this year, given that he'd played for the national team the last two years.
"You have to back some time," he said. "Normally when I have rest like this in the offseason, it's because of an injury or something like that. I was perfectly healthy; all I did was get healthier. So it's been a long time."
Bryant said he stayed away from playing any basketball for "a good month and a half, two months" and likes the results.
"The legs feel rejuvenated," he said. "I feel like I'm in great shape. Nothing's nagging me outside of the hand and fingers, things like that, but that's fine."

Finishing up the exit interviews, and the 2008-09 season:

Now that the title is won, everyone wants to know, what are the chances the Lakers can repeat?
Phil Jackson certainly won't pull a Pat Riley and predict a successful defense of the NBA title, but clearly enjoys the possibility, assuming the team stays together.
"Age wise, it certainly favors this team," he said at a Friday media session as the team wrapped up its exit interviews. "The team that did it in Chicago was an older team, and the team that did it here in the first part of the decade was an older team than this team is. So age-wise, they certainly have an advantage."
He also said it would "be nice to have that possibility" of bringing the team back to defend its title.
"One year in Chicago when we won the 72 games," he said, "I think we actually asked the league if we could bypass drafting a draft pick, which wasn't possible. ... And we traded Travis Knight to the Lakers, and kept the 12 players intact that were on that team. And they won 69 games the next year, so that really set the table for that being able to happen.
"If this team could do that, it would be remarkable in this day and age, especially with the number of free agents we have."
Jackson also shared at least a little of his Thursday conversation with President Barack Obama.
"Basically, I told him that sometimes when you're a lefty, sometimes you've got to go right to shoot the ball," he joked.
"No, we talked about going to the White House ... and we talked about some basketball things. And he obviously wanted to congratulate us on a great season."
Jackson said he hoped the team could make its White House trip "before the season starts, or during the season when we have an appropriate game in the territory" -- which is to say when the Lakers play the Wizards -- "which we've done before. ... It's going to be tough for us to get that together before then."
Parting thoughts: Jackson was asked if he'd heard anything that surprised him during the players' exit interviews.
"Well, yes," he said. "I did. I don't think I can share it with you."
Speaking generally, he added, "This is a challenge. I have to challenge some of the players, and there's some players that I felt didn't perform up to what I wanted ... and I wanted them to reconsider their dedication to the team and their work and their ability and come back with a fresh attitude.
That's part of my job to do that. It wasn't all pats on the back and have a great summer. This is going to be three or four months before we have a chance to go forward again ... so players have to have a certain dedication to what they want to do this summer."
No break: General manager Mitch Kupchak said he probably wouldn't really have time to savor the victory until August, once the draft and free-agent process are complete, and the Lakers have their roster together for next season.
With that draft on Thursday -- the Lakers have three picks -- Kupchak said there was a very good chance the team would select at least one foreign player it wouldn't need to bring to camp immediately.
"If we bring back the players we want to bring back on this team, we'll have at least 13 or 14 players on our roster," he said. "So it stands to reason if you bring all three draft picks to camp, you're going to have 17, and the NBA only allows 15.
"So we would look to either move a pick, trade a pick, exchange picks for future picks, or pick a player and look for them to play overseas for at least a year."
Wrapping up: Not surprisingly, Kobe Bryant called the championship season "extremely satisfying, because we put in a lot of time and energy to fix things and get better in certain things. And to see that finally happen for us, it's great."
He also noted that after eight preseason games, 82 regular-season games, and 23 playoff games, it was hard to get used to time off.
"It ends pretty abruptly," he said. "You kind of go through that phase where you wake up in the morning and feel like you're supposed to be doing something. It feels like you're late for something.
"That's the way goes. You're going and going full throttle, and all of a sudden, boom, it's over."

For one more night, at least, Shaquille O'Neal's self-proclaimed status as "most dominant ever" is quite secure.
That's because the Lakers managed to make Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard look fairly ordinary in their 100-75 victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, as Howard went just one of six from the field and finished with 12 points, although he did have 15 rebounds and a couple of blocked shots.
"Their inside game, which is a big part of their game, we were exceptional on that tonight," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "A lot of fouls for Dwight (he was 10 of 16 at the line), but nothing really in the lane."
Pau Gasol had some successful turns defending Howard, drawing two offensive fouls, the first of which was Howard's second foul, taking him out of the game with 2:23 left in the first quarter.
"You've got to make sure you mix it up with him," said Gasol, "keep a body on him at all times and try to make him catch a little farther off the low post and then move your feet. I was able to move my feet well around him -- don't allow him to feel me, get a feel for me. ...
"You have to be able to move around because if you let him hit you with his body, he's going to gain ground, and he's going to get that position."
Howard said the Lakers did indeed vary their approach.
"When I caught in the post," he said, "they really sat in my lap and they forced me to pass it out for guys to shoot, and they mixed it up. They forced me baseline, and when I tried to turn baseline, they had somebody waiting for me right there.
"I saw that during the game. I just wasn't patient enough to pick it apart. ... It's not about what they did. I think for us it's just our effort wasn't there."
Lakers center Andrew Bynum was, predictably, limited by foul trouble, playing just 22 minutes (and getting nine points and nine rebounds), but had some effective defensive work against Howard.
"He had some times out there that I thought he played him really well," said Jackson. "He did a good job defensively to try to cover the screen roll."
Said Bynum, "I tried to swing back every time on defense so he couldn't (get low post position. He's definitely going to come out very aggressive next game and try to pin everyone he can."

Other postgame quotes:
Howard, on Kobe Bryant's 40-point night, and Orlando's response:
"You know, when he's got everything going, every shot in the world, nothing we can do about that. The things we can do is play harder, play more aggressive. On the defensive end, go for more loose balls.
"We can control that stuff. But somebody making those unbelievable shots, there's nothing we can do about it."

