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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: SPURS v LAKERSMay 22, 2008Kobe BryantLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Practice Day Q. Last night you said you surveyed to see what was going on. Were you looking to become more aggressive in Game 2? KOBE BRYANT: Yeah, I mean, I just come out and do what we have been doing. I think you need to read the tempo of the game, see how we are doing as a team, how well we are playing and I made my decision accordingly. Q. The come-back last night told you what about your team? KOBE BRYANT: Well, we have matured a lot. I think getting down 20 points against the defending champs, a lot of teams probably would have started rushing, panicking. We didn't panic. We just stayed with what we do. We kept our composure and played harder. That's a good sign. Q. Do you think last night's game (indiscernible)? KOBE BRYANT: It probably lasted just last night. They have been through so many wars. They have been through enough battles to know one game is one game. Q. (Question regarding wins Game 1 in a seven-game series.) KOBE BRYANT: I don't think so. I don't see Game 1 lingering into Game 2. I think they will be ready to go. Q. (Indiscernible). KOBE BRYANT: Make a couple more shots, make a couple more stops, you know? We have to get ready for what they were doing. They came out aggressive, moving the ball. Offensively did some things that distorted us somewhat. I felt like the second half we were able to adjust to it, adjust to the speed and the angles they were playing with and able to apply some pressure. Q. (Indiscernible). KOBE BRYANT: I don't know. It is not like things just come and flow a little bit. Shots come. As a team, I got some good screens and got some good opportunities. Things just kind of snowballed from there and we all kicked it up. Q. (Question about triangle). KOBE BRYANT: I don't know. You usually call it a triangle when somebody is new to the system and they don't know what the hell they are doing. I don't know. Q. Kobe, they shot 3-21 in the fourth quarter and five turnovers. Was your guys' defense that good? Or was it a combination? KOBE BRYANT: I don't think anybody's defense is that good. I think that's a combination of them not shooting the ball well, not making shots they normally make and us applying pressure. I think it is a combination of those things always. Q. Are you able to sit back on off days and look at Coach and the coaching staff and understand (indiscernible)? KOBE BRYANT: Absolutely, I am all about marvelling at it all. They are two of the great coaches they have seen. I'm sure they both enjoy going up against each other. Yeah, those two are just -- they are two of the best. Q. Kobe, how is Sasha involved defensively? KOBE BRYANT: He wants me to say he did not give himself the name "the machine." He is sick of everybody saying he has self-proclaimed that he is the machine. So let's start there. He developed as a defensive player. When he first came here, we were a little undecided where to play him, point guard, shooting guard. He has really grown into his role. I think defensively is where he's really grown because he takes the challenge of guarding the guy and doing what he can. Q. Did Manu look slow, look injured? KOBE BRYANT: Did he look slow? No (chuckles). Q. Did you look like he was injured? KOBE BRYANT: No, no. He had a bad game. Guys have bad games every once in a while. He will bounce back, I'm sure. Q. When you guys came back from way back in Sacramento a few years ago, do you feel like because of the way the game went, it just wasn't the series, does it mean a little bit more? Or is it different? KOBE BRYANT: I think it is different because that team was already an experienced group, and we knew we could do that. Here, the guys are so long. Finished deep in the play-offs before. It was a big confidence booster for them to know we could play this well at this stage. Q. Do you limit the ball to your teammates when you are down by 20? KOBE BRYANT: I don't think it was a big deal out there. We got back in the game and played solid defense. I infused more energy into the ball club, by me going back at them and showing the guys, look, you can get buckets on this team. You just have to have confidence and be aggressive. We all kind of followed that. We have been playing that way all season. We get down 20 just the wrong way so we have to go back at it. Q. (Indiscernible) you say, okay, it is time for me to become more aggressive and take a look? KOBE BRYANT: I am not smart enough to do that. I go out and play and see what we have. If we have opportunities, we take them. If they double it, I will kick it and go from there. Q. What was the difference between the third and the fourth quarter? What changed? KOBE BRYANT: I think our defense picked up, more energy. We executed better defensively. I think that's what won the game for us. Q. How would you grade the performance of your team last night? KOBE BRYANT: I don't know. F in the first half. A in the second. Q. C all together? KOBE BRYANT: I guess if you want to average it out, I guess. End of FastScripts |
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