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
Kobe fought his way through it tonight. It was one of those games where the numbers of shots he took was too high, but he thought he was going to get fouled and he took the shots because he felt the pressure on him.
I didn't think he had good legs. He told me in the fourth quarter he was going to get hot, that he felt like he was getting in his rhythm, and he hit in a few in the fourth quarter. But, he was really bothered by Bell. He did a great job on him.
I think it's a matter of trust, a matter of rebuilding the trust that we had, ... And yes, I have talked to Kobe; he actually called me this morning to congratulate me on the job. And I felt confident that he's confident that we can go forward.
I felt they were self-directed out there. They knew what they wanted to run. They broke down the double-teams and I didn't have to burn timeouts to explain it to them. That was satisfying to me.
Our game plan was to exploit the middle and do the things we wanted to, but he (Bryant) was still supposed to be a force over on that side of the offense. I just felt he never really got in rhythm until the end, and we said ?Just go after it.
I think he looks comfortable playing. That's the one thing I felt last year - that he didn't look comfortable playing.
There's a process teams go through to put themselves in a competitive place. And when they get to that position, I felt like if they want me to coach that team, I'd have to listen to them, because of my connections in New York and my connections as a Knick.
I think they felt intimidated at some point in this playoff. ...Our big guys have been effective. ... They just wanted to make a stand and make a statement.
They really crowded Shaq well and did not give him a good look in the lane. He struggled to find a position in the lane all night.
It means something to the fans; it's territorial bragging rights for them.
The more you draw attention to it, the worse it becomes. So it's better just to show up and swallow your pride.
Red and I, I think, have a mutual admiration. That's all I can say.
And then mentally, do I have the patience to see that through?
Houston had some injuries to veterans and we were able to overwhelm them in the second half.