Phil Jackson Men Quotations

I've talked to other players that were there, but that was played in like complete silence. I guess there was a radio announcer there, but there was nothing else that you could even document it. People don't even know if they had a backboard or nets.

He was an excellent football coach. He had a lot of success here. He was a real gentleman. I knew him pretty well. He was one of the finest men I ever knew.

It's all about developing an atmosphere where players want to support and help each other. You want a nurturing place where they feel they can make mistakes, ... Philadelphia's got one of the great passers for a big man in Webber. And one of the great players as far as scoring guards in Allen. Certainly, that should give them some momentum to work with as they go through the year.

I didn't want to create an impediment in that situation. I wanted him to be productive. But it didn't seem to be working in that direction. I think more attention was better than less.

I'm not going to weigh in on that one. I think that water is a little deep. I think that he measures himself against a season. I've always given him credit for that and he knows what the end-goal is. He's got a tremendous amount of pride and I anticipate that's a process that he's going through. He'll be there when playoffs are going and he'll probably be at his peak at that time.

There's plenty of time to look at this for a while until either he shows improvement or else we go back to more of a basic offensive standard ... and take that guard responsibility away. Move him into a forward place where he can make plays and he can still be a participant in the offense.

It was designed for him (Bryant) to catch the ball and find what he could find available. I have to give him credit that he can shoot that shot. I have to allow his judgment to be so he felt like he could do that at the time. I wanted him to penetrate.

I know these teams have to have an answer, and it's time for the draft to commence and things to happen. I'll be off the queue here in another day or two.

We let the momentum slide in the fourth quarter.

I'll just say that hopefully they've drained the mud out of the building, and the termites aren't going to eat the buildings away in between the time we get down there. They made a good judgment probably to get this back in, and that's the important thing about it.

They're all big (games) for us. We have 10 home games, three road games and we feel like we have to win really a high majority of those games to finish where we have to finish if we want to go forward to gain momentum for the playoffs.

I don't see how you're going to get value out of this player who, in my estimation, is one of the most valuable players in the league. Of course, I estimate him perhaps higher than other people. I think he's a terrific player. He adds a big dimension in every game he plays in.

When he's shooting well, I encourage him. We're trying to measure personal achievement with team goals.

I don't believe in curfews, because you can't treat men like they were boys without forfeiting a certain level of trust.

Pau is one of the best big men in the game. I mean, Pau Gasol is going to be in the Hall of Fame.

You're only a success for the moment that you complete a successful act.

What moves me is watching young men bond together and tap into the magic that arises when they focus with their whole heart and soul on something greater than themselves. Once you've experienced that, it's something you never forget.

There are times and moments and there will be one in this playoffs where he will do the offensive work. He's going to be on fire and feeling the ability to go out there and shoot anytime, any place. Right now, I think he's just moving the ball well and doing the right things for us.

I think that Shaq measures himself against a season. I've always given him credit for that. He knows what the end goal is, and he's got a tremendous amount of pride. He'll be there when the playoffs are going, and he's going to be probably at his peak at that time.

As much as we pump iron and we run to build our strength up, we need to build our mental strength up... so we can focus... so we can be in concert with one another.

I thought we had a really good defensive first half. We found momentum at the beginning of the second quarter and established a lead.

We've had a couple momentum shifts throughout the course of the year, and this is what we've been talking about as a group - we want to build the momentum, because now is the time to do it. We've shown signs of this - the Houston game at the end of the road trip.