[nowhereman]

Did a little hunting and i found this

http://www.pe.com/sports/basketball/...4.4393810.html

Lakers won't pull punches

It'll be business as usual against Utah, a possible first-round opponent


EL SEGUNDO - Just because tonight's regular-season finale against Utah could be a first-round playoff preview doesn't mean the Lakers are especially concerned about revealing any secrets.

They won't rest any starters, alter their rotation or run a vanilla offensive scheme, holding back only a seldom-seen set or matchup advantage they might want to exploit in a potential playoff series.

"I don't think there's anything that teams haven't seen from each other that all of a sudden you can pull out to make a huge impact on a series," point guard Derek Fisher said. "Particularly if it's Utah, we've played them it seems like 20 times in the past 18 months. I don't think there are any secrets at all."

It's still not a certainty the Jazz will be the Lakers' first-round opponent, but that appears to be the most likely outcome. If the Lakers beat Utah tonight, the Jazz will return this weekend to open the playoffs. If Utah wins tonight, there are three possible first-round opponents for the Lakers -- Utah, Dallas and New Orleans -- depending what happens Wednesday.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson insists he doesn't have a preference between facing Dallas or Utah, not that he'd reveal it if he did. And even if he'd rather avoid a potentially physically draining series with the Jazz, Jackson insists that ethically he wouldn't feel comfortable trying to lose on purpose to increase Utah's chances of moving up to the No. 7 seed.

"You have to play the game the right way," he said. "Otherwise too many things can happen."

Any tangible significance to tonight's game for the Lakers evaporated Monday night when Cleveland defeated Indiana to clinch home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Securing the NBA's best record was a goal the Lakers set for themselves before the season, but they were already speaking about it in the past tense after practice Monday afternoon.

"In the unlikely event that we are so lucky to get to the Finals, then that's going to be taken care of then," Jackson said. "It's not ultimately something that we're going to mourn right now or rue the fact we're not there right now. We've had a great season. We've put a good run on. They did better than we did."

One thing the Lakers are determined to avoid is a spirit-lifting Utah victory that would raise the Jazz's confidence entering a playoff series. Utah is 1-1 against the Lakers this season, both teams winning on their home courts.

"I think you can send a message," Pau Gasol said. "You definitely want to make sure they know we're a team they're not going to beat."