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.
Kobe is missing out by not finding a way to become part of a system that involves giving to something larger than himself.
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.
They played Kobe tough and a little harder than the refs wanted to see.
Kobe had to take some heat for that, as if he was the one who manufactured that (O'Neal) trade. All those things were made to look like there was a scapegoat in this situation, and there wasn't.
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 told Kobe that's the one area where I'll try not to disclose,
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 will affect our season, there's no doubt about it. And we're going to live with it, ... We're going to deal with it. And we're fortunate to have made some moves that will help us, regardless of what happens in the Kobe situation.
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 am pleased with Kobe and how he controlled the offense. We had people open because they were doubling him and that got some people open and we found them.
Kobe played a game in which he really controlled the offense from his position. He really doesn't play guard very often. We had people open because he got double-teamed. In the first half, Cook hit his shots.
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.
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.