Archive for the 'Phil Jackson' Category

Phil Jackson Pre-Dallas

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 24, 2010
in Phil Jackson and Pre-Game
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Phil Jackson addressed assembled media before realizing that Caron Butler would not play in Wednesday night’s game due to a temporary reaction to some medicine that he took, so his answer (on video above) to the first question won’t apply to this game.

In response to a quesiton about Odom’s poor game on Tuesday in Memphis, Jackson declared that his versatile sub would be fine and that he isn’t someone the coaching staff worries about. “We don’t worry that much about Lamar,” he said. “He’s a pro and he knows how to get himself ready.” Jackson added that Odom isn’t like a Jason Terry, J.R. Smith or Manu Ginobili where quick offense might be available since Odom isn’t a quick-offense guy; in other words, sometimes he needs some time to get into the flow of the game.

The head coach also addressed how having Gasol, who didn’t play against Dallas last time the teams met, changes things particularly as related to Dirk Nowitzki. Jackson said that Gasol has shown the ability to guard him at times, but at others he hasn’t liked what he’s seen.

Jackson’s final note was that Kobe responded just fine to his first game back from injury.

Phil Jackson Pregame Notes

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 23, 2010
in Phil Jackson and Pre-Game
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The highlights of Phil Jackson’s seven-minute pregame session with the Lakers media in Memphis (the first minute and change is above on video).

- Jackson noted that among the biggest changes with Kobe Bryant’s return is the minute deduction for Shannon Brown, who will have to adjust back to his traditional role off the bench. Brown, however - along with Adam Morrison and Josh Powell - could see a few more minutes in the absence of Sasha Vujacic (shoulder) and Luke Walton (back).

- The major theme of our preview of tonight’s contest was LA’s need to get the ball into the paint, something they didn’t do in the two-point Memphis win on Feb. 1. Jackson brought that idea up almost right away, suggesting that the “Get the ball inside!” mantra has to happen immediately. The game plan is very explicitly to attack Memphis from the inside out.

Later, he expounded on the issue:

We looked at the tape from last game, and a few guys noticeably were not making the second effort. Our big guys … Andrew missed a dunk at the basket … we turned the ball over (passing it to the post), post players turned it over when we got there … there were just a lot of things that contributed to that. We got offensive fouls. So that’s some of the reason that it happened like that, we hope to remedy that (tonight).

- Andrew Bynum said in the locker room that his hip continues to bother him, but he essentially has learned how to play through it. Jackson said that he continues, of course, to be aware of the injury, but that Bynum has looked fine to him in practice.

- On Pau Gasol’s play at his old home: “I think it really has affected him coming back and playing. Maybe it’s playing against his brother. He hears the rabble out there in the crowd and he is somewhat affected. He hasn’t played as well as he plays for us in a normal situation against Memphis.”

- Jackson credited Ron Artest’s addition to LA’s improved overall defense (second in the NBA) at this point in the season. He rightly pointed out that Trevor Ariza really didn’t emerge until late in the season, as Vladimir Radmanovic and Luke Walton started for much of the year at small forward. The head coach also explained that Ariza wasn’t a 35-minute a night guy, as Artest is, which certainly affects the overall defensive production.

- That Cleveland lost three straight wasn’t a huge deal to Jackson, who said things will get interesting more in the last two weeks of the season than now. He did acknowledge that Cleveland has the easier schedule going forward, obviously because they’re in the weaker Eastern Conference.

- The Grizzlies didn’t have rookie swing man Sam Young available last game, but got a surprising career-high 13 points from unknown Lester Hudson, who received DNPCD’s in the last two Memphis games.

Monday’s Practice Update

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 15, 2010
in Phil Jackson and Practice News
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Lakers head coach Phil Jackson met with reporters for the first time after the All-Star break on Monday in L.A. after a full session that included participation from Kobe Bryant (ankle) and Andrew Bynum (hip), both of whom are expected to play against Golden State on Tuesday.

Thanks to 710 ESPN’s Beto Duran, who provided the audio as Lakers.com was en route from All-Star in Dallas, here is a synopsis of Jackson’s comments:

- For starters, here are Phil’s comments after a question about if he were satisfied with how Bryant moved around: “I think so. He hasn’t played in two weeks, so there (were) a lot of things that he was trying out, trying to figure out, passes that went awry and shots he was reluctant to shoot. But he’ll come (along). He’ll come.

- The head coach said that the Mavericks trade with the Wizards improved Dallas, giving them more depth in the front court through Brendan Haywood and another scorer in Butler. “I think they helped themselves in that trade” was the quote. However, as Jackson elaborated, the move doesn’t really affect the Lakers or the team’s potential activity or lack there of around the trade deadline.

- Overall, the practice didn’t please Jackson, who said that the players looked like they’d jut gotten out of school or knew that recess was coming. That’s natural, however, after a layoff, and he thinks the team will be fine to go against Golden State on Tuesday.

- Luke Walton’s back injury will keep him out for an indefinite amount of time, though Jackson hopes to have him back sometime later in the season. He mentioned more potential minute for players like Sasha Vujacic, who changed the game in Utah (said Phil), and Adam Morrison.

