Phil Jackson hedges Shaquille O'Neal's take on Dwight Howard

Phil Jackson is zen enough to understand where his former superstar Shaquille O'Neal is coming from in dissing Dwight Howard. Phil Jackson is zen enough to disagree anyway.

Phil Jackson is zen and knows basketball and therefore is qualified to break down the games of the Los Angeles Lakers former and current star centers. And he did just that in an ESPN radio interview Friday. Via ESPN Los Angeles, here are some highlights:

"Brook (Lopez) and Andrew (Bynum) are guys who have good touches. They're good scoring players and they have good offensive games," Jackson said on the Waddle and Silvy Show on ESPN 1000 in Chicago on Friday.

"Dwight is a guy that has that amazing athletic ability but the overall game — rebounding, defending, blocking shots, running the court — this is a guy that runs with the wolves, so to speak. He can get up and down that court as quick as any of the guards and forwards because of his athletic ability.

"Dwight's learning the post game and I think he has improved over the last couple years with his left hand. It looks like he's shooting the ball a lot better. He used to be a guy that you felt like you had to keep out of the lane. If you could do that, he was going to be limited in his scoring. Now he's developing some of the offensive game."

O'Neal and Howard have been linked forever. They both are centers with freakish athleticism unmatched by any rivals. They both are both former No. 1 overall draft picks by the Orlando Magic. They both have been nicknamed "Superman." Now they both are stars who left the Magic to join the Lakers.

That factors into why O'Neal says he prefers Lopez, the Brooklyn Nets center, and Bynum, whom the Lakers traded to the Philadelphia 76ers as part of the four-team Howard deal. Howard publicly brushed off the criticism Thursday, but his words betrayed a little hurt.

Phil Jackson is zen enough to understand both sides.