Rashard Lewis, saying Bryant wasn't really the issue:
"Kobe's a great player. He's going to come out and play great. Was really hurt us was on the defensive end of the floor. The points in the paint, the rebounding really hurt us. Maybe next game we've got to take the ball out of his hands and try to make somebody else beat us, but they're a very talented team."
The Lakers outrebounded Orlando 55-41, and had a 56-22 advantage in points in the paint.

Jameer Nelson, asked if he thought he might be starting before the series is over:
"I doubt it. I'm not coming back to start. I'm coming back just to relieve Ray (Rafer Alston) when he needs a break and just do what the team needs. ... I think he's done a great job and no matter what, he deserves to start."

Trevor Ariza, on Orlando's 30 percent shooting (23 for 77):
"They didn't hit shots that they normally make, but I think we rushed them a little bit and got them out of their comfort zone.""

Derek Fisher, ask if that shooting was about Orlando's offense or the Lakers' defense:
"I think it's a combination of both. I think we made it hard for them to get to the spots where they like to operate. They have lots of good open looks at the basket, but at the same time the shots that we know they are making just happened to not go in tonight. They won't be shooting 29 percent probably again the rest of this series."

Back later (probably around midnight, after I'm home) with some of the David Stern press conference from earlier.

Any time a Lakers game comes down to the final shot, and Kobe Bryant doesn't take that shot, the play is going to the topic of some discussion.
So, naturally, there was a great deal of talk about Derek Fisher's unsuccessful 3-pointer from the corner at the end of Denver's 106-103 win over the Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
"I thought they'd foul Kobe," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "They were just naturally going to foul him. I thought Fisher would be open for the shot. We'd have a 3-point opportunity as opposed to having to foul and going to the free-throw line and manufacture 3-points."
It looked for a moment that, off the inbounds play with 4.3 seconds left, that Fisher would have a wide-open look. But Denver center Nene jumped out and pressured Fisher as he shot.
"I had a pretty good look at it," Fisher said. "I figured they were going to try to foul to prevent us from shooting a 3. I think I got rid of it a little quicker than I probably had to.
"Definitely, you don't want to put yourself in a position where you need that kind of shot to try and tie the game."
Nuggets coach George Karl did, indeed, want his team to foul before the Lakers could get off a 3-pointer.
"I thought Nene got caught a little bit," said Nuggets coach George Karl, "but he got out onto Fisher, trying to deny Kobe a touch. ... You can cover Kobe and he can still shoot. And if we had a chance to foul, we were going to foul. But I don't think Fisher gave us that chance."
And how did Bryant feel about being a decoy, rather than the shooter?
"I always want the ball," said Bryant. "I want the ball every play, you know what I mean? That doesn't change down the stretch, for sure.
"But Fisher has also made big shots. So he had a good look. Nene made a great play, jumped in there, got a piece of the ball. But we've seen Derek knock those shows down how many times? So I can live with that."
The non-call they'll recall: The Lakers might have avoided that situation if things had gone a little better on a jump ball with 18.6 seconds left. Pau Gasol won the tip to Trevor Ariza, but Ariza lost it to J.R. Smith as he fell to the court -- with some help, in Jackson's eyes.
"Looked to me like (Carmelo) Anthony pushed on Trevor and Trevor tried to get rid of the ball, and no foul was called and they recovered the basketball," said Jackson. "Trevor tried to get rid of it because he was afraid he was going to be called" for traveling as he fell.
Said Gasol, "Unfortunately those little plays, in a game so close, make a big difference. If it goes the other way, maybe now we could be in a different state of mind. It went the other way. What are you going to do?"
Out of nowhere: Funny how guys go from zero to hero from one game to the next in a playoff series.
Case in point: Linas Kleiza.
The Nuggets' swing man barely played seven minutes in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. His line score was all zeros, save for a foul and a steal.
Thursday, in Game 10, Kleiza played 21:41 and had 16 points and eight rebounds (all in the first half), giving Denver a significant lift from the bench.
"In Game 1, we kept their bench points down," noted Kobe Bryant. "He came in for them and gave them a big boost."
Said Nuggets coach George Karl, "Not only did he make some shots, but he got us eight rebounds in the first half and it seemed like after we got in control of rebounding, we had a lot more confidence in winning the game."
Chauncey Billups said Kleiza "was huge for us in the part of the game that they were kind of running away. They kind of had it their way, and L.K. stepped in after ... not playing very much at all in the last game and even in the last series, eh stepped in and hit some big, big shots for us. Not only that, got some huge rebounds for us."
Kleiza was 4 for 7 on 3-pointers, 4 for 8 overall.
"He made 3s to space the court better," said Karl. "... I don't think we win the game without L.K.'s wild cards. ... He gave us two wild cards. He gave us a scoring wild card and he gave us a rebounding wild card."

A few other postgame comments:
Gasol, who was 5 of 8 from the field, finishing with 17 points and 17 rebounds, on whether he needs to demand the ball more:
"I'm playing hard, as hard as I can. I'm trying to give my best effort out there. When I get the ball, I try to make good decisions and try to be aggressive. We're going to continue to be aggressive and I'm going to continue to do my job as much as I can and hopefully get a few more touches."

Lamar Odom, on the Nuggets' second-quarter run:
"The second quarter I don't' think we did a good enough job of moving the ball. It keeps your defensive energy up when you move the ball and everyone touches it, everyone gets good looks, get the big men involved. We didn't do a good job of executing and that allowed them to get back in the game, and then it was just who's making more plays."