- The team’s focus: “I put four games up on the board (Golden State, Boston, Memphis and Dallas), and we want to stay focused on short term right now,” said Jackson. Of course, gaining home court advantage and staying healthy are always key areas of focus.

Phil Jackson: Lakers All-Time Win King

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 3, 2010
in Phil Jackson
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59491045On Monday evening in Memphis, Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson revealed the results of an aptitude test put on by the NBA Player’s Association that he took after retiring as a player:

- Outdoor adventurer
- Nursery school teacher
- Lawyer
- Minister

Thank goodness for the Lakers - and the Chicago Bulls, for that matter - that he decided to become a basketball coach.

When the Lakers beat the Charlotte Bobcats 99-97 on Wednesday night in Los Angeles, Jackson won his 534th game for the Purple and Gold, surpassing Showtime era coach Pat Riley for the most wins in franchise history.

“It’s been a really good run,” said Jackson, who has claimed four of his 10 NBA titles with the Lakers. “Having this opportunity to coach this team is special. The fact that we’ve had some great teams, great players, is always a credit to them.

“My staff, the guys who help me prepare this team for the games … all those ingredients going into this. It’s not really an individual record in my mind, it’s a team (accomplishment).”

After victory No. 534, Lamar Odom was asked what it’s been like to play for the league’s top coach in terms of both championships and winning percentage.

“Incredible,” said Odom. “Every day I learn something new. He understands people, personalities. Meshing them together is a big deal in basketball.”

That Jackson passed Riley is particularly interesting since the two entered the NBA together as players in 1967, and coached against each other throughout the 1990’s.

“We’ve known each other for a long time,” said Jackson. “We competed against each other in a lot of ways, so there’s some significance to that. I respect his game tremendously and his coaching style too, so that’s something that I take with pride.”

Jackson concluded that while he’ll take the wins, the true measure of a coach and a team is championships won. His only goal for this season, of course, is to help claim title number 16 for the Lakers.

Phil Jackson One Away From Riley

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 31, 2010
in Phil Jackson
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Phil JacksonWhen the Lakers beat the Celtics on Christmas Day last season, Phil Jackson earned the 1,000th win in his illustrious coaching career, then proceeded to pass Celtics legend Red Auerbach with his 10th NBA coaching title.

Fast forward to Sunday in Boston, when Jackson has the chance to tie Pat Riley for the most regular-season victories as the head coach of the Lakers at 533.

Jackson, who won 545 games and six championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1989-1998, explained that different people will identify him with both teams.

“There’s a generation of people that identify with the Showtime Lakers of the 80s and similarly with the 90s Chicago teams,” Jackson said. “I don’t know if you can say we’re the dominant team of this decade, but we are pretty close. I’m sure there’s a whole generation of kids who see me only as the Lakers coach.”

Either way … it’s quite a remarkable accomplishment, particularly as his .707 winning percentage (he’s lost only 446 games) is the league’s best of all time.

Practice Notes From Boston

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 30, 2010
in Kobe Bryant, On The Road, Pau Gasol, Phil Jackson and Practice News
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Practice in BostonWhile winning three straight games has made the road a bit less weary for the Lakers*, the team was nonetheless a bit on the tired side after a morning flight out of Philadelphia to Boston prior to the team’s first full practice since the current trip began on January 20.
*Eleven of 13 days and seven of eight cities: check.

We took some notes during pre-practice interviews with Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol to make sure you didn’t miss anything important:

PHIL JACKSON
- Jackson explained that the Lakers - Celtics rivalry is still alive, even if it’s different from how it was back in the 1960’s and 1980’s. “It’s a more civilized crowd,” he said, after referencing old fighting in the stands, beer throwing and the like.

- To Phil, Ron Artest can certainly continue to play as well as he did in Philadelphia. Jackson quipped that perhaps it was due to the presence of Artest’s father, though we learned last night that Artest is simply feeling healthy, finally.

- Jackson failed to attribute too much to Boston’s two-game losing streak through Orlando and Atlanta. “They’re still a team to be reckoned with in the playoffs,” he said.

- Kevin Garnett missed the first nine games in January with a knee injury and may not be back to 100 percent, but Jackson said that L.A. will still approach him as if he were. “He’s still a rover defensively, and he’s still a guy that’s going to hit those shots from 20 feet - you have to account for that.”

KOBE BRYANT
- Bryant said that he’s feeling OK after tweaking his knee and ankle in Friday evening’s win at Philly. He explained that it was his knee that hurt at first, but he simply walked it off until the pain was gone about five minutes later. His ankle began to get sore as the game wore on, but is not an issue for Bryant, who said he’s looking forward to trading blows with the Celtics.

- To Bryant, L.A. simply needs to match Boston’s intensity and energy on Sunday. It’s not so much about playing a specific style (i.e. a physical style), but bringing effort.

- The 2008 Finals loss isn’t something Bryant really thinks about; he focuses more on the fact that Boston simply plays very well at home.

- Bryant said that his finger is feeling about 80 percent better than it was at its worst point, and demonstrated to reporters that he has a bit better range of motion. Of course, it still looked pretty swollen, but to Bryant it had undergone “an improvement.”

