The Jazz's Deron Williams spoke with the media following a Friday morning shootaround at EnergySolutions Arena.
Williams on Los Angeles Lakers: "I think it's the best team in basketball. Regardless of records they're defending champs; they've been together for years now. I feel like they've gotten better, so this is a good test for us."
Lakers' length: "We play fast, we play Francisco, it adds length. Al is a little bit longer than Booze is."
New Jazz roster vs. Lakers: "It's a good test for us. We love playing these guys, because they have been the best team in basketball for a couple years now."
Pau Gasol: "It starts with Phil. Kobe definitely is the best player in basketball. You could argue Pau is the MVP of this team this year; what he's doing night in and night out."
Mental toughness: "We usually play good against them except for one little stretch, where they just kind of blow us out of the water. We just have to stay poised, and a lot of that is mental. If they make a little run, you can't hang your heads; you can't start panicking. Because you know it's going to happen. They're too good of a team not to make runs."
— Brian T. Smith
Twitter: tribjazz
