Lakers prepare for tonight's Game 6 at Utah
LAKERS REPORT
Coach Phil Jackson expresses confidence in his team -- and Kobe Bryant's back -- as Los Angeles hopes to buck the trend and win a semifinal game on the road.
SALT LAKE CITY — Pau Gasol's best pick as a Laker may have come at this morning's shoot-around in preparation for tonight's Game 6 against the Utah Jazz.
With Gasol addressing a gathering of media, Kobe Bryant slyly skedaddled out on the other side, calling out "My man" to Gasol as he slipped away, unscathed by reporters' questions about his aching back.
It left Lakers Coach Phil Jackson to address how Bryant's back felt after another game and another flight.
"He seemed to have no problem today," Jackson said. "He came out and shot with the rest of the players."
Both teams have huge stakes in tonight's game at EnergySolutions Arena.
It's win or stay home for Utah, down three games to two in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal playoff series.
And the Lakers are aiming to reach their first Western Conference finals berth since the Shaquille O'Neal era.
Home teams in the league's semifinals series are 20-1 this postseason, and a rowdy Utah crowd will try to bump that up another number.
"We just anticipate that we have to play under control and have to execute," Jackson said. "Especially in a foreign land like this, in a foreign building. It's going to take a lot of poise with this team to bring it through. But we've done well here, we know we can win here, and we're confident."
jonathan.abrams@latimes.com
