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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: SUNS v LAKERSMay 26, 2010Phil JacksonLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Practice Day Q. You were talking about defense being a problem last night. If defense was the problem, is it a matter or was it a matter of effort or knowledge of where to go and get back on defense? COACH JACKSON: I thought as opposed to both those things, I thought that Phoenix was able to come over our back and rattle us for four rebounds, offensive rebounds in the first part of the game and set a tone in the ballgame that we weren't defensively as firm as I wanted us to be. Outside of the run they had in the second quarter, I was okay with that. We know they're going to have a run like that during the course of the Series. But to let them come back in the fourth again is just untenable. It just wasn't right. We made corrective things and tried to get them to happen, and they came back and haunted us again with the three threes there in a row in a critical part of the game. And I think that was lack of understanding just exactly what way to do things was. Q. So you could see their confidence growing and growing after the last two games, can't you? COACH JACKSON: Yes, they're shooting the ball very well. Although, they went very dry at certain times and that will happen. You live with three point shots you're going to have ups and downs in periods of time, but they seemed to step into the shots with more confidence. Q. How do you compare the confidence of the Suns winning their two home games similar to what Oklahoma City did as well? COACH JACKSON: Well, your teams play behind their supporters or their rooters a lot better. But this Phoenix team is not just a young team like Oklahoma. They're a team that does do well out on the road. They've been a good road team, and we know that it's not just the fortune of having people yelling support for you. Now you are probably going to get more foul shots on your home court, and that is a disparity that was awfully large in the two games there. So we hope we can kind of tone that down. Q. You guys dominated the first two games. They dominated the second -- COACH JACKSON: They dominated it? Q. Well, they won handily. COACH JACKSON: Okay. They had a margin at the end. Q. They had a 7-point margin? COACH JACKSON: It was a 4-point game going in the down stretch there. Okay, go ahead. Q. How big the margins are this time of the year, we tend to overreact. COACH JACKSON: Yes. Q. During the game in the Western Conference Finals, how can the margins make those swings go one way or another? COACH JACKSON: Well, we have the saying that everything turns on a trifle. And that goes back to an old saying that I won't repeat. But it starts out for one of a horse's nail, a shoe is lost, et cetera. And eventually it ends up the battle is lost because all for the one of the horseshoe nail. So, yeah, that's the trifle of the little things that happen. That's why I enumerated the fact that those rebounds that started off the game with guys not securing them, not being firm with them kind of allowed them to be aggressive in the course of the ballgame. Q. I understand the emotions can remain even keel, but is there a sense of urgency with the intensity of what's at hand? This potentially could be your last home game to take care of business? COACH JACKSON: Absolutely no doubt that we love this. This is what champions are made of. We have this situation in Oklahoma. We had it with Denver last year in the Finals. It should be like this. This is what it should be if you have the best teams in the West going up against each other. It should come down to a challenge like this if teams have the grit and ability. If they're here, then they should have come down it to this kind of challenge. So we want to accept that and go forward. Q. Do you think your team's comfortable having gone through these heart attack moments in the Playoffs? Are they comfortable with the feeling like this where they've gone from 2-0 to 2-2? COACH JACKSON: Yeah, this is what basketball at this level is. You have to be able to recover and come out and meet the challenge. Like I told them, if you can't meet this challenge, why go to the Finals? Q. Kobe played 43 minutes. Do you expect that at least being that this Series is so tight, that we'll see him playing more minutes of that nature kind of with the long-term prospects? COACH JACKSON: No, I enjoyed -- had the ability and the latitude because we came back and took the lead at the end of the third quarter. He only rested a minute or so. And in the fourth quarter, where there's, I hate to say these extended timeouts, but with three timeouts every three minutes, players can play through those quite handily. Through their conditioning, they're able to do so. He really wants to be there, and I think that he can do that. But I don't want to put it any further than that. I don't believe it. I think he's got to have some rest and time off court too, but in the challenging part of the game, he's got to be there. Q. Three pointers, you guys took a lot in the last two games. Are you concerned the guys are falling in love with that a little bit? And where's that fine line that you say I want you to take it, but at the same time you don't want them to think maybe I shouldn't take it in the course of the play? COACH JACKSON: Generally a time in our offense where we take three-pointers, and we believe that they're available. We have to take them. You basically have this belief that you take what the defense gives you in basketball. However, if you're 1% of the team or you're 1 for 9, you may think the odds are on your side and they might not be. So it has to be a rhythm. It has to be at a certain time where some things have happened on the clock for us to warrant it. And it has to be something that is not just a hero shot, as we call it, but something that makes sense and is purposeful. Q. How much time do you spend going up against the zone? You said you were happy with the offense last night? COACH JACKSON: Did I say I was happy about it? I think you put words in my mouth there. Q. I think you said you were okay with it. COACH JACKSON: Okay and happy are a long apart. A great distance apart. The reality is is that we shot 49%. Everybody wants to make an issue about zone. When they shoot 49% it tells you the defense wasn't really the issue. The issue is offensive rebounds and free-throw shooting in this particular game. But, yes, we've gone against -- we do set up some things against the zone because we want to be able to be more specific about some of the