Beyond Bryant, Los Angeles’ acquisition of center Pau Gasol in a midseason trade with Memphis changed the course of its season. The Lakers went 23-5 with the All-Star in their lineup and certainly could have used him in two regular-season losses to the Celtics, who won 107-94 in Boston on Nov. 23 and 110-91 in Los Angeles on Dec. 30.

Jackson isn’t putting much stock in those matchups.

“We had Thanksgiving Thursday here, played on Friday. We were full of turkey,” cracked Jackson, 9-1 in the finals. “The game in late December was much more reflective of the team. However, we wore those short shorts that night and lost our attitude early. I think the guys got a little tight.”

Boston’s lack of experience in the finals — none of its starters have played in one previously — could be a factor. But Garnett, who led the Celtics to 66 regular-season wins and an Eastern Conference title in his first season with them, isn’t worried about his teammates becoming rattled in their first trip to the big stage.

“At the end of the day, it’s just basketball,” he said. “You play the way you know. You bring what you bring, play with your heart and soul and play together, play as a team.”

The Celtics’ Big Three have waited their entire careers for their first shot at history. Bryant knows that to keep them from raising a 17th banner to Boston’s rafters, the Lakers will need to be the quicker team, the smarter team, the better team.

“From my experience, you have to execute,” he said. “You can want it worse than anybody on the planet, but if you don’t have a group of guys or a team that executes well enough to win, you’re not going to win.”

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