Carmelo Anthony, on a 34-point effort -- against significantly better defensive work -- on the heels of his 39-point night in Game 1:
"You're in the mode, you're in the zone. Making shots. I tell everybody, man, scoring is something that I always can do. That's what got me to where I am right now.
"My main focus is not to score 34 or 39 points. That's not my focus."

Anthony on guarding Bryant (10 for 20, 32 points), who had guarded him successfully in Game 1:
"I challenged myself to guard the best guys, whoever I'm playing against. A guy like Kobe, man, is a tough match for anybody. He's a great player. He's a great scorer. Can put the ball in the basket at any given time. ...
"I'm telling myself just make it tough for him. I always keep a hand in his face, try to body. I know I'm bigger than him. ... If he makes a tough shot with my hand in his face, I can live with that."

As you may have heard, Kobe Bryant had a fairly significant role in the Lakers' 105-103 win over the Nuggets on Tuesday.
And as you might suppose, Bryant wasn't exactly rushing to embrace the idea that he might not stand up to the workload if the Lakers need more nights like the 40-point, big-time-defense effort in Game 1.
"It's my job, man," he said.
"I don't worry about that at all. I'm prepared to do it. That's what you're supposed to do as a basketball player. You're supposed to play both ends of the floor."
Phil Jackson was not quite as dismissive.
"We're concerned about how much energy he has to expend out there," Jackson said.
"I thought he got tired in the first quarter. (We) got some rest for him inside of a minute and half or so, just so he'd have that and five-minute time outs we have at quarter ends with ESPN running the show." (These little shots at the TV networks are a Jackson staple and are always good for a laugh; this one was no exception.)
"We knew that he needed a break. He looked like he was ... fatigued at some level. So we know that's going to happen.
"But that's the mark of a true great player, that he has the ability to come back and play with energy. He has a resource, or finds, digs out somewhere."
Bryant had scored 14 points in the last game of the Houston series, so the 40 points Tuesday was quite a swing. He said there was no frustration or trust issue over inconsistent play by his teammates.
"When we have nights like that, I don't get down on them at all," he said. "We all understand that offense will help you in the game, but defense will win the game for you.
"So it's important that they understand that, so if they're having an off-night offensively they don't feel down on themselves where it impacts the other end of the floor.
"And we had enough firepower. We just kind of sustained shooting slumps here and there."
Gasol didn't see why it should make any difference if Bryant was scoring 14 or 40, as long as the result was the same.
"Not really," he said. "We like it more when everybody's more involved, because that means we're attacking them and hitting them from more directions, and it's hard for them to adjust to more than one or two things.
"But we'll take it any way we can. Kobe did great last night, especially in that fourth quarter."
Revision: The Lakers expressed a sense of good fortune immediately after Game 1, suggesting they might have stolen a win given how well the Nuggets played.
Upon further review, they weren't all that enamored of that idea.
"We were lucky to kind of stay in that game," said Lamar Odom, who then corrected himself: "I wouldn't say lucky, we fought hard to stay in that game and not give up."
Gasol was more definitive: "We earned it, and we deserved it.
"I don't think we stole anything. We worked hard, and we played hard. We didn't play our best game. They played a pretty good game. And we deserved it."
Bryant, meanwhile, moved away from the idea that the Lakers won on energy and guts.
"I think it was more execution, actually," he said. "You change series, you change opponent ... you execute different things, feature different things. It takes a little while to get used to it."

Trevor Ariza may not remember it as one of his better nights defensively. Yet he will be remembered for the key defensive play in the Lakers' 105-103 win over Denver to open the Western Conference finals.
With 29 seconds left and the Lakers leading 101-99, Ariza -- who had just been subbed into the game for Luke Walton -- stepped in front of Chauncey Billups to intercept Anthony Carter's inbounds pass, allowing the Lakers to run time off the clock and eventually score on two Kobe Bryant free throws, giving them a cushion they would need at the finish.
"The guard just threw it," said Ariza. "That's all. I saw him throw it and I went to get it."
Coach Phil Jackson said some of the credit for the play had to go to Lamar Odom, who was fronting Carter on the inbounds play.
"The reason why he got the interception's probably because Carter and to make the pass over Lamar," said Jackson, "and the loop pass gave him an opportunity to speed into that ball. That was a huge play for us."
Given that Ariza had spent much of the night trying to defend against Carmelo Anthony, who scored 39 points, Odom said the play showed Ariza's "focus and resiliency.
"Carmelo had a great day scoring the ball, and for him to stay in the game, and of course it looked like it was the game-winning play, it shows character.
"We were able to get some pressure on the inbound, and they were close to a five-second call, it looked like, and Trevor did a great job of anticipating the pass and making the steal."
Bryant said the play was "terrific. It was a great read by him. You can't fault the passer in that situation, because Trevor really just made a great read and a heck of a play."
Ariza "anticipated really well," said Nuggets coach George Karl. "AC probably didn't see him and threw the ball with a little loft to it. Instead of going down, he went up. ... (I) just wish he would have called time out."
Bryant also did not fault Ariza for his work on Anthony, though it was Bryant who took over the defensive assignment on the Nuggets' star at the end.
"I felt like he did OK on Carmelo," Bryant said. "Carmelo is just a phenomenal offensive player, and Trevor hasn't had a chance to play against him too much. So I think there's some things that he'll learn from this game to carry over to the next one."
Big Fish: Derek Fisher has struggled in the postseason, and has been in the critics' bulls' eye because of it, with more than a few people asking why he was still the Lakers' starting guard.
Tuesday, he showed why.
After missing his first six shots, Fisher drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lakers a 55-54 halftime lead, and went on to finish with 13 points and six assists in Game 1.
"He's the ultimate professional," said Kobe Bryant. "It's hard for guys when they don't get a lot of touches and are called upon to make a lot of plays (and) are not in rhythm, and all of a sudden get that ball in the corner and knock it down like they've been in rhythm all game. That's very, very tough to do."
Luke Walton said Fisher has never gotten down on himself when he's struggled.
"He's one of the most professional people I know," Walton said, "and he's in there working hard every day. He never gets down on himself and most of the time he hits big shots; he hit one at the end of the half and he hit a couple toward the end (of the game).
"That's why he's a champion, that's why he has won rings, and that's why he's one of the leaders on your team."
To coach Phil Jackson, the key play for Fisher was a tough driving layup in the third quarter.
"I think that contact got him back in the game and things started clicking for him after that," Jackson said. "(His) shots looked OK. They just weren't going in until the last shot of the first half.
"We rely on him to be part of that -- Kobe's outlet guy and a person that can make those kinds of shots. He's a big person, big part of our offense."
The Lakers had to battle from behind most of the night, but Fisher's contribution ultimately was crucial to a game they could have lost.
"A lot of things didn't necessarily go well for us," Fisher said, "but the final score was what it needed to be and that's the key for us.
"That's when your character is tested, that's when your mental toughness is tested -- when you can win games when it doesn't quite look like ... you're playing as well as you think you can play, and you still figure out a way to win. That's what we did tonight."
Clank: Ariza's steal may have been crucial, but the Nuggets were mostly bemoaning their 23-of-35 shooting at the foul line.
"I'm sitting here thinking we had a lot of chances to win the basketball game," said Anthony. "I know a lot of people came down to that steal with 30 seconds left. But us missing 12 free throws, (being outscored) 22 to 10 in second-chance points, that's a lot."
Agreed Billups: "I think we lose the game with our poor free-throw shooting throughout the game from everybody. ... We missed 12 free throws, it comes back, we lose by two points."
Said Kenyon Martin: "A couple plays here, a couple free throws there, and there's a different outcome."