things for some of our players. I think even more specific answers. Q. What is specific about where you are? How would you classify this situation? What words would you use to state this team's situation that you find yourself in? COACH JACKSON: Determined. Q. All that said about your offense versus the zone and 49%, there was a period early in the fourth or the first few minutes of the fourth where you guys only had two field goals. Was it at least a bother there when you started to fall behind in that period? COACH JACKSON: I thought that getting my starters back on once that three three-pointers erupted in the fourth quarter, some of them weren't ready. Fisher sat too long, he was out of rhythm, and had some shots. Good shots for him, but he wasn't ready. So there were some things there that we would say we have to correct or do better. But at that time I really wanted Pau to step in and be an offensive force, and he's good at it. Unfortunately, that was not his night. Q. What happened after the first half of the first two games when Phoenix was almost in your hands. Where did they go in Game 3 and 4? COACH JACKSON: Well, the zone is effective because it can front back a guy like Pau or limit his it touches. But I think he knows there are answers for it. I think he's perfectly capable of handling that. Q. So do you believe that this is the biggest adjustment that you guys have had to make during the Playoffs deal with the zone? COACH JACKSON: I thought the defense of Oklahoma played against us was extremely aggressive, very active, created turnovers, and limited our post ability. And, obviously, we just didn't score the same amount of points that we were scoring against Phoenix, so that would be good challenges. Right now our challenge is defense, and I think that's a real good one. Q. Kobe mentioned he thought maybe guys may have been too preoccupied with the zone and trying to beat it and getting inside their own heads about it is probably not helping. But is that something that you noticed with players just maybe thinking about it too much, over thinking it? COACH JACKSON: Perhaps. That's a maybe. I wasn't inside their heads, but for me it wasn't really -- Q. Basically but you're pretty in tune? COACH JACKSON: Basically this offense is a zone offense the triangle. They didn't overload and it is pretty simple. And they basically run exactly what we run out of our offense which is fine. Q. Is there ever a point where you tell them stop worrying about it and start playing? COACH JACKSON: Yeah. Q. Talk about your reserves play better at home. If that is a fact, do you expect or know that the reserves will play better in Game 5? COACH JACKSON: A big part of Phoenix's effort has been their bench. So we anticipate their bench would be effective at some point at some game level. We did a great job in shutting most of the bench down except for the two games in Phoenix, which brings your point out specifically. Our bench, obviously, had some problems last night and hit some outside shots. We anticipate they'll play much better at home, and we think that probably the Phoenix bench will play better too though. They've gotten some confidence, and they're looking like they have a real feel for what they want to get accomplished out there, and we have to be much better in that particular period of the game. That is the period of the game that is important. Q. Is the offense scoring -- because your bench has not been shooting well, as well as you would like, are you thinking of using Sasha more? COACH JACKSON: Sure. I think of using Luke more, and all the bench. There are guys that can help us. Q. (Indiscernible)? COACH JACKSON: You know, we just have to go forward. This is a time when you just have to go with what you can do out there and hope that it's the best. I think that Sasha's recovered enough to feel comfortable. Q. Talk about how they played Kobe in the second quarter. Do you think that was by design? COACH JACKSON: No, they knew. He really put an effort into riding that hot spell he had during that period of time. I think they had a little double-team design out there that they tried to use or tried to limit his touches. Q. How's the series look for Ron? Every Series has been a little different for him? COACH JACKSON: Well, he's had Richardson basically was a force in their playoff scoring when we came into this Series. He averages 23 points a game, and shooting over 50. You know, so he understands what he has to do. It's not like a big difference like they had a 30-point score, and they're a team we can lock Ron into. But he's done all right. It hasn't given him a big -- it hasn't been a big focal point as far as that's concerned. Q. Can you talk about how he plays maybe when his offense is being hit by defense? COACH JACKSON: Yeah, what Ron does specifically well. He attacks the ball, he gets the ball back. He gets great steals, and a lot of their stuff. The balls not in their guy's hands and he's guarding until they shoot. Balls are in the guards hands 80% of the time. Q. So you're happy to this point? COACH JACKSON: I'm okay (laughing). Q. Tell us about Dragic? He's an extra special guy off the bench. COACH JACKSON: Yeah, he's been sporadic. I'm sure that he would admit that he had some moments in maybe game number 2 or Game 1, I'm not sure about the first two games. But the third game, basically, he had limited moments out there. But last night I thought he played very well. Q. You mentioned Phoenix taking those rebounds early from you guys, early on. As the Series has gone on, have they gotten more physical? COACH JACKSON: I just think it's out of desperation. I just think that's what happens in Playoffs. Teams get behind the eight ball and they start coming out and playing a little bit more physical and more aggressive. Other than that, they've done well, you know. This game is kind of who delivers the first blow that's going to end up being okay. Q. When a team struggles defensively, can it somehow impact other aspects of the game? COACH JACKSON: Well, we hope not. Really, it's about struggling offensively that usually affects NBA players because their scorers. When they struggle on offense it usually affects how they play defense. But the other way rarely happens, it does rarely happen. But I think more and more, I've come to believe that the three-point shot is kind of a dramatic effect, especially on home courts. It really is a surge of energy. Even though it may only be a 30-something percent shot, it still has an effective manner of how the impact it puts on on a team and on the home crowd. End of FastScripts |
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