Phil Jackson on the Money

At today's practice session, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said "It's to your advantage not to double (Dwight Howard)."

I guess he watched at least one game of the Eastern Conference finals, because that assertion is blatantly obvious. When the Cleveland defense moved towards Howard, the structure of it collapsed, leaving one of the four Orlando shooters open. Along with nobody supporting LeBron James offensively, that was what killed the Cleveland LeBrons.

Not only does Phil Jackson understand that Dwight Howard can't be contained, he realizes that he doesn't have a player to match up with him. Pau Gasol has been great defensively but is too small to body Howard. Lamar Odom had 4 blocks in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals but can disappear with the snap of a finger. And Andrew Bynum...

Instead, it seems as if Jackson is focusing more on the shooters and rightfully so. He has the personnel to guard them. However, he will probably have to pull Bynum out of the starting lineup to acclimate to Orlando's 4-guard offense.

It looks like the Lakers are on the right track.

It's going to be a GREAT NBA Finals!

Here's some videos of Jackson, Pau Gasol & Shannon Brown talking about the upcoming finals.

--Max Caster