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NBA FINALS: MAGIC v LAKERSJune 7, 2009Phil JacksonLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game Two Q. Fisher was talking the other day about the way this group has come together and sort of learned who they are, and I wonder what it's meant to you to be a part of this group and that coming together. PHIL JACKSON: Well, more than anything else, I think Fish is a catalyst for that. He came back and assumed the role as captain and co-captain, and he holds a lot of sway with the players, talks to them a lot about their sacrifice, their role, what they have to do, and it really keeps things in line out there. Q. What about your sense of being part of it? What does it mean to you to be connected to these guys in the way that you are? PHIL JACKSON: Well, there's always that paternal role a coach has at some level, watching players develop relationships, enjoying the company of each other and also understand their roles in teams. Q. The media or even the fans tend to get maybe overexcited maybe about how the team won in Game 1 and how dominant the performance was and maybe want to apply that to this game. How do you keep your players from kind of buying into that? And they must hear it from either friends and just the encouragement. How do you not feel good about Game 1 so you don't come into Game 2 with a fat head? PHIL JACKSON: Well, that's not an easy task, obviously, but the motto we have is you're only as successful as the last successful thing you've done. So that's over, and the next one begins. So you have to recreate that. Until you do that, it's all false hope and promises there. This game is not going to be like the last game. Probably won't resemble the last game at all except the players that are on the floor. Q. You say that to your young players. Other than saying it, are they mature now maybe after last year where maybe they understand it better? PHIL JACKSON: That's to be seen. That's why we have these games. That's why we play seven of them, have a seven-game series. Q. Do you anticipate the Magic trying to get a little bigger lineup a little sooner in the game? And what other adjustments will the Magic make that you're planning for? PHIL JACKSON: We have to look at the fact that it's an up-tempo team. They didn't have a whole lot of transition offense in the last game, so probably look for the early offense. The other aspect of the game is how much will they go in the post. The final thing that we have to prevent is penetration through screen rolls and that liberates a lot of the three-point shooters. We know they're going to get three-point shots, we just want to be able to contest them. Q. There's been a lot of talk the last couple of days about Kobe's willfulness in these games. I just wonder over the time you've coached him has that aspect changed at all, and if so, how? PHIL JACKSON: That was a contentious point for us when I first got here because I felt that there were a lot of times Kobe was trying to commandeer games, take them over, and at that level with the team and talent we had, we didn't have to have that kind of an activity or maybe a presence on the floor because you always had the equalizers to be able to throw the ball into a post player and slow things down or take control of the game through that. So I think over the years he's kind of learned appropriately how the game feels, what it feels like, and the difference between perhaps taking on a challenge of an individual to the challenge of a team. Q. If you get one more you'll be the winningest coach ever. Why haven't you ever coached the Olympic teams or the U.S. teams the last few years with your track record? PHIL JACKSON: There was an opportunity maybe six or eight years ago where Mitch, who's served also on the USA Basketball team council at that time, asked me if I wanted to be part of that coaching staff, and I said no, I really didn't. It's something I've never desired to do. I opted out at that time. I was asked by the Canadians if I'd like to coach their Olympic team. Steve Nash wasn't a mature enough player yet, so I had to turn that one down (laughter). Q. Not that Kobe has ever been anything but hungry, but have you ever seen him hungrier than he is at this moment? PHIL JACKSON: Well, I think it's a culmination of having that total effort that he had to give for the Olympic team, dedication over two years and two summers and then coming back last year and having the opportunity to get to The Finals and being denied. I think that just makes it seem more of a challenge, an interesting challenge for him, because he's been continually playing basketball now for two years almost. Q. And seven years since his last title, and after three or four years of post-Shaquille struggles? PHIL JACKSON: Yes, that's certainly made a difference. Q. I know this might not be in your screen right now, but it's unusual to have a coach and a manager of such historical significance, with you and Joe Torre almost up the street from each other. It would seem like you're in some ways similar in the way you approach your job. Do you study successful people in other sports? PHIL JACKSON: I definitely follow the major sports' championships, and I think that Joe's low key manner is something to what I have. He seems to be able to take everything in hand, also handle the players' personalities I think is a big part of that. That part of it, I know he's got to be real good at because of the type of characters that he's had in various spots. But it's not a similar support in regards to basketball. I used to talk a lot of baseball with the owner of the Chicago Bulls, the former boss of myself and the owner of the White Sox, Jerry Reinsdorf, and we used to talk baseball a lot because I coached baseball as a young man in college. Anyway, it was my first coaching job, and I know kind of the route that goes on, and Reinsdorf always used to say, well, it's probably more difficult than coaching baseball because you've always got to make a move. Every single move is another chess situation for you. Yes, I know. While we go to sleep watching baseball, of course, I know that it's a very intense game and there's a lot of different challenges out there. But basketball is such a continuous active sport that there's so many emotions that rise and fall with basketball, it really is a sport where managing really the temperament of the players is almost a critical element of coaching. Q. Can you talk about Kobe's desire to maximize his potential when he came in as a rookie or when you first started to coach him, do you think he had a capacity for the kind of talent he had and the time it's taken to realize it? PHIL JACKSON: Yeah, one of the things about Kobe's entrance into this game is that he came in early, at 17, turned 18 before actually the first season started, and was doing desirous of doing everything at once, making the All-Star Team. The maturation wasn't there, even though he really desired a lot of things and worked real hard to get it. But maturation is something you just can't -- that just has to take place. So experience has been a great teacher for him. He brought to it all the desire and all the elements of having to work hard and not taking shortcuts. That was really a good thing for him because it's brought him to this level. But until he really started to see what a leadership role is all about, that it wasn't just about going out and showing guys how you can beat another opponent, but it's about supporting your teammates, empathetically, as well, that's really helped him mature as a player to this level. Q. Now that we're talking about the two stages of Kobe, can you talk about the difference of dealing with him in stage 1, stage 2? PHIL JACKSON: No, I can't. (Laughter). End of FastScripts |
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