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NBA FINALS: MAGIC v LAKERS

June 10, 2009

Kobe Bryant

ORLANDO, FLORIDA: Practice Day

Q. So many times when Orlando has a game where they don't make shots like the other day or they make shots like yesterday, coaches will come up here and say, sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't. Is it that simple when a team is red hot or a team is ice cold that it's just not their day, or are there really other tangible factors there?
KOBE BRYANT: You have days like that, where it's just not your day. But I think the team that we're playing, you give them the looks that we gave them yesterday, last night, they're going to make those 90 percent of the time just because they're all good shooters. You get them in those 15-foot areas with good looks, runners, stuff like that, they're going to make those.
If they do have an off-day, that's something else, it's just one of those things but those are shots they're capable of making on a consistent basis.

Q. They did that in the Cleveland series, also. Is there a point, especially the Magic with the shooting streak that they have, do you consider, oh, no, here they go, this is going to be one of those nights?
KOBE BRYANT: Yeah, you know you're having a tough night when you shoot 75 percent from the field in the first half, it shows they have a lot of rhythm. When that happens it shows you have to do twice as much work to try to get them off of that. We did okay. Shot 75, finished the game with 62, so we did something right, I think.

Q. What's the challenge of finding a balance offensively, if you don't shoot enough, you're not being aggressive enough; if you shoot too much then you're trying to do too much on your own? And how difficult is that?
KOBE BRYANT: You know what, I really don't pay attention to it. I mean, my responsibility on this team, I have to do a little bit more, I've got to score and facilitate. So I have a lot more responsibilities, so I can't just go off. I've got to get my guys involved sometimes. Sometimes you're sacrificing your rhythm to try to rebuild it. Last night I couldn't regenerate it.

Q. How do you know or when do you know when you're going through a cold streak and you need to stop or when you need to keep shooting your way through it?
KOBE BRYANT: You know, if everybody is not in rhythm, if I feel like my guys are struggling that night, then I'll shoot through it. Guys get things going, then I'll keep going to them and try to find my way through it that way.

Q. What in your experience is the importance of winning on the road? How difficult is it to win on the road in the playoffs, and the importance of home court after such a long season, how much does that bear on The Finals?
KOBE BRYANT: I don't think it's too difficult to win on the road, to be honest with you. You have the team that executes very well, I don't think the road is a factor. Home court to me from my perspective is not that big a deal.

Q. Obviously they were pretty good, too, in the second half of Game 2. What's the slippage in your defense, what's causing it? What are you seeing that you guys aren't doing as well as you did in Game 1?
KOBE BRYANT: They just made adjustments to free guys up, and they know their players that we're trying to lock in on, Hedo being one of them, Rashard being the other. They're doing great things to free them up and put them in positions to score and be effective. We have to do a better job of trying to take them out of there.

Q. Is it possible to hold them to 30 percent again like the other night, or that was just an aberration, what happened in Game 1?
KOBE BRYANT: I don't know. Hopefully we can do it again.

Q. Any concern that the Magic have figured out what you guys are doing with Dwight down low as far as the double-teams from different directions and that sort of thing?
KOBE BRYANT: Oh, of course. There's always concern. You've always got to be on edge and be mindful of what your opposition is doing and how well they're playing and what they've figured out or not figured out.
Yeah, of course, that's a little bit of a concern.

Q. Are you aware of how well you have played coming off a loss with one day in between games? You guys are undefeated, and you have played particularly well in those games. Is that a conscious thing on your part, and what is your reaction to some speculation that you may have hit a wall last night, that you're tired?
KOBE BRYANT: I mean, I'm aware of bouncing back after a tough loss. Hopefully we can do it again.
As far as me hitting the wall, so what if I did? I didn't, but so what if I did?

Q. What does it mean if you did?
KOBE BRYANT: It means nothing.

Q. Because?
KOBE BRYANT: Because I'll run straight through it.

Q. At one point in the first half I think they had 21 of 24 and they were only up one point. Do you guys take a little comfort in it took an incredible night for them shooting and they still only won by four?
KOBE BRYANT: No, because this team can stay hot for weeks (laughing). It's not like they shot the ball very well yesterday. I mean, they're in this position because they shoot the ball well. It's not something that is just a fluke or one game where they got hot. I mean, they can get hot and stay hot. When that happens, you're dealing with a monster.

Q. You mentioned last night the disappointment you had in not coming through for your teammates. Was that one of the more disappointing evenings you've had in a big game like this?
KOBE BRYANT: Yeah. Yeah, it was disappointing. There was a couple mistakes that I made that I wouldn't mind getting back. That being said, you've got to pick your head up, put one foot in front of the other and keep on moving.

Q. When you guys have had these tough losses at the playoffs, you've come out to the press conference, stayed pretty even keel. Is that something that the whole team has, like in terms of not getting too devastated based on losses? And did you think you learned that at some point during the season or in The Finals last year?
KOBE BRYANT: I think it just comes from experience. We know you can't get too high, can't get too low. You win a game, no big deal, move on to the next one. You lose one, no big deal, move on to the next one. That's the kind of attitude I think you have to have in these playoffs.

Q. Is there anything about Phil's coaching that you appreciate today that maybe you did not appreciate two, four, eight years ago?
KOBE BRYANT: Meditation probably. Meditation. I'm a lot older now, have a little bit more patience now to be able to understand his teachings, his philosophy in terms of meditation and breathing, things of that nature.

Q. Do you do that more these days than you did then earlier in your career?
KOBE BRYANT: Absolutely.

End of FastScripts

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