Pregame report

Here are a few observations from Phil Jackson before tonight's game against Detroit.

On Kobe Bryant's injury: "I thought he was possibly going to be out for some of this week. He's been struggling with this for a while, but he wanted to practice (Monday), he wanted to get into the rhythm of things and see how it felt. We have to watch his time off the court as jealously as we do on the court. We don't want him to sit and stiffen up during the course of the game. He wouldn't do that (take a game off to mend). I think an 82-game season has much meaning for him and winning an individual scoring championship. That's something (he) really relishes. He knows if he can do it."

On more playing time for Adam Morrison with Luke Walton out with a back injury: "We don't feel like we're depleted at all. We feel like we're kind of overloaded at that position. Ron (Artest) is a (small forward). Kobe plays a lot at (small forward). This is a team (Detroit) that plays three guards with (Rodney) Stuckey, (Will) Bynum and (Ben) Gordon. We don't feel like we'll be at a deficit at al in this game. We're hoping to give Adam some minutes. Luke hasn't had a lot to start the season, but we want Adam to have a chance to get out there and prove himself."

On the lack of motion in the triangle offense: "We've been pretty stagnant. We've had Kobe posting up on one side and Andrew on the other with three on the outside and two inside instead of the overload in the triangle like we usually play."

On Pau Gasol's status: "We're just going one day at a time. He came back after a practice yesterday and performed in the shootaround (this morning). He said he's fine. We're thinking tomorrow he'll have a practice. He'll work out tonight (during the game). We'll go one day at a time, but he's hoping he can play Thursday. I asked him if he could play tonight, actually. He said, 'Well, I'm not ready yet. I don't feel ready yet.' So, we're still waiting for him to feel totally comfortable with where he is."