Phil Jackson Good Quotations

He's having the best season of anybody in the NBA. There are a couple guys who are having really good years, but there's not anybody who's having the kind of year he's having.

He just has to finish, ... He's doing everything right but the final act and that's finding some strength and finishing and finding a good base and putting it through the hoop. I just told him, 'You're going to have to dunk the ball.'

It is good to be back in the playoffs again. That's an important step for this club because of the number of young players we have that haven't been in the playoffs.

I was disappointed with our fourth-quarter beginning. We put ourselves in good position, then didn't score for three minutes. We gave it away.

I was disappointed in our fourth quarter beginning. We put ourselves in a good position, and didn't score for the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. We gave it away in the fourth, and went from one to eleven.

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

I thought we had a good defensive first half. We capitalized off the steals and turnovers. I don't think we finished well, but the win tonight was good for our confidence.

I think we are playing relatively good basketball. Tonight we were quick to the ball and did a good job on defense.

I still think we have a good chance, ... I still feel that we're the odds-on favorite to be the team of destiny.

I was on them a little bit after the game because they were dumping the ball in his lap when he wasn't hot. But I thought they did a good job of milking the clock.

We couldn't stop their second chance points down the stretch. I thought we had a good shot at winning the game. It was well fought.

We couldn't overcome a tough shooting game for Kobe. They threw an extra man at him, and we didn't make good adjustments. Offensively, I don't think we grasped the concepts of what we are trying to do here.

We have a lot of players at that position and, obviously, we've got to make cuts soon. Our desire is to find a place for him and a good opportunity for him and Charlotte was a team that really and truly did want him.

Von has a lot of game. He is an aggressive player, but sometimes it is good to have a wild horse out there who can push guys and challenge people.

We obviously need his defense at some level. It's good to have him back in the offense, but we weren't smooth with him in there offensively, though.

When you get off to a lead like that they usually catch up. Today we kept them at bay. It's good to be back in the playoffs.

With our team, we're still learning what's a good enough lead. We didn't use the clock wisely and they made some big plays.

We were flat tonight. We are still not quite good enough to stay with a team like that.

They almost made me get up and walk out of the building in the third quarter. They got it righted and played good defense to get back in the game. I knew that Kobe would find a way out there to help us win.

There really is something nice about it as far as energizing this team. This team has some deadbeats on it, anyway, and the coach is one of them. It's good to have some people out there that are enthusiastic about the game.

They really crowded Shaq well and did not give him a good look in the lane. He struggled to find a position in the lane all night.

It was a good gesture. It was a peaceful resolution for our fans and L.A.

It was a good practice session, but then we started tailing-off, just as most players do during exhibition games and we started shooting more instead of executing.

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.

I didn't think he had good legs. He told me in the fourth quarter he was going to get hot, that he felt like he was getting in his rhythm, and he hit in a few in the fourth quarter. But, he was really bothered by Bell. He did a great job on him.

You can't read my man's mind, ... It's cool. It was a good way to finish the game.