Other postgame comments:
Bryant, asked for reaction to a Jerry West interview in which West indicated LeBron James, not Bryant, is now the best player in the game:
"I've been telling you guys for years that that's not something I'm concerned with at all. ... That's not my goal. That's not my mission. If I wanted to go out there and put up 35 points a night, I could do that.
"That's not my mission. My mission is to win a championship. And the debate of who is the best player, that's going to go on for whatever. That's not something I concern myself with.
"Although I love Jerry West to death, obviously everybody knows that."
In response to a follow-up question, he added:
"I'll use it as motivation, certainly. But ... for years the challenge has been winning another championship, and that's the challenge that I've accepted. It hasn't been, 'Can you stay on top as the best individual basketball player.' That's not something that's driven me. It's winning another championship.
"Although I do enjoy the challenge of having another player come along to challenge me for that top spot. That's always fun."

Billups, visibly upset on the play at the end when the Lakers fouled J.R. Smith to ensure Denver didn't get a chance for a tying 3-point attempt:
"I wish I could have got the ball. They did a good job. I couldn't get it. But I wish I could have told J.R. that they were going to foul, and when you see them come to foul, shoot the ball. Just little things that you learn through experience and through a lot of tough battles that he hasn't been in yet.
"So that's why I was disappointed -- not that I didn't get the ball, (but) that I didn't relay that knowledge to him, that savvy to him, that when he sees them coming to foul him, to try and go up and shoot the ball and get three shots."

Andrew Bynum:
"They came out and were ready to go. Obviously, they had more time to prepare for us than we did for them, but it was nice how we came out the second half and really went to work on them. ... I mean extra, extra effort. That's how we got this home win."

One of the interesting subtexts for the remainder of the Lakers' season -- however long that is -- is going to be the reunion of Kobe Bryant with some of his U.S. Olympic basketball teammates.
The potential opponents in the finals are Cleveland, with LeBron James -- and much has already been said this season about James learning from his time with Bryant -- or Orlando with Dwight Howard.
First, though, the Lakers have to get past the Nuggets and their standout Olympian, Carmelo Anthony, who averaged 11.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in Beijing, and forged a strong relationship with Bryant in the process.
"He was like a brother to me," Bryant said Monday. "I mean, truly. I love him.
"We spent a lot of time together this summer. He's the one I was closest with on the team. ...
"He works really hard. I think that's one thing that I love about him, is that he continues to play all the time. He's not going to settle or accept the fact that you double team him, you deny him the ball, the shot goes up -- he's going to crash the offensive glass. He's going to continue to work. And in the summer, we saw that at both ends of the floor. And now with the Nuggets, you're starting to see that, too, which makes him even more dangerous."
Anthony averaged 22.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in the regular season, and is at 27 points and 6.4 rebounds in the postseason. Bryant was asked if he'd learned anything during national-team duty that might help against Anthony.
"A little bit," he said, "but he also stole a lot of my moves."
Anthony averaged a relatively modest (for him) 14.5 points and 4.0 rebounds against the Lakers, but Phil Jackson downplayed that.
"I think some of that's happenchance," he said, meaning of course happenstance. "He maybe didn't shoot the ball well and didn't get in a rhythm. And some of it's our defense; got to give some credit to it
"But the way he's playing now, he's playing exceptionally well. He's a streaky player. We just can't let him sit on shots when he gets hot."
Inside information? Jackson was also asked about a comment by Denver coach George Karl, who said he'd been able to get some Lakers secrets from his son, Coby, who spent last year with the Lakers, appearing in 17 games.
"Oh, you know, I think Coby's been away from us almost a year now, playing over in Spain," said Jackson. "He's a heady ballplayer. I'm sure he can give his father a lot of things.
"But the reality is that George and I have probably coached against each other a hundred times by now. Maybe not that many; maybe 70 times in our career. So there's a lot of things we can go back to and look and know about.
"He's full aware of what we do. He's one of the good coaches, one of the great coaches in this league."
The professionals: In answering a question about whether he's challenging to play for, Jackson mentioned that he feels a "responsibility, because we have so many young players at this level, to see them not only become good players but also professionals, that they know how to handle themselves as professionals."
Which all but begged for a follow-up question: In light of the erratic play against Houston, how would he assess his players' ability to be professional?
"We're still talking to them about that," he said.
"There's a lot of talk about how to be professional, about how to get the things done that have to get done in a professional way. And we have young players that are still very emotional about their game. Some of them are looking for contracts, and these are all things that have to be put aside at this time. And that's where, you know, the professional aspect comes in and takes that emotional part away, so they understand it's not just a job, but a special job, and it's a unique thing that they're doing."
He had, he said, had to deal with these kinds of issues before at playoff time, and the results hadn't always been satisfactory.
"We lost Horace Grant once after a year that was challenging like this," he said. "That was one of the issues that always remains with me, that he went on into free agency."

