LOS ANGELES (AP) -Phil Jackson’s mind was focused on Game 7 of the NBA finals, not on his future with the Los Angeles Lakers.
He’s in the final year of his contract, with no word about a possible extension.
“I’ve resisted thinking about that and talking about it for the most part,” he said Thursday night before the finale between the Lakers and Boston Celtics. “It really isn’t important what happens after this, it’s just about this game right now.”
Seeking his 11th NBA title as a coach, Jackson said he would know after the game whether the outcome influences his future.
“I won’t tell you then, that’s for sure,” he told laughing reporters.
If Jackson, who turns 65 in September, decides to retire he was reminded it could have been his last pregame news conference ever.
“Well, someone said I might never have to speak to you again after this night,” he said. “I said that would never happen, I never could be that fortunate.”
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ve been quiet heading into Game 7.
“We’re getting through our shootarounds quicker the last two days,” coach Doc Rivers said. “Our team meetings were quick because you didn’t have to say, ‘Excuse me, please, can we’ – none of that was done. That’s usually a good sign for us.”
He said he can never know for sure how his team is going to play.
“They’ve been very focused, I will say that, over the last two days, and that for a coach is all you ask for,” he said.
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MOMENT OF TRUTH: Phil Jackson believes every game has what he calls multiple moments of truth that reveal what a game is going to be like or a sign that changes everything.
When those times come against the Celtics, the Lakers coach doesn’t want to see his team revert to whatever rote play they’re used to.
“You can’t go to a comfort zone and just go play basketball as you would at a practice that’s the fourth day after you’ve played three consecutive games, three out of four nights,” he said. “You have to do something special.
“We had multiple situations in which we did that the other night (a Game 6 win). We had many situations we didn’t do that in Boston in Games 4 and 5.”
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BRIEF BREAK: The longest possible NBA finals means the shortest possible turnaround until the draft.
There will be only a week between the time David Stern hands out the Larry O’Brien trophy in Los Angeles and calls the name of the No. 1 pick, likely Kentucky freshman point guard John Wall, next Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“It’s scary to know that the draft is close,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said before Game 6. “I hadn’t thought about that at all.”
Rivers said Thursday he only found out the other day that Boston has the 19th pick.
To help get everyone ready, NBA TV will run draft preview shows Saturday (Eastern Conference) and Sunday (West). Former Nets coach Lawrence Frank will join the studio team to break down each team’s needs.
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