Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jacksonis an American professional basketball executive, former coach and former player, currently serving as president of the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association. Jackson was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 until 1998, during which Chicago won six NBA championships. His next team, the Los Angeles Lakers, won five championships from 2000 until 2010. In total, Jackson has won 11 NBA titles as a coach, surpassing the previous record of nine set...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth17 September 1945
CityDeer Lodge, MT
CountryUnited States of America
They almost made me get up and walk out of the building in the third quarter. They got it righted and played good defense to get back in the game. I knew that Kobe would find a way out there to help us win.
We had some dramatic plays down the stretch. Kobe stayed very well inside of what we were trying to do. We kind of died on the vine a couple of times when the shot clock was running down. Then we were able to find that penetrating pass. We were able to find a couple of things that worked for us.
That was something to behold -- it was another level. At halftime we were disturbed about the way we were playing. We came out, and Kobe just found a way to do everything.
I think he gave the ball up in various points of the year, and I think there's been a fine balance between guys stepping up and making shots and Kobe trusting his teammates. It hasn't got to the point where it's not happening, where I'm disappointed, but there's opportunities that still could be there that have to be exploited even more and we have to recognize that as a team.
I felt at some times Kobe might have taken advantage of our flexibility,
We're not looking for Kobe to score 50 or 30 or 80. We're just looking for it to fit together. We want players to blend their talents together.
To me, right there, enough said - Kobe Bryant (third team), not acceptable.
We were relying on Kobe and Kobe couldn't shoot the ball because of a hand injury. He was just reluctant to shoot.
We got in a situation where we were waiting for Kobe?s hand to get hot. We started trying to force it in to him and that hurt us. Kobe had a hard time chasing Dixon around screens.
I told the guys that the team is going to double- and triple-team Kobe at the end. So he's not going to get the ball. Somebody else is going to have to step and make shots.
It was a game where our rebounds and defense really failed us and eventually, I had to think about an offensive unit that could do some things to try and catch up. Kobe obviously wasn't right tonight, but this is the second time Blake has scored big against us in critical situations.
It's not going to be about Kobe getting 45 points a night. It's going to be about how are we going to use all the talents to do what we have to do to take a team apart.
It was quite an exhibition for three quarters Kobe put on tonight. I've seen a few 60-point ballgames in my time, but none of them had been done by the third quarter.
It was quite an exhibition for three quarters Kobe put on. I've seen a few 60-point ballgames in my time, but none of them had been done by the third quarter.