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NBA FINALS: MAGIC v LAKERSJune 11, 2009Phil JacksonORLANDO, FLORIDA: Game Four Q. I know we might have to wait until your book comes out, but I'm curious, you've alluded to it a few times during this series, has Kobe been a little bit uncoachable at times in the sense that you have to remind him to involve his teammates? PHIL JACKSON: No. Q. Alonzo Mourning on an interview yesterday said this about you: "I think Phil is just showing up to tell you the truth, and Kobe is doing all the work to make this team successful." What do you think of Alonzo Mourning's comment? PHIL JACKSON: That's a pretty good assessment from a guy who played 15 years or so in the NBA. Q. Do you buy it? PHIL JACKSON: Kobe is doing a lot of the work. I'm just here kind of sitting on my chair (laughter). Q. Can you talk a little bit about how I guess as a coach having done this for a while and also just job security-wise, you're not likely to be fired any time soon, changes, how you approach coaching a Finals? And is it different for you now than it might have been earlier in your career? PHIL JACKSON: No, I don't think so. I think the pressure is all self-generated from winning. There is a sense of urgency, perhaps, when you're a little unsure of yourself starting in this business. But I think it's all generated by self-drive, internal drive. Q. Is it easier to take risks as a coach when you know -- PHIL JACKSON: Yeah, that's true. That part is true. Q. Do you think there's still a stigma attached to the three-point shot? It's been around for 30 years, but some people would say it's a desperation shot, it's not good basketball. And if it was around when you were playing with the Knicks, how would Coach Holzman would have used it? PHIL JACKSON: Well, I think to go back a second, my college coach, a mentor of mine, Bill Fitch, came to my retirement ceremony in Chicago in '99, and he had drawn an arc and what amount of shots were taken between the lane and the three-point line. At that time it was something like 5 percent of the shots were taken between the lane and the three-point line. It has really changed our game dramatically. The Knick team had two or three shooters that could shoot that distance comfortably, and their big guys, DeBusschere and Jerry Lucas, obviously Dick Barnett were long-range shooters, but while Frazier and Bradley were more interior. Yeah, Holzman would have used it. I think we should go to the four-point line now, that's beyond half point. You might as well give another point for the credit of distance. Q. Speaking of rule changes, do you think the game is better now? Stan always mentions since the defensive rules have changed to allow the ball to flow more freely along the perimeter that it's a more offensive game, do you think that's a better game? PHIL JACKSON: Yes, I do. I think they made a good decision about the rules. I think that's helped the league a lot as far as movement of the ball. There's still stagnation that I think is created by the fact that basketball was never a designated territory area. It's kind of like soccer. I played on 50-foot courts in high school growing up in the north, and when the courts reverted -- the free-throw line reverted back to the half-court line when you crossed it and there was all kinds of rules that went along with it, but basketball generates a 95-foot level, 50-foot or 58-foot width, and I've always been a person that says we need to lengthen our court and widen it just a little bit to make the game a more open game again. We've kind of -- with those kind of standard rules, I think that has to be looked at as far as changing the game a little bit. But I think the game the way it is, more cutting and more driving and less stagnation. Q. 60 percent of the starters in this year's Finals didn't play U.S. college ball. Do you attach any significance to the six of the ten starters not having played in the U.S. collegiately? And what is your opinion on the one-and-done policy? PHIL JACKSON: I hope they make it two-and-done in the future, the near future. I think the NCAA would be very happy if we did two, promote that, because it's just extenuated the rules being abrogated by colleges, and everybody is getting the Dutch over because these kids are worth $30, $40, $50 million while these kids are still 18 years of age. It's just created a stigma with AAU ball, which really is not good. That's been a great source of -- the credibility of coaches in the college ranks is great. The skills they learn is terrific coming into that game that haven't been there, having to learn skills that are difficult to teach sometimes when habits have been entrenched. So I'm a big proponent of colleges and hopefully the NBA moving it to two years or 20 years being the minimum age. That being said, talent is talent, and a lot of these young men, we have a number of foreign players obviously that are out there, but a lot of these young players have jumped from high school to college that are here starting, and it does say the talent does stand out, the cream rises to the top. Q. You didn't get the ball to Pau Gasol in Game 3 much, when he was 9-for-11, and will that be a focal point of that game? PHIL JACKSON: It is for every game. They've done a good job at trying to keep us from getting the ball inside. I think they've done a good job at space defense in that regard. We will keep trying to get the ball inside. He's been very good in this series. Q. What is it specifically about this group of players that has made them so successful on the road in the regular season and in the playoffs? PHIL JACKSON: I think that's where having a player like Kobe Bryant really helps a team. He's obviously got a reputation as a closer, but he comes out a lot of times and establishing the team early. So the team struggles a little bit, he can get going a little bit and get them off to a start. Q. How do you think The Finals experience affects a team the following year, whether it be good or bad, in your experience? PHIL JACKSON: I think it's a valued experience. I think for us it's been motivational force. Experience-wise is dealing with probably life away from basketball more than anything else. As you know, I've been one that has said the NBA takes the fun out of The Finals because of all this that goes on, regulated practices and all of the things that are regulated. But it's the time of our life in the same regard. This is a great time. It's just monitoring your energy during that period of time that's important for players and coaches. Q. Do you think that Orlando is caught up in what you were doing defensively? And do you have to change up on that? PHIL JACKSON: Well, I think they've done more at the other end of the court. I think that's where they've made the best adjustments is their defense. They're really making it difficult for entry passes where he really wants to get the ball, and we have made adjustments at both ends. Q. You held them to 75 points in the first game. Obviously by Game 3 it's a whole different thing. PHIL JACKSON: They had a lot of middle penetration that they didn't get in the game No. 1. We could send them out and down most of the time, and they've started to get middle penetration, which changes how we defensively can keep them at bay. Q. I want to go back to the abrupt "no" when we first started this thing. When you deal with Kobe, do you always know what he's going to do in terms of taking games -- I know you're into this team concept and all that stuff. Do you struggle with that still a little bit? PHIL JACKSON: No. End of FastScripts |
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