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"The idea that you have to protect something or defend something as the
defending champion is always a good deal for a team," the 64-year-old
said. "The knowledge they are going to have go out and play well, the
crowds are going to be there, you are going to be facing challenges on
the road, your home fans are going to be expecting you to win and you
have to bring that energy to
pearl jewelry wholesale excite people, yourself and the team.
"Those are things that these guys are aware of," added Jackson, who has
guided teams to a record 10 NBA championships. "Some of them haven't
been on championship teams but [Derek] Fisher and Kobe [Bryant]
obviously have. They know the perils of going into a ring night, for
example, and starting out as defending champion."
The Lakers
could be without the forward Pau Gasol, the Spaniard having missed the
team's last six exhibition games while recovering from a strained right
hamstring. Although Gasol was placed on the active roster for the
season opener at Staples Center in
pearl jewelry downtown Los Angeles, he could be moved to the inactive list before Tuesday's tip-off.
"That's a game decision," said Jackson. "He's much more optimistic than he has been but we are not concerned."
Over the weekend, Gasol said it did not make "a whole lot of sense" for
him to play. "It's most important that I get myself healthy at this
point in the year so I can go through the
freshwater pearl jewelry whole year," he added. "If I put myself in a risky situation then I won't be helping my team in the long run."