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Prior to L.A’s Tuesday evening contest against the Wizards, a local media member asked him where he would you put this year’s team up against some of his better teams, and Jackson’s answer was interesting enough to quote directly:

It kind of feels to me like a team that’s won a championship and … having been to the Finals the year before the championship (also) and knowing the grind the season’s are, sometimes they don’t present the intensity (about) regular season games that I’d like them to.

Perhaps the good news is, Jackson’s early decade championship teams went through much of the same before going on to win; he has no reason to believe his 2009-10 version won’t ultimately lock in.

One thing that helps, thinks Jackson, is the road, where opposing crowds and teams have it out for the Purple and Gold.

“We got stagnant at home a little bit,” he said. “Now that we’re on the road we want to find some traction.”

A few other notes prior to tipoff:

- Jackson wasn’t worried that the team would have any letdown after an emotional day at the White House. He was, however, concerned with the team’s lack of practice time due to the crazy schedule of late.

- Jackson emphasized that the Lakers absolutely couldn’t take the Wizards lightly, noting a few players in particular: “(Antawn) Jamison and (Caron) Butler are very good scorers, and they have a track record of playing well against us. I don’t know if we’ve ever stopped (Earl) Boykins.”

- Phil revealed that he voted for Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Paul for the All-Star team, but wouldn’t divulge his other picks.

- The head coach tempered his criticism of Ron Artest’s shoes, disclosing that he was purely speculating about why his forward was suffering from plantar fasciitis.

- Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser from ESPN’s “PTI” program stayed after the media session to catch up with their frequent guest.

In a few hours, the Lakers and Cavs meet for the final time in 2009-10 … at least in the regular season.

Here’s more than you need to know about the matchup:

LAST TIME: The Cavs were simply the more aggressive team when they beat L.A. 102-87 at STAPLES Center on Christmas day. Cleveland shot 53.3 percent to L.A.’s 36.5%, had 24 assists on their 38 made field goals and got a terrific effort from point guard Mo Williams, who made all three of his three-pointers and 9-of-10 free throws for 28 points.
***UPDATE: Williams will miss Thursday night’s game with a left shoulder strain.

CAVS AT HOME: Last season, Cleveland was undefeated at home (23-0) … until the Andrew Bynum-less Lakers came to town in early February and won 101-91. Their only other loss came in the regular season’s final game, when the Cavs rested most of their starters including LeBron James. This season, the Cavs lost two games at home early and have lost three total, yet are still 15-3 and have won 13-of-14 in Ohio. That 15-3 mark is the NBA’s third best at home, after the Lakers (23-3) and Nuggets (18-3).

LOTS OF WINS: The Cavs and Lakers have both won a league-high 32 games, though Cleveland has picked up two more losses. The Cavaliers are 20-6 mark over the last 26 games, the best in the NBA. L.A. is 9-6 on the road, the six losses tied with Boston for the league’s fewest on the road, but the purple and gold have also played the fewest road games.

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: Always a good way to measure the league’s best teams is point differential, which the Lakers happen to lead at +7.0, the Cavs close behind at +6.5 (Boston had led the league before Kevin Garnett’s injury). L.A. and Cleveland are also the league’s best teams when hitting 100 points, the Lakers ranking first (26-1, .963) and the Cavaliers second (25-1, .962). One reason: the Lakers continue to lead the NBA in defensive field goal percentage (.435), while Cleveland ranks third (.438).

WATCH THE LINE: The Cavs are the league’s best three-point shooting team right now, making 40.9 percent of their shots, while the Lakers lead the league in three-point percentage against. Something has to give.

TEAM CONNECTIONS: Cavs forward J.J. Hickson and Josh Powell both attended North Carolina State University, though Powell was gone before Hickson arrived; Ron Artest played under then assistant coach Mike Brown in Indiana from 2002-2005; 2010 Slam Dunk participant Shannon Brown was the Cavaliers 2006 first round draft pick (25th overall); Lakers assistant Jim Cleamons played five seasons (1972-1977) with the Cavaliers, played collegiate basketball at Ohio State, graduating in 1971 and is a member of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2008.

KOBE, HISTORY: Kobe Bryant is only 19 points away from 25,000 in his career, a mark he could well reach against the Cavs. Bryant had a game-high 35 points in the X-Mas day matchup.

During the offseason following L.A.’s 2009 NBA title, San Antonio added veterans Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess and drafted effective rookie big man DeJuan Blair, moves at least in some part intended to better match the length of the Lakers.

With Manu Ginobili coming into the season healthy, and Tony Parker and Tim Duncan still sporting silver and black, most expected the Spurs to be among the Lakers’ toughest road blocks to a potential championship repeat.

If it were possible, the Spurs slid off the league-wide radar a bit after a 9-9 start, but are back on it after winning 13-of-17 games on the back of Tim Duncan, who’s averaging 20.0 points and 10.4 rebound as one of the NBA’s three 20-10 players.

“I think they’re playing probably the best ball they’ve played all year,” said Lakers Coach Phil Jackson. “Maybe they were disappointed with their Dallas loss last week, but they’ve been playing well enough to sit right in there. After a slow start, they have come back.”

The Dallas loss is indicative of the fact that the Spurs have had trouble beating good teams, going only 4-12 against teams at or above .500, and beating up on the weaker sub .500 teams to an 18-2 extent. Yet the principals for what made them successful throughout the decade remain.

“They’re a good defensive team, (and) they always stay in ball games defensively,” said Jackson. “They have three-point shooting concept in their offense; you have to be able to cover the penetration of Parker and still be able to recover to three-point shooters in the corner.”

Meanwhile, the Lakers aren’t exactly the Lakers, not without All Star Pau Gasol still on the shelf with a left hamstring strain (L.A. is 10-5 without him), Finals MVP Kobe Bryant nursing a fractured finger and Ron Artest still recovering from a concussion.

Of course, you won’t hear any excuses out of Jackson or Bryant in particular, who - as always - expect a fully competent effort out of the purple and gold.

The game tips at 5:30 p.m. Pacific and can be seen on KCAL/9 HD, NBATV and heard on 710ESPN.

Some fun (or random) facts and pregame presser info about tonight’s contest:

- The Lakers have not won here since Feb. 23, 2005 (you hadn’t heard that yet this week, right…)?

- The Lakers split the season series with Portland in each of the last two seasons, going 4-0 at home and 0-4 on the road against the Blazers.

- Phil Jackson’s favorite thing about Brandon Roy: “I like his composure.”

- This is the 193rd meeting between the Blazers and Lakers, with L.A. winning 108 times.

- Jackson quipped that he might ban the players from going to the Nike Employee Store because of how much time and effort it takes, then reiterated that he was kidding.

- Kobe Bryant is averaging 27.7 points against the Trail Blazers in 46 career games.

- Pau Gasol has not yet attempted to run on his hamstring, according to Jackson. The Lakers are 19-3 with Gasol in the lineup and 9-4 without him this season.

- Kurt Rambis was coaching the Lakers during the team’s second trip to Portland last year as Jackson stayed in L.A. due to health issues. L.A. lost 106-98 after leading by as many as 10 points late in the second quarter.

- The New Jersey Nets and Washington Wizards announced plans to limit gambling on the team’s charter plane today. Back in his playing days, Phil Jackson said that he played cards with his teammates. He explained that he has no problem with his players playing, and actually thinks it can be a good an entertaining way for the players to pass the time. “I’m not in favor of (banning it) right now at all,” he said.