|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NBA FINALS: PISTONS v LAKERSJune 13, 2004Phil JacksonDETROIT, MICHIGAN: Game Four Q. Nobody said anything about it, but they are always talking about the Western Conference having the best teams. Is it possible that coming through the Spurs, the Rockets and the Timberwolves has taken a lot out of you all and that you are a little bit pooped because of that? COACH PHIL JACKSON: I think that we're doing just fine. We're going to be okay. You know, the injuries that we've incurred to a couple of our ballplayers the last game against Minnesota, I think affected us in games 1, 2, 3, particularly Karl. But we are doing better as we go along. We just need to extend the series right now. Q. Have you decided on any lineup changes, and if so -- COACH PHIL JACKSON: Yes, I have. Q. Can you give us -- COACH PHIL JACKSON: You'll see at game time. Q. What's your thinking about doing it at this stage as opposed to another game or another day? COACH PHIL JACKSON: As opposed to thinking about? Q. What's your thinking behind doing it now? COACH PHIL JACKSON: Well, we need some revitalization in our lineup. We need to get going. But we'll make a game-time decision. There will be a lineup that in ten minutes I'll announce to the official scorer. Q. I'm curious about your process of getting from Game 3 to Game 4 in terms of your lineup. What sort of things are you measuring beyond just who is playing well and who is not in terms of loyalty, in terms of anything like that you're thinking about? COACH PHIL JACKSON: Well, it really, it's a matter of rebounds and second-chance points right now, that's our problem. We think that if we solve those kind of problems, we'll be fine. That's all reaction to the ball. If we get ballplayers that are hurt on the floor, we're going to have to adjust. I think I have to signify and register that they either can't do it or they can play. We've got some game guys that really want to perform and do the best job, but right now, that's not good enough, unless they can play above 80 percent or 85 percent of their capabilities. Q. I assume you've never had to make as big of a lineup decision between Game 3 and 4 in the NBA Finals, has it been a trying process in terms of making those decisions? COACH PHIL JACKSON: No, I think it's been fruitful. I like involvement with players. I like the proactive kind of leadership that the team gives. Q. In terms of the decision you're making for tonight's game, you said you were going to sleep on it last night. At this stage, how difficult was the decision for you to come to? COACH PHIL JACKSON: You know, I weighed the decisions about some things. I also talked to some players about their health. Those are all part of it. It was a process that didn't just happen last night on sleeping on it. It happened this morning in workout, too. Q. How much of a factor was the players coming to you and openly discussing with you and suggesting to you? COACH PHIL JACKSON: Well, I think -- I know their sentiments as players, it was, as I said, a proactive decision. We had to step it up. We expressed a desire, who wants it the most to win this series, etc., With the team, previously in the locker room with the ballplayers that night or that afternoon. And so those were just the players who wanted to respond, which is good. Q. It seems like Detroit is dominating the tempo of the game. It's a tempo Detroit wants. How do you go about causing this to be the tempo for the Lakers? COACH PHIL JACKSON: Rebound the ball. Q. And run? COACH PHIL JACKSON: Rebound the ball, yeah. Get out and push the ball up the court. If you are either on the free throw line, you know, and having foul shots, and dealing with free throw line situations or taking the ball out of bounds, those are the things that really set tempo. If you can rebound the ball, you have your own tempo to set. The times we did that we were regularly effective at the end of the first half, but we didn't get that kind of rebounding effort or the ability to play defense without a foul during the course of the games, and most of the series, as a matter of fact. Q. Just curious about your thoughts on Magic Johnson's comments. COACH PHIL JACKSON: Didn't read them, didn't see them, but that's typical of me. Secondhand information. We deal with Magic sometimes having to say some things that interject into our business and the team. He is an owner. We have to respect what he says. He wants us to represent the team and L.A. well, so I think his sentiments are fine. The rest of it, I don't know. You know, I've heard various comments, but I haven't seen anything, so I can't comment about statements that were insinuating about Karl and Gary Payton. Q. You've had teams in these situations before, San Antonio, other than home court, Chicago, I think '93 Conference Finals, crucial game ahead, is there any difference between this situation and this team and those situations? COACH PHIL JACKSON: I think that we had home-court advantage, I think you mentioned that in your remark. I think that we had healthy teams, really healthy teams. There's a big difference. Basketball is a game of reactions. It's the ability to react to situations out there that trigger turnovers, rebounds and things that create running opportunities. We have to be able to establish that tonight, and that's really important. Then we have to come out aggressive, even though we have talked about the amount of disparity between the fouls, we have to be aggressive to set a tempo or a tone in the game and establish it, so that's really our comments about the game, and we know we can do it. We've turned that corner a few times, especially during this playoffs in almost every single one of our series.
End of FastScripts... |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|