Jackson Not One to Make Projections

Coach Phil Jackson recoiled a bit and chuckled when it was brought up that his team was on pace to come close to or exceed 70 victories this season.

“No, no,” Jackson said before Saturday’s victory over Seattle. “We’ve got a hard January ahead of us. We’d like to play 75% ball, play good at home and be above .500 on the road. That’s 75% basketball and that’s good enough usually to win a division.”

Especially after Friday’s thriller over Charlotte, Jackson said he has not been pleased with the Lakers’ play since their long New Year’s break, even though the team has continued to win games.

“We weren’t playing very well, we weren’t shooting very well, we didn’t have a lot of flow,” Jackson said. “I thought we didn’t play mindful basketball, a lot of it was like mindless basketball. . . .

“We just have to tighten up a little bit.”

One thing Jackson very much liked about the victory over the Hornets was that, amid tough double- and triple-teaming, O’Neal remained a factor late in the game, even making one of two free throws in the final moments.

“I kind of wondered about how we were going to get him going again and about how those games went sometimes when he could disappear in a critical game,” Jackson said.

“And he came right back and got himself back on track and helped us get back into the ballgame; and those are the things I’ve been looking for from him as a leader.”

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After a miserable two-for-30 shooting slump in the previous five games, guard Derek Fisher broke out a little against Charlotte, making four of 10 shots, and scored in double digits for the first time since Dec. 20. Then he made three of seven against the SuperSonics, including two of five three-pointers.

Jackson said he has encouraged Fisher to remain aggressive throughout the shooting troubles.

“I think the one thing that’s good about him and his staff, they just tell you to remain confident and to be aggressive,” Fisher said.

“They take you out for not being aggressive. That was the one thing. . . . While I wasn’t making many shots, there was no way I could become less aggressive. That’s when you begin to show signs of weakness or signs of less confidence and I wasn’t feeling that way.”