"It's one of the noisiest," Kobe Bryant said. "Sacramento, when they were going good, it was tough . . . that place is really a barn. Those two arenas are some of the tougher arenas to play in because of the way that the arenas are constructed."
Jackson continued the architectural analysis, referring to the "friendly confines" of the arena, built in 1991.
"The arena's so tight, the referees are backed right up into the fans on the baseline," he said. "I think it's intimidating at times to opponents and to referees. I think it's a tough place to call a game."
Bryant, after giving appropriate consideration to Jazz fans, couldn't resist tweaking them. "The more they boo me, the more they heckle me, the more they relax me, the more I play better," he said. "You would think they would know that by now."
Indeed, Bryant's 34-point, eight-rebound, six-assist effort helped the Lakers eliminate the Jazz at Utah in Game 6 of last season's West semifinals, though the Lakers were nervous bystanders as Deron Williams and Mehmet Okur each missed three-point attempts in the last five seconds that could have tied the score.
The Lakers are 30-34 all-time in regular-season games at Utah, respectable when considering that the Jazz has had one losing season the last 26 years (2004-05). But the Lakers are 2-9 at Utah in the playoffs, including a 1-2 mark last May.
Jazz forward Kyle Korver called it a "combination of a lot of things," including the fact that "we have that Utah air."
The Lakers' 29-12 road record, the league's best, will be tested, as will their ability to gain large leads, let alone hang on to them.
Okur was Utah's second-best scorer and third-best rebounder in the regular season, but a strained hamstring still bothers him, which could only favor the Lakers.
Jackson wants to see the Lakers pound the ball down low more often, particularly to Pau Gasol, who did not take another shot after the 3:19 mark of the third quarter in Game 2. "He just didn't have enough touches again in the second half," Jackson said.
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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com
