Players Stay Calm, Thanks to Jackson

If the Lakers seem almost blase about their current predicament, it’s probably a reflection of their coach. Phil Jackson, through six championships with the Chicago Bulls and two with the Lakers, maintains an unflappable air.

“His experience trickles down through us because he’s not getting emotional about what’s going on,” Derek Fisher said. “He’s not doing a lot of screaming and stomping and yelling and making us feel we have to do certain things.

“He’s treating us like men and that’s the reason why we feel like we’ve always been able to respond in these types of situations.”

Said Shaquille O’Neal: “If you don’t see your president worry and your general doesn’t worry, then usually the troops don’t worry. We’re not worried.”

But Jackson’s record counts for only so much, Rick Fox warned.

“It’s all paperwork,” Fox said. “It looks good on paper, it looks nice across the screen when you’re reading it. But as players you still have to go out and put his plans to work. But he does come up with pretty good game plans.”

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Badly outplayed by the Kings’ Mike Bibby, who has repeatedly exposed him on the defensive end, Fisher also has struggled to find his shooting touch in the series. The Laker point guard has made only 26% of his shots, 16.7% from three-point range.

“There’s been a lot of talk about percentage-wise what I’m shooting,” Fisher said, “but making shots is not always [about percentages]. Robert Horry had only made one shot before he made three shots in the fourth quarter to help us win Game 4....

“That’s why Robert has always been a crucial player to our championship thing. He’s always been able to kind of step up when we needed him to step up. So, for me, it might not be improving from [26%] to 50% [that is most important]. It’s just being able to knock shots down ... when we really need a basket.

“I’ve felt good at the start of the games, but I haven’t been able to stay in the rhythm in the second, third and fourth quarters. There are all sorts of reasons why a guy doesn’t shoot the basketball the way he normally does.”

Chasing a guy like Bibby, he implied, is one.

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O’Neal’s foul trouble was an obvious factor in Tuesday night’s loss. He played only 32 minutes, scoring 28 points before fouling out with 3:22 to play.

But he plans no adjustments.

“I’m going to stay aggressive,” O’Neal said. “I’m just going to play my game. If they call the ... fouls like they’ve been calling, then so be it, but I’m going to stay aggressive. I’ll never change my game, ever, ever, ever.”

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The Lakers have been called for 18 more fouls and shot 37 fewer free throws than the Kings, who have outscored them, 100-74, at the line.

“If I’m a fan and I’m not biased,” Laker reserve guard Brian Shaw said, “it would seem like the officiating in this series has given a black eye to the sport. It’s like boxing. When all is said and done, someone has to police the referees. Someone has to police the police.”