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
When it doesn't produce wins, that's the fine line. And then players . . . also have to feel like they're a part of it. If they are, then they play at a better level.
I've talked to other players that were there, but that was played in like complete silence. I guess there was a radio announcer there, but there was nothing else that you could even document it. People don't even know if they had a backboard or nets.
It was the way the game played out. We had guys open, there were situations that were going right.
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.
There's plenty of time to look at this for a while until either he shows improvement or else we go back to more of a basic offensive standard ... and take that guard responsibility away. Move him into a forward place where he can make plays and he can still be a participant in the offense.
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.
The team played well enough to win it, but they didn't finish. When you're on the road, you have to do some things to win, because it's a bit extra special.
We have a lot of players at that position and, obviously, we've got to make cuts soon. Our desire is to find a place for him and a good opportunity for him and Charlotte was a team that really and truly did want him.
That's what happens when a team plays with some desperation.
I was very disappointed with the road trip. We had players injured and our team was not competing as hard as it could. The injuries hurt our team morale.
I think he has a level of confidence that gives him the understanding of what he can and can't do in this game. I think he's playing within the groundwork of what he's capable of doing, which is really important.
We got them mired into our style of play. They were playing at a level above us and we got them to come down to our level. ... We just couldn't seem to finish it.
We haven't even talked about Miami, so this has been about playing the other team.
Obviously the game was determined by Howard leaving so early. That took a lot of energy away from them and we played well as a group.