If there's a secret to success in a playoff Game 7, it's going to remain that way. Phil Jackson is not about to part with it.
Jackson was asked after Saturday's practice -- the one to prepare for Sunday's Game 7 with Houston -- if, in his experience, there was a common factor in the Game 7s he had coached.
"Not to tell you guys," he said.
A few moments later, someone tried a similar question: What was the message to his players.
"I'm not telling you that, because you're not in my locker room," he said.
He did eventually hint at a little bit of that message.
"The guys on our team believe we know what we have to do to get this accomplished," he said. "We came out in the third quarter and got the game back in hand, but we lost it. We lost it by a series of misplays that just weren't related to anything Houston did, but more what we didn't do.
We were able to match the energy level in that third quarter, but we weren't able to sustain our mindset, how we were going to play against them and what we were going to do. So that's what we have to do."
Jackson was also asked about his generally low-key public reaction to the Lakers' struggle, and made it clear he saw no point in getting more animated.
"You have to play with control," he said. "This is a game you have to play with control, but you have to play at optimum speed. So if you get hyped up and you're trying to play above the level at which you can play controlled basketball, you're doing a disservice.
"So it's a combination of two things. I think (former UCLA coach John) Wooden said it best: 'Be quick, but don't hurry.' ...
"We want our guys not to get amped up. We want them to play with great intensity, but still with a level of understanding of what's happening out there so they can make adjustments on the court."
Tuned out: If you're wondering what the Lakers think about the criticism they've received for their inconsistent play in this series, the answer is "not much," since they say they aren't paying attention.
"I don't watch it," said Kobe Bryant. "I don't watch it. But I know who's criticizing, though."
Pau Gasol agreed, but had a bit more to say.
"I haven't watched TV," he said. "To me, it's a little bit of a waste of time. But that's OK. People need to talk about whatever they want to talk about, and find explanations about why things happen in life and in particular in our series. So that's OK.
"We've just got to come out tomorrow and play well, do what we need to do, win the game, move on, and then people will be talking about a different thing, and hopefully how great things are."
And Derek Fisher, asked if the team was upset about those who doubted its ability to win, said, "I haven't heard or read much of it personally myself. I don't think there's any anger on our part toward people outside of our locker room, our building."
More Fisher: The guard was also asked how he'd assess his play against Houston guard Aaron Brooks.
"I don't really look at it as me against Brooks," he said. "My role for my team is completely different than his. They need him to be aggressive, to attack, to score points, in order to win. My team doesn't necessarily need that from me, So I haven't really looked at it as a one-on-one matchup kind of thing; I've looked at it more as me personally not being able to find rhythm offensively and not being able to knock down shots I'm capable of making. Other than that, I haven't wasted a lot of time stressing over what Brooks is doing versus me. It's more what Brooks is doing versus our team, what (Luis) Scola's doing versus our team, what (Ron) Artest is doing versus our team."

More from the interview and locker rooms after the Lakers' 118-78 win Tuesday -- the largest margin of victory for the Lakers in a playoff game since a 46-point win over San Antonio in 1986:

Given the Lakers' inconsistency in this series, there were many postgame questions asking if the team could carry this effort over to Game 6.

Phil Jackson, asked if the Lakers had "now tapped into the place where they can be consistent:"
"Nah. We have one game. We'll go out and play another game on Thursday night and try to reach that consistency. A lot of it has to do with our opponents. As I said before, we want to do it defensively, hold that team down and find opportunities to run in the open floor. That helps us out so much more as a basketball team.
"We didn't get that accomplished until late in the first period, and in the second period kind of shut them down defensively."

Pau Gasol:
"Yes, I do think so. I think that if we are able to have the intensity and aggressiveness we had tonight, we'll give ourselves a chance at Houston. We look forward to that."

Kobe Bryant:
"You've just got to stay focued and you have to understand that the effort that we did tonight is not going to be enough on Thursday. It's just not. So you've got to pick it up and bring more energy, bring more effort, because that's what the playoffs are about. Each game, you have to raise your level."

Jordan Farmar:
"Every day's a new day. It doesn't matter how many points they won by, or we won by today. It doesn't carry over. It's a new day, a new game, and we have to come to play."

Other Lakers comments:

Jackson, asked if he looked at the series as an evolving story:
"Usually, it's about finding a way to squelch the other team is what the process is about. And we keep trying to do that with them and they pop out and find another way to get going.
"They're very reslient and defensively, it's about eliminating what they can do, and shortening their possessions. And we know they came right back in the second half and went right back with penetration off the dribble, off screens, still trying to attack us in that realm and still trying to pursue what they've done well against us. We were much better at it tonight."

