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Lakers Coach Phil Jackson on Spurs

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Tweetable items from Phil Jackson's pre-game press conference.

Phil Jackson on Utah Jazz

Both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol will suit up Tuesday against Utah. Said Jackson: "They're ready and willing. At this time of the season, these guys could use the rest. But you'd think it's best for them to keep playing

On home-court advantage: That's something you always say, 'No you don't' when you don't have it. Then you say it's really great to have when you do have it."

Jackson answers the argument from Amare Stoudemire and Kendrick Perkins that Pau Gasol is still soft.

If there is an offer he couldn't refuse to continue coaching: I haven't heard of it or anticipated it." He said a potential lockout partly affected his decision to retire.

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So yeah, there's really not much to talk about regarding the Lakers, other than their 110-82 win Thursday over Dallas, the chase for first place in the Western Conference and of course the tension surrounding Jason Terry with Steve Blake and Matt Barnes. Fortunately, The Times' Mike Bresnahan is here today to answer all your questions. Chat box is below the jump.

Tweetable items from Lakers Coach Phil Jackson

On Dirk Nowitzki: "He can shoot his shot out of a wheelchair. That guy is going to play forever. He's such a great shooter, but he definitely runs with a limited gate. He's got to work at that run. You can see that when you watch him run. We like to take advantage of that when we can."

On if Dallas is better than in other seasons: "I wouldn't say that. I think Chandler brings them a really good defensive presence out there. I think that's great. Marion is a wildcard they can use. Terry is also in those situations. The team speed isn't there they used to have. They don't offensive rebound very well. There's a couple things there that they've done better in the past. That team that won 60-something games, they got eliminated and the team that went to the Finals, those two teams were very good teams and deep teams. So I wouldn't say this team is any better than that team."

Tweetable items from Theo Ratliff

--He has been cleared to play and will be in uniform Thursday against Dallas, coinciding with Derrick Caracter being sent down to the Bakersfield Jam

--He acknowledged he's felt sore after full-contact practices, but he's able to jump. "I didn't want to go out on a stretcher. It's always good to get the uniform back on, get back with the guys and see what happens."

--Ratliff said he had arthritis and "bone-on-bone" issues with his surgically repaired left knee. "There were definite setbacks. I'm not a young cat and I already had issues going on with my knee."

Theo Ratliff on return

The chat box is below the jump

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson