Jackson (and Bryant?) good to go

On a day of conflicting reports on Kobe Bryant’s health, the Lakers guard said Saturday that he didn’t know if he would play in Tuesday’s opener against Phoenix.

Then, 10 minutes later, Phil Jackson revealed he would be healthy enough to coach against Phoenix ... and that Bryant had delivered a bit of news to him.

“He says he’s going to play on Tuesday,” Jackson said. “I’m sure he’ll make the correct decision. He came off the floor [Saturday] and he was sore, but he was on the court for a good hour and a half before he came off.”

Bryant, who has experienced soreness in his right knee in the aftermath of mid-July arthroscopic surgery, made it through almost all of practice but did not reveal much about his thoughts about Tuesday.

“I don’t know,” Bryant said. “Just take it day by day. It’s kind of frustrating. Every day kind of varies. Today’s a little sore.”

Frustrating?

“It’s just frustrating because, day by day, you get asked the same question, ‘You playing on Tuesday? You playing on Tuesday?’ ” Bryant said. “It gets a little frustrating, but you’ve just got to take it for what it is.”

Jackson wasn’t as perturbed by his own rehabilitation.

The Lakers coach said he felt “real, real positive” about coaching Tuesday, which would be exactly four weeks after his hip-replacement surgery. He said he did not know if he would coach Wednesday against Golden State, the team’s first road game.

The team is scheduled to leave shortly after Tuesday’s game at Staples Center and take an hourlong flight to Oakland, arriving about midnight.

“I’m still having a little bit of trouble getting a shoe on and a sock on that one leg, but my therapy’s coming along great,” Jackson said. “In the last week, I made giant strides. In three days, I could be in a position where I feel much more comfortable.”

But the questions lingered about Bryant’s health, and whether he would play against Phoenix.

“He said he felt like he could get it done,” Jackson said. “I just feel like I have to let him have his head on this. We know that there’s going to be some limitations to what he can do. That’s a choice he has to make. He’s been training, he’s been working hard on it.

“It’s almost four months. This is a normal injury where guys would say this is a month-out injury. It’s been twice that, three times that long for him to recover from this. We really have to let him have his head on this.”

*

The “Lights Out” promotional billboards are to be taken somewhat literally.

For Tuesday’s opener, the Lakers will dim the lights above all Staples Center seats and will physically lower lighting trusses above the court to flood the playing area with extra light.

“Think Madison Square Garden, think boxing,” said Tim Harris, Lakers senior vice president of business operations. “We wanted to make the focus of coming to a Laker game the players, the floor. We think it’s something the fans will like.”

The lighting will be used only for Lakers games. It has not been determined how many games it will be used. The team will have practiced Saturday and today at Staples Center in an effort to adjust to the new look.

“I love it,” Bryant said. “It’s old school. It puts the focus on the court. It gives it more of a magical feel, more energy, more intensity.

“This differentiates our game from the Clippers’ per se, or any other place. This is kind of our thing here, our statement.”

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com