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NBA FINALS: LAKERS v CELTICS

June 15, 2008

Phil Jackson

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game Five

Q. Do you think it's kind of like, I mean, to your advantage to an extent that if you can draw this thing out -- you obviously have to win every game, but as banged up as the Celtics are, you have to look at the end of the rainbow, that maybe you've got a shot to pull this thing out.
PHIL JACKSON: The only way you approach this is to just keep playing, just playing keep and understand that in this situation, a lot of things can happen. We're young enough and dumb enough to be able to do this (laughter).

Q. It's been a very public week for NBA officials and especially Dick Bavetta who's working tonight's game. Any thoughts you have on that whole situation?
PHIL JACKSON: Well, I thought it had receded, but now you've brought it up again. I think it's something that is best settled for the summer, and it's something that the off-season and the preseason next year, the NBA will have a chance to really discuss it and talk about it.
This past year before the season started they sent out a delegate of people that took some notes from officials in the ballclub, suggestions that could aid the refereeing situation, and I think they got a lot of material. I know I spent two or three hours sitting with some people talking about it, and we really haven't found out even if that was digested, employed or implemented in the referee situation.
But we hope that the summer brings some things around that will just cool this off and we can have some confidence again with the public about our refereeing situation.

Q. Yesterday in practice we saw you having this long conversation with Mr. Avram Grant, who's a soccer coach that used to manage the Chelsea Football Club. Please let us know what you guys talked about.
PHIL JACKSON: We talked about obviously the situation that happened with Chelsea in the Manchester game, the disappointment John Terry had obviously after missing that goal kick that he had that was a winner that didn't happen for him, and the support -- I wanted to know the support he gave his players in that type of a situation.

Q. Was anything help?
PHIL JACKSON: Yeah, we just talked about what kind of character that Terry had. So we exchanged some ideas about coaching.

Q. Do you have a working title for your new book, and do you think by then you'll actually figure out what's going on with Lamar Odom these days?
PHIL JACKSON: I didn't catch the last. What did you say at the end?

Q. Do you think you'll ever figure out by then what's going on with Lamar Odom in terms of inconsistency? I know you love the guy for the things he can do, but the consistency.
PHIL JACKSON: No (smiling).

Q. No, you don't ever think you'll figure that out?
PHIL JACKSON: No to both questions (laughter).

Q. You talked about being young enough. Is there a different feeling in terms of their psyche from your viewpoint, or will it take until they tip off and start playing early in the game before you really know how their psyche is?
PHIL JACKSON: You know, I felt the veteran players on our team responded really well, and the light was back in their eyes; they're ready to go. Our bench didn't score in the second half of this game on Thursday night, and I really wanted them to get the confidence back because they've supported us all year, and that's where I need to see the confidence come back in their faces, their eyes.

Q. Did you guys have a shootaround today, and if so, what was the mood like?
PHIL JACKSON: It was good. Yes, we did.

Q. And have the guys recovered now from Thursday night's situation, debacle, whatever you want to call it?
PHIL JACKSON: You know, it's hard to tell. In an early-morning situation, I think that one of the things we're trying to do is just keep thoughts focused on what's happening right now in tonight's game, and that's the thing that you keep warning players about, just be focused here, now, not anything else beyond this, not even the trip tomorrow back to Boston. Just focus on what's happening here.

Q. Parting words from the last day or two, is there a theme you're trying to hammer home to the players?
PHIL JACKSON: I think I've said it maybe two or three times since we've been here in this situation (smiling).

Q. You told them they were young enough and dumb enough?
PHIL JACKSON: Just be in the present, just play in this game now. Don't think about anything else that's going on, about what could happen tomorrow or anything else, but about tonight's game.

Q. A lot of people are talking about it, radio people, et cetera, about the crowd let you guys down in the second half the other night. Your thoughts?
PHIL JACKSON: (Laughing) the crowd is not going to make any shots for us, that's for sure, or play defense. But I do think that there's a lot of -- you could hear the crowd get tense and worried when you're there. There was a sense at some point at the end of the third quarter that, gee, this is slipping away, and you could hear the crowd. That's not unusual for an LA crowd. We know how to play in front of an LA crowd, so that's not something that we need or we feel like we lost support of the crowd.

Q. Last year at the end of the Phoenix series there was kind of a questionable moment with Kobe taking shots or not taking shots, and there were --
PHIL JACKSON: Two years ago, that was two years ago.

Q. Sorry, two years ago. And Kevin Garnett was kind of suggesting or saying explicitly at the end of the last game that Kobe does what he does as far as facilitating early and then looks to take it over. Have you discussed with Kobe, is there a concrete game plan or is there more of just respond to the game or be aggressive early? Can you give us a feel for that?
PHIL JACKSON: Well, I think it's more respond to his teammates and how they're approaching the game. If they're aggressive and they're energized and they're playing the kind of basketball that we need to play, you know, then he can sit back and be a facilitator. If they need his direction in attack mode with the ball, then that's where he's going to take the bull by the horns and start playing ball the way he can, and only he can in this game.

End of FastScripts

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