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NBA FINALS: PISTONS v LAKERSJune 6, 2004Kobe BryantLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game One Q. When you were looking at tapes of Hamilton, what tendencies did he have that you thought you could exploit against him when you were guarding him? KOBE BRYANT: I didn't really think too much about his tendencies. Just tried to shadow him, that's all, just stay in his face all night long and get to be pretty annoying. Just chase him all over the place. Q. Where was the hunger tonight, the passion in the squad in the first game of the NBA Finals? It seemed Detroit controlled the tempo and the aggression. KOBE BRYANT: It was us getting a feel for what they try to do defensively, sizing them up and getting their rhythm. They did an incredible job executing. Larry Brown prepared them extremely well and they came out and carried out their game plan to perfection. It was a good game played by them for 48 minutes. Q. You talk about playing the length of Tayshaun Prince, when they put Lindsey Hunter on you, you went right at him, fadeaway jumper, good. It seemed to be difficult playing against someone like Tayshaun? KOBE BRYANT: I think this is my second time I've played against him. First few times it was really early in the season and I didn't have my legs. So, you know, tonight is really the first time I really have the opportunity to kind of size him up, size up his length and it's an interesting challenge. He's very long. He knows how to use his length and, you know, it's going to be interesting. Q. Talk about Game 2. You guys have been in this situation, and we asked Shaq about it, being down 1-0 in the Finals against Philly. Talk about Game 2. KOBE BRYANT: We are just going to break down this game and see what we can learn from it, come back from Game 2 and try to win that one. You know, it's a big challenge. It's a big challenge. But I think we're up for it. Q. What reason do you think Fish and George and Mailman didn't get involved in the game? It just seemed like you and Shaq out there, they were not getting the open looks they usually get and it really showed in the statistics and everything that it was you and Shaq. KOBE BRYANT: You know, I think Detroit did a great job defensively mixing up their defenses and really not letting them get off in the past few series, we've been able to rely on throwing the ball in to Shaq, and teams coming down in double and he's able to kick it out and get other guys involved that way. This year we have to go deeper into our offense and we practice that every day. We have to be able to utilize the triangle and really cut guys up so that our teammates are not just threats as spot-ups, but they become, you know, really aggressive offensive threats off of penetration and cuts and things like that. Q. Do you feel the soft press that Detroit threw at you after they scored baskets took seconds off the 24-second clock? It was more difficult for you guys to get into your offense that you were talking about. KOBE BRYANT: It did take some seconds off the clock obviously, but I don't think that was critical to our lack of execution. I think it's us getting back to basics of trying one-on-one and really having everybody be a threat offensively as opposed to just being spot-up players. Q. Can you talk about some of the adjustments, or if there are any, you may have to make on Chauncey Billups? You made some adjustments in the San Antonio series on Tony Parker. Can you talk about him and what you have to do against him in the next game? KOBE BRYANT: Him and Tony are different players. Tony was so fast. Chauncey, he likes to size guys up more. He's kind of an offbeat type of player, and we'll have to break down the film and see where he hurt us, what parts of the game he hurt us at and make the adjustments accordingly. Q. Obviously this is the series that Karl and Gary came here for. How difficult was it to start with a loss and neither of them got going tonight? KOBE BRYANT: I'm sure it's a difficult game for them as it is for all of us. But, you know, seven-game series, and as always, Game 2 is up next. End of FastScripts... |
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