PAU GASOL
- On the affect of losing in the Finals: “Last season we played the way we were supposed to. We played hard, and we carried the frustration from the year before. Hopefully we’ll do the same (on Sunday). It’s a game we look forward to, a game that’s going to be extremely hard.”

- Gasol said that while this is certainly a game L.A. would like to win, it’s not something that’s going to define a season one way or the other. Jackson and Bryant have echoed that sentiment as well.

- On attacking Kevin Garnett: “My understanding is that his leg is not completely healthy. I’ve seen him play, and I don’t know how much he’s struggling and hurting with it, because his injury was never clear to the public. But I’m just going to try and be aggressive with him no matter how his leg is doing. He’s playing, he’s a competitor and he wants to help out his team; I think he’s a good leader, and his team needs him.”

SHANNON BROWN
- Since Brown was traded just a few days after the team’s win in Boston last season, he’s yet to face the Celtics while wearing a Lakers jersey. Yet he already realizes that the stakes are different: “I never had the chance to play in this matchup, but I’m definitely excited to be apart of it. You still have to take the approach of respective them as a basketball team while just playing our own game. But maybe a little bit more focused.”

Morrison & Che Guevara

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 21, 2010
in Adam Morrison, Miscellaneous and Phil Jackson
. Closed

blog_100121morrisonchephilLast night, we learned that Phil Jackson gifted Adam Morrison the book “Che,” by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon, which is a graphic biography (also known as a picture book) of Che Guevara.

“Adam has been sporting a Che Guevara t-shirt, so he got the picture book,” said Jackson. “Most of the books are hand-picked.”

Morrison said that he was quite happy with Jackson’s choice for him, as he read Guevara’s biography in high school and found it fascinating.

Prior to the tipoff in Cleveland, Morrison spent a moment discussing the revolutionary nature of the book … before returning to hit a few three-pointers. No word on if there’s any connection to shooting threes and Guevara’s ideas.

Phil Jackson, Book Distributor

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 20, 2010
in Phil Jackson
. Closed

blog_090619philjacksonEach NBA season, Phil Jackson distributes books to his players before what is generally the team’s longest road trip, and the current eight-game trek offered the perfect opportunity.

Thanks to the tweeting of Jeanie Buss, we learned what L.A.’s head coach gave to each of his players:

1) Kobe Bryant: “Montana 1948″ by Larry Watson
2) Derek Fisher: “Soul on Ice” by Eldridge Cleaver
3) Pau Gasol: “2666″ by Roberto Bolano
4) Lamar Odom: “The Right Mistake” by Walter Mosley (one of Jackson’s favorite authors, says Buss)
5) Ron Artest: “Sacred Hoops” by Phil Jackson* (Buss noted that Jackson likes his new players to become more familiar with his philosophies as laid out in his book)
6) Andrew Bynum: “Six Easy Pieces” by Walter Mosley
7) Jordan Farmar: “Makes Me Wanna Holler” by Nahan McCall
8) Shannon Brown: “Dreams from My Father” by Barack Obama
9) Luke Walton: “The Monkey Wrench Gang” by Edward Abbey
10) Josh Powell: “The Souls of Black Folk” by W.E.B. Du Bois
11) Sasha Vujacic: “Reservation Blues” by Sherman Alexie
12) D.J. Mbenga: “Monster: the Autobiography of an LA Gang Member” by Sanyika Shakur (Author), Monster Kody Scott (Contributor)
13) Adam Morrison: “Che” – Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon – a Graphic Biography of Che Guevara

Phil Jackson After Practice (Audio)

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on November 27, 2009
in Phil Jackson and Podcast
. Closed

Following Friday’s practice, Phil Jackson spoke to assembled media members about L.A.’s coming matchup with the Golden State Warriors, set for 7:30 p.m. in Oakland.

“There is a style they play, they’re going to play it whether it’s the preseason or the regular season,” he said of the team L.A. saw an inordinate number of times in the preseason. “The style is difficult to adjust to in the course of a season. You have to make adjustments and pick up people on the fly. Transition defense becomes ultimately important.”

Jackson made particular note of guard Monta Ellis, who’s averaging 23.4 points per game (seven spots behind league-leader Kobe Bryant) and talked about the importance of getting the ball in the paint against Golden State, even though the Warriors make that difficult to do.

Here’s the audio:

 
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Phil Jackson on Retiring Jordan’s Jersey

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on November 13, 2009
in Miscellaneous and Phil Jackson
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Phil Jackson’s thoughts on the possibility that the NBA would retire Michael Jordan’s jersey:

I think it’s a great thing that hockey did for (Wayne) Gretzky. Here’s a guy that went through the game and really changed a lot of the way the game was played, broke a lot of records and won championships up in Edmonton that nobody every expected would happen and they honored him with that.

We haven’t seen this happen in basketball so it’s kind of unique … It’d be maybe a little step on the toes for guys like Magic (Johnson) and (Larry) Bird who made this era a bigger era that Michael could come in and have the dominance that he had and also the commercial appeal that went with it, but he certainly is a standard that we all admire. But that’s up to other people, not to me to make that decision.