"I just look at it in hindsight," Sloan said. "This team (the Jazz) has to prepare themselves for whoever we're playing. And I think we can play against anybody. But we can't have stretches where we fall apart.

"We have to be strong mentally," he added, "and we have to be a lot tougher defensively."

While the preseason that gets under way tonight is all about preparation, Sloan sees the playoffs as being all about figuring out how to win possession basketball.

"They'd make a little run here and there; we've got to make stops," he said.

Williams, for one, vows not to purge the memory.

"I thought we could have played better that series," he said Monday. "You know, I thought it was rough for us. They posed a lot of matchup problems for us, and I don't think we defended them very well."

But, Williams hastened to add, "They were definitely the better team in that series."

And he won't ever forget it.

NBA preseason

Jazz at Lakers
Honda Center,
Anaheim, Calif.
8 p.m.
TV: KJZZ RADIO: 1320AM

---

E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com