Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryantis an American retired professional basketball player. He played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships with the Lakers. Bryant is an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and 12-time member of the All-Defensive team. He led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, and ranks third on both the league's all-time regular season scoring and...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth23 August 1978
CityPhiladelphia, PA
CountryUnited States of America
I went after it a little bit more aggressively and the team did a good job looking for me. I felt we had to get something going in the third quarter.
They came out and they zoned up and they trapped and they doubled, and we just continued to move the ball. It took me three quarters to kind of get the rhythm down on what they were trying to do defensively so I could go into attack mode in the fourth quarter, where I was able to start attacking the basket a little bit and get something going.
They basically ran the ball down our throats in the first half, so we had to get adjusted to the tempo. In the second half, we were able to get a bead on them a little bit better.
We did a good job of digging in defensively. We just tried to keep them uncomfortable. Try to take them out of their sets and try and take them out a little bit of the things they like to do.
I think their experience kicked in and overwhelmed us a bit tonight, ... We kept fighting back and did some great things with our execution. Our inexperience on defense hurt us, as they were spreading the floor extremely well and getting good looks at the basket.
When we all walked in, you could feel their spirits being uplifted, like they felt very encouraged and happy that we were there. It was just real cool to see that. To be able to go back (to New Orleans), play a game there and be able to uplift them again, that's special.
We both know what we need to do. And we're both determined to make it happen.
We botched the play up and didn't execute it right. The spacing was messed up. We had a nice screen and roll situation. ... We just didn't execute if properly.
We're more than good. It's beyond comprehension. That's my guy. We go out on the road. After games, we sit and talk. We review film on the plane. That's why it bothers me when somebody says something like that.
We're pleased with the way we played. We feel good.
We're just not going to do it, period.
We're a young team. We tend to be very up and down, which you expect with a young team. Sometimes we play extremely well, sometimes we don't. The main thing is when you go through stretches when you don't play very well is to try to stop the bleeding before it starts bleeding profusely.
We wanted to win the game, the game was in the bag, it was in the refrigerator. There was no reason for me to go back in.
We're starting to play with more of a purpose now, and a clear concept of what we're trying to accomplish out there.