Derek Fisher, on the team's mindset entering the game:
"It's not about trying to send any messages or get revenge for something that happened before. You go out there and you do the best you can on that given night. We did that tonight."

Luke Walton, on finishing with an actual blowout:
"I think we did a good job keeping our focus with it, too. We didn't want to let them -- you know, a lot of times we get big leads and let teams back in. We were on each other to make sure that we got a lead and kept on pushing it higher and definitely not letting them cut into it."

Walton, on the defensive effort:
"We watched a lot of film the last couple of days. And we saw how gross that was and how easily they were penetrating our defense and getting kick-out shots and layups."

On the Houston side, there was understandably much talk of what went wrong.

Coach Rick Adelman:
"We played absolutely the opposite than we did in the last game. We turned it over in the first half, shot it poorly. Felt we forced shots and then we got shots and we couldn't make shots. ...
"We got to the middle of the lane, we turned it over, we forced plays. We were trying to force the issue and they got their hands on the ball and they got the open court. I think they had almost 20 points at halftime from fast breaks" -- at the half, the Lakers had a 19-7 advantage in fast-break points -- "and we said it: if we turn it over against this team, we're going to be in trouble. And that's exactly what we did. It just fed their energy level."

Chuck Hayes:
"We didn't take care of the ball. They jumped on us, ran out, transition buckets, got everything to the basket that they wanted. Offensively, we were out of sync. I take my hat off to them. They came off better prepared than we were, ready to play, so they got the win."
The Lakers scored 24 points off 18 Houston turnovers; the Rockets had 10 points off the Lakers' 13 turnovers.

Aaron Brooks:
"We got off to a good start. It was 11-4, and then turnovers. They had 19 transition buckets in the first half, and that's too many. We had too many turnoers. There are adjustments we have to make."

Shane Battier:
"I think Bynum had a great performance tonight and gave them a good boost. They scored more points in the paint, 56 points in the paint, and that's a lot more than they had in our previous wins. They played with more passion and more energy."

With the incredibly late finish to Wednesday's technical- and toss-out-filled game, I simply wasn't able to get in a lot of the salient reactions to the Lakers' 111-98 win, and all the extracurricular activities therein. This meant relying on the partial transcripts provided by the team, and they were disappointingly sanitized for your protection (well, yours if you're part of the Lakers or the NBA).
Nothing from Derek Fisher on his ejection. Nothing from Ron Artest on his ejection (or anything else, though this probably is more a reflection of Artest than anything else). Nothing from Kobe Bryant on his little set-to with Artest (although I can paraphrase, from television, his reaction when told Artest said Bryant should have been ejected. He disagreed, saying the battle under the basket where Bryant appeared to elbow Artest was simply "fighting for position.")
You'll probably see more of that material elsewhere, from organizations that had multiple reporters to gather them, or more time to get them. You may see them on TV. Unfortunately, you won't get them here.
So here's what I can pass along -- some from the transcripts, some from my own tape -- flawed though it may be.

Fisher, on the Lakers' toughness:
"I think we have to be who we are. We have guys that have particular styles of play, which have particular skills that are based more so on skill ... than the ability to move and not just line up and play physical basketball. At the same time, we're capable of doing a lot of things out there, and we intend to win a championship. Whatever it takes to do that, that's what we're willing to do. I don't think it was different last year and I don't think it's any different this year."

Pau Gasol, on the game almost getting out of control:
"Almost, but it didn't. It was a physical game, a game we needed to win, a game that we needed to establish ourselves, get going, and we did."

Yao Ming, on the Lakers' defensive changes.
"In Game 1, then played straight, played behind me and I scored big. Game 2, they changed their defense to tonight like Gasol did to me -- fronts and their other perimeter guys stayed behind to see if they could steal the ball. We need to make adjustments again."

Rockets coach Rick Adelman, on the Yao-Pau matchup:
"We knew that there was a strong possibility that they would start Odom and that matchup out there, and there's nothing we can do about it. Yao's just got to do a better job staying out of foul trouble and know that he's facing a guy that's more active, and is going to put it on the floor and attack the basket on him."

Bryant, on the physical nature of the game:
"It was a good physical game. You know, it's playoff basketball. Intensity is elevated a little bit because there is a lot at stake. I think it was just a good, physical game. ...
"Its fun. Eighties style."

Lamar Odom, on the physicality:
"I wouldn't say they were dirty. I hope not. Dirty means you're trying to hurt people. I don't think they were trying to hurt anybody out there. ...
"Tempers fly sometimes in the playoffs. You've got to expect that. That's what it's all about. It's where we all come from, where we all started playing basketball. It gets like that."

Odom, not really happy with a suggestion he had an off night with seven points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
"Well, you know, for a guy that has 11 rebounds, four assists, turned over the ball four times; for a guy that's starting, then not starting, then starting again, I feel like I'm playing well. I'm not shooting the ball a lot. You shoot the ball seven times, you only make two, you're going to have games like that.
"The importance is for me to do other things -- help defensively, play all-around game. I was a poster boy for playing well, two games ago. Two games of playing not great offensive basketball won't take me off course."

Luke Walton, asked if the game was "on the edge:"
"Yeah, it was right there when all that stuff was going down.
"Obviously, we know the consequences of actually fighting, so I don't ever think it was going to go over the edge. But it was right there. if that was a practice, and there was no consequences to go with it, there definitely probably would have been a fight going on."

Brent Barry:
"We came into Los Angeles looking to get two wins. We got a split and now we're going home. The way the game ended maybe was not the way we typically like to see a game end, but we're going to go home and regroup and see if we can get back on the ball here."

