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."