This is a dangerous game for the Lakers, whom Phil Jackson noted seemed very quiet and tired today … although he still made them have a shoot-around earlier to try and activate their bodies. Even though Utah is missing Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko to injury, the Jazz has a good system and a great home-court advantage.
Utah, in fact, is 14-1 against visiting Western Conference teams this season despite a ton of Jazz injuries and most everything else being disappointing.
Looking beyond that, though, the next coaching duty for Phil Jackson will the All-Star Game, and he said he plans to run pick-and-rolls for Western Conference All-Stars Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. The Kobe-Shaq pick-and-roll used to be Jackson’s go-to play down the stretch of Lakers games.
Here’s more nice-making from O’Neal, who told the Plain Dealer at a charity event in a Cleveland suburb that Bryant is better than James.
“Kobe’s probably a 10,” O’Neal said Tuesday night. ”LeBron’s a 9.7, 9.8. He’s a fabulous player who does it the right way and gets everybody involved.”