The Lakers may not be concerned about being down a game to the Houston Rockets, but that doesn't mean they're aren't making changes.
Phil Jackson indicated Lamar Odom would replace Andrew Bynum in the starting lineup for Wednesday's Game 2 at Staples Center, meaning that starting spot has gone from Bynum to Odom to Bynum and now back to Odom over the first six games of the postseason.
Jackson could not recall making similar changes in his starting lineup during the playoffs, either with the Bulls or Lakers, except because of injury. He was asked in his pregame press conference if that meant he felt the situation was serious.
"I don't think so," he said. "I think it's a little bit more about our type of execution we can do on the floor, and the number of collective games we played together as that unit in the last year and a half gives them a little more comfort on the floor.
"Our damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't aspect is we know we need rebounding and shotblocking and size with Andrew in there at some level, if we're going to be very successful this season, and that means continuing forward. We're not as forceful or as intimidating around the paint if we don't have him. But we're so much better at the offensive end because of the mobility we have (with Lamar) it's kind of like a situation where you have to live with one or the other. I think we'll give up more points in the process, but we also gather more points, gain more."
For all that, Jackson said he didn't know if the Lakers are a better team with Odom in the lineup.
"You know, we want Andrew to be that force, that player out there," said Jackson. "We think that it's an important aspect or premise for this team. But we have not functioned well in these playoffs, or as well, as we have when Lamar started."
It's a choice that means surrendering some size against Yao Ming and the other large, bulky Rockets, but Jackson said toughness is not his big concern.
"Spacing is, really," he said. "We need to have good spacing and ball movement, and we have to have a flow in our offense. We can't get static and get them into a mud-pit game where they can grind it out in those kinds of half-court situations. And that's what we'll try to establish."
Odom more or less shrugged off the change, and a question whether it was difficult to keep switching between the bench and the starting lineup.
"The game's the same," he said. "... It is what it is. It's what's needed."
Walton returns: Luke Walton returned to the active roster for Game 2, after missing two games since injuring his ankle against Utah.
"I think he's going to have an opportunity," said Jackson, "but we'll see how significant his role is."
Dee-fense: Kobe Bryant was second in the voting again, but this time it was a little closer.
A couple of days after LeBron James' landslide victory over Bryant in MVP balloting, Dwight Howard edged Bryant as the top vote-getter for the NBA's all-defensive team.
Howard finished with 55 points and 27 first-place votes, followed by Bryant (53 points, 24 first-place votes), James (47 points), Chris Paul (36) and Kevin Garnett (35) to complete the first team.
Named to the second team were Tim Duncan, Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, Shane Battier and Ron Artest.
The NBA's 30 head coaches vote for the defensive team, and are not permitted to vote for players from their own team.
Fisher, Trevor Ariza and Pau Gasol were among the other players receiving votes.

A few odds and ends from Lakers practice that didn't make it into the story for Wednesday's paper.
-- The affable Derek Fisher almost became testy when asked about what the Lakers had to do to prove their toughness, giving the reporter who asked a rather steely look.
"We don't have to answer questions about toughness," Fisher responded. "We have to win games. You can continue to question that all you want to, but it doesn't seem to come out until we lose.
"The 65 times we won, it was not as big a deal, but the 17 times we lost, it was a big deal. And now, obviously, losing Game 1 on your home court, all those same questions start to come back up. But the way you silence that is to win games and win a series, and that's what we intend to do."
Fisher was also asked if he could envision the Rockets playing any better than they did in winning 100-92 on Monday.
"If we allow them to play better, they're capable of it," he said. "I don't think either team played perfect basketball. There are some things we'll have to do much better to win tomorrow's basketball game.
"But with the Rockets, the reason why they've been successful is they're going to come play hard every night, they're going to play good half-court defense and they're going to execute offensively, get the ball into Yao Ming. So those consistencies have allowed them to really build some momentum as a team, and we have to take some of those things away."
-- Andrew Bynum said he felt his knee was at "85, 90 percent" of normal, but felt he could still be effective at that level.
"I can try to get down (court) first, get some early court position, and make Yao run," he said, and admitted his limited action to date "is hurting the team, and it's something we're going to have to deal with."
-- While some other players seemed offended, or at least bemused, by the reaction to the Lakers' loss, Lamar Odom understood.
"It's news, because we expect to win," he said. "You probably expect us to win, or especially play at a high level, and we didn't last night."
To play at that higher level, he said, the team would have to "move the basketball. Hit the offensive glass, take care of the basketball, make them work a little harder offensively. Our defense has to work a little bit harder, has to play with a little bit more energy."
-- Pau Gasol admitted that he, like most Lakers fans, kept waiting for the decisive scoring run the team usually rides to a victory:
"We were kind of waiting for it, right? We were all kind of expecting to put three or four stops together, get three or four good offensive possessions together and open the game up a little bit in our favor, take advantage of the crowd and our home court. We couldn't seem to do it. We put a couple things together defensively, then we couldn't convert offensively, and vise versa. It was a little bit frustrating at times. We competed, we just weren't sharp."
-- And Phil Jackson, asked if Monday's outcome was more because of the Lakers' shooting or the Rockets' defense, chose neither.
"You know, it might have been our attitude," he said. "We came unfocused. In a game like that, there's like two or three possessions that are critical in a ballgame. Things turn on a trifle as we say in sports, and there were a couple things out there that kind of changed the dimension of the game."
And what were those?
"Well, I'm not going to reiterate them," he said. "I think that's your job. You guys can do that for us."

