LOS ANGELES -- The video didn't lie.
It is something the Los Angeles Lakers know all too well, especially since Coach Phil Jackson forced them to watch at practice Wednesday their less-than-enthralling victory over the struggling and depleted Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jackson wasn't going to allow the Lakers to just seamlessly move on to Thursday night's game against the Nuggets in Denver without looking back at Tuesday night's effort against the Timberwolves.
"We had a good video session, understanding the things that went right and went wrong (Tuesday) night," Pau Gasol said. "We're all aware of what we did last night and where we need to go to be successful in the upcoming games."
Jackson lamented the lack of execution on offense.
He harped on how the Lakers were beaten on the backboards, 54 rebounds to 42.
There was the issue of how the Timberwolves outscored the Lakers in the paint, 44-40.
It was painful to watch, and not just for the players.
"All the coaches had to watch the whole game on film, man," assistant coach Brian Shaw said, smiling. "And then we had to watch three quarters of the game with the players."
The Lakers may be 8-0, but they are striving to be better. That's why Jackson made his team revisit the game against Minnesota.
"You want to go back and try and figure out what you can do better," Jackson said. "It's not so much as a stopping point. We're going to have losses, there's no doubt.
"This is a long season. So in the process, I sometimes tell a team, 'Maybe it would have been better if we had lost that game than win it because you think it's OK because the score was all right.' But as long we go back and cover some of the spots that we made mistakes in, I think it helps."
So what did the Lakers learn from the Minnesota game?
"If you allow a team to play harder than you, they are going to have a chance to beat you no matter how good you are," Gasol said.
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Fisher speaks out
After the victory over Minnesota, Derek Fisher had some harsh things to say about his team, saying they were reckless and disrespectful to the game.
Jackson said Fisher's "opinion is valued," but that using the word disrespectful is "a potent word in our society."
"I don't know if it was total disrespect, but I think it was unconscious to a lack of a real conscious effort for what we were trying to get accomplished out there," Jackson said.
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West to get statue
Jerry West, whose silhouette is the likeness for the NBA logo, will receive another honor when the Lakers build a statue of him outside Staples Center.
West will have his statue unveiled in February during the All-Star weekend at Staples Center.
West will become the third member of the Lakers organization to have a statue outside the building, joining Magic Johnson and broadcaster Chick Hearn.
Wayne Gretzky and Oscar De La Hoya also have statues in front of Staples Center.
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