Jackson: Clippers a Part of Odom’s Karmic Puzzle

A day after they’d lost again to the Clippers -- they’ve dropped four of five to their Staples Center arena-mates -- the Lakers hunkered down for three hours of film review and practice, Coach Phil Jackson indicating in a roundabout way that perhaps they hadn’t been mentally prepared to play Friday night.

Jackson also indicated that Lamar Odom, cast adrift by the Clippers three summers ago and traded to the Lakers from the Miami Heat in 2004, might still feel the sting of rejection but could benefit from lessons learned on television.

“I think the Clippers bring a whole different magnitude to his games against them,” Jackson said of Odom, who scored only eight points on three-for-12 shooting and has often seemed distracted against the Clippers, having twice been ejected from games against them last season. “There must be some tension there still.”

Still, the coach added, “I believe in Lamar. He’s a player that does so many things right, as far as working, [being a] good teammate, his effort, all these things.... He knows that hard work and good behavior and all those things have their own karmic effect. I don’t know if I want to get into ‘My Name Is Earl,’ but they do.”

“My Name Is Earl,” the NBC sitcom in which the title character seeks good karma by atoning for past sins, presumably wasn’t discussed in Saturday’s film session, but the Lakers’ lackluster effort in Friday’s 102-83 loss certainly must have been.

“There are some things, execution-wise, that you talk about as a coach because execution is a big key,” Jackson said. “But there are some other things that we talk about, too, that are mental, spiritual, physical -- physically playing three games in four nights, getting back in that role again after an All-Star break, prepping yourself mentally so you bring the tension ... so you’re alert and you’re really sharp and you’re thinking about the game and physically keying yourself up to play....

“You’ve got to rebuild how to do that. So we did some really mental work about re-keying yourself, refocusing, bringing that concentration level back again.”

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On the surface, the Lakers’ remaining schedule looks favorable, with 16 of their last 27 games slated for Staples Center. But in their last 23 games they’ll play three against the San Antonio Spurs, two against the Phoenix Suns and one, Saturday night at Staples Center, against the Detroit Pistons.

They’re 0-14 against those teams since trading Shaquille O’Neal.

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TODAY

vs. Boston, 4:30 p.m.

FSN West, ESPN

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- 570, 1330.

Records -- Lakers 28-27, Celtics 22-33.

Record vs. Celtics (2004-05) -- 1-1.

Update -- The Celtics wrap up a four-game trip after winning Friday at Portland, 106-102, their second victory in three games. Paul Pierce, who scored 37 points against the Trail Blazers, has averaged 32.9 in 10 games this month.

Tickets -- (800) 462-2849 or ticketmaster.com.