There was no argument from the voters, and not much from the Lakers, about the NBA's MVP award.
LeBron James was the runaway winner of the award on Monday, receiving 109 of a possible 121 first-place votes and 1,172 points. Kobe Bryant had two first-place votes and was second (692 points), followed by Dwyane Wade (seven first-place votes, 680 points).
"I certainly think LeBron deserved it this year," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said in his pregame press conference Monday. "Maybe not by the landslide that he had, but he certainly had a terrific season, and so did Cleveland."
Was finishing with the best overall record the difference for James and the Cavs?
"I think there's a lot of sentiment toward that," said Jackson. "Somewhere I felt that shift, toward the end of March and the beginning of April, where they ran off 12 games in a row or something like that, a little winning streak that kind of separated us from them. Not much, but enough."
Lamar Odom felt the lack of the best record hurt Bryant.
"We think about some games that we let slip away," said Odom. "We'd like to have the best record, and I think that probably would have given Kobe a better opportunity to win it.
"But every year since I've been on the Lakers, Kobe has had an MVP-caliber kind of season."
Odom was asked if he thought Bryant would be happy to trade the MVP award for the championship trophy.
"LeBron would, and he just won it," Odom responded. "Anybody (would) that has never won the championship."
Jackson was thinking in similar terms: "The real trophy is winning the championship, and that's what this is all about."
Kobe yes, Luke no: Jackson said Bryant, who missed Sunday's practice with a sore throat, was ready for Monday's series opener with Houston.
"I think he's doing fine," Jackson said. "I would doubt he's 100 percent after not coming to practice, but he says he's OK."
Luke Walton, meanwhile, was not on the active roster for Monday's game, still recovering from a torn ligament in his left ankle suffered in Game 4 of the Utah series.
"I think he's close," said Jackson, "but not quite there."
Big guys: With Walton out, DJ Mbenga remained on the active roster and figures to see action.
"We actually are going to dress three centers," said Jackson, referring also to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, "and we think all three of them can perform against Yao in different ways."
Hopefully, he said, they can do that without too much defensive help.
"I think throwing too many bodies at him, we're going to free up 3-point shooters," Jackson said. "... They are going to get some 3-point shots anyway, but we certainly don't want them to have easy looks.
"So we're going to limit how many times we double-team or trap him."

EL SEGUNDO -- It was another of those vintage Kobe Bryant performances, but it was also the first one in a while.
And so Bryant's 38-point effort in Saturday's game at Utah -- a 108-94 victory giving the Lakers a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series with the Jazz -- remained a major topic of conversation Sunday, along with the opportunity to complete the series Monday night at Staples Center.
Bryant scored the Lakers' first 11 points, had 24 at halftime on 10-of-13 shooting and was 6 for 11 during a third quarter that saw the Lakers outscore Utah 28-16 to take a hammerlock on both the game and series. He finished 16 of 24 from the field.
It was the most points in a game for Bryant since a 49-point effort in a Feb. 26 loss at Phoenix, and a distinct change from the Lakers' 88-86 loss in Game 3, when he was just 5 of 24.
It was right after that game, Bryant said, that he knew he'd be more aggressive from the start in Game 4.
"I just felt like I needed to get going a little bit," he said, "and put teams on their heels a little bit more. ..
"I was operating in a space where it was harder for them to double-team me. I wasn't 30 feet from the basket. I was getting good screens, getting the ball in the deep post position and operating from there.
"I just changed my game up a little bit, got a little closer to the basket, and got into the spots where I operate from."
This was not an individual effort, he pointed out.
"You've got to have your teammates set it up for you," he said. "In this day and age you do, with the zone and all that stuff, scorers don't really have that much space to operate. You have to rely a lot on your teammates to get you open in terms of isolating -- you know, penetrate and create."
Still, there were times when the Jazz -- in particular, Ronnie Brewer -- appeared to be playing Bryant about as tough defensively as is possible, and he still made shots.
"Once you get into a rhythm, it feels like everything's going to go on, and you just have to look at the basket, once you get into that kind of groove," he said. "And that's what happened for me. Some of those shots, they were playing great defense. I just felt really good. ...
"You just throw it up there, and it's going to go in. That's what it felt like."
Bryant led the charge and the rest of the Lakers followed.
"I think the game we lost, Game 3, it hurt pretty bad," said Pau Gasol, second in scoring with 13 points, "because we kind of felt like we gave away a chance to really take a huge advantage in the series. So we had to kind of make up for it, and Kobe set us up from the beginning, starting really hot, and we all tuned into it."
Bryant was questioned in some quarters for not starting more aggressively earlier in the series, although that didn't keep the Lakers from 62- and 66-point first halves in the first two games of the series, and double-digit leads in all three games.
So it probably wasn't surprising that coach Phil Jackson wanted to temper the enthusiasm over Bryant's performance.
"It's interesting that with all the points Kobe came out and hit 'em with a barrage," said Jackson, "we were still behind at the end of the first quarter. It shows the important of a bench coming out and playing with the kind of freedom and passion defensively and offensively that is important for us to have."
The Lakers trailed 25-20 after one quarter, but outscored Utah 40-28 in the second, when the reserves generally get their largest slice of playing time.
And Jackson felt the biggest reason the Lakers didn't let Utah back in the game -- after frittering away most of 20-point leads in the first two games, and surrendering a 13-point advantage in Game 3 -- was defensive.
"Someone remarked to me ... that when we got a lead in the third quarter and we felt like we could score on a team [in the earlier games], our defense relaxed," Jackson said. "We really tried to make an emphasis on that, that defensively, you just can't think, 'Oh, offensively, everything's going to just go great; now we're just going to be in cruise control and get away with all this.'
"The defense still has to step up, and I think that stayed."