Phil Jackson Kobe Quotations

They had a game plan against Kobe that was effective, getting the ball out of his hands.

I think he gave the ball up in various points of the year, and I think there's been a fine balance between guys stepping up and making shots and Kobe trusting his teammates. It hasn't got to the point where it's not happening, where I'm disappointed, but there's opportunities that still could be there that have to be exploited even more and we have to recognize that as a team.

We remind our players that this is something that was a special night in a heated situation but it's not going to be a steady diet for us. The onus on Kobe is to stay inside the team offense. The onus on the players is to pick it up a little bit better.

We're not looking for Kobe to score 50 or 30 or 80. We're just looking for it to fit together. We want players to blend their talents together.

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.

It was a game where our rebounds and defense really failed us and eventually, I had to think about an offensive unit that could do some things to try and catch up. Kobe obviously wasn't right tonight, but this is the second time Blake has scored big against us in critical situations.

Kobe is missing out by not finding a way to become part of a system that involves giving to something larger than himself.

Kobe had to take some heat for that, as if he was the one who manufactured that (O'Neal) trade. All those things were made to look like there was a scapegoat in this situation, and there wasn't.

Kobe fought his way through it tonight. It was one of those games where the numbers of shots he took was too high, but he thought he was going to get fouled and he took the shots because he felt the pressure on him.

To me, right there, enough said - Kobe Bryant (third team), not acceptable.

We got in a situation where we were waiting for Kobe?s hand to get hot. We started trying to force it in to him and that hurt us. Kobe had a hard time chasing Dixon around screens.

It's not going to be about Kobe getting 45 points a night. It's going to be about how are we going to use all the talents to do what we have to do to take a team apart.

We were relying on Kobe and Kobe couldn't shoot the ball because of a hand injury. He was just reluctant to shoot.

They came out to play Kobe really tough, a little bit harder I think than the referees wanted to see happen. I think in the process of coming out to play hard they crossed the line a little bit.

Kobe was waiting for his game to get hot and it never happened, and we tried to force the ball into him and it cost us.

Kobe played a game in which he really controlled the offense from his position. He really doesn't play guard very often. We had people open because he got double-teamed. In the first half, Cook hit his shots.

We had some dramatic plays down the stretch. Kobe stayed very well inside of what we were trying to do. We kind of died on the vine a couple of times when the shot clock was running down. Then we were able to find that penetrating pass. We were able to find a couple of things that worked for us.

I told Kobe that's the one area where I'll try not to disclose,

That was something to behold -- it was another level. At halftime we were disturbed about the way we were playing. We came out, and Kobe just found a way to do everything.

It was quite an exhibition for three quarters Kobe put on tonight. I've seen a few 60-point ballgames in my time, but none of them had been done by the third quarter.

It was quite an exhibition for three quarters Kobe put on. I've seen a few 60-point ballgames in my time, but none of them had been done by the third quarter.

I told the guys that the team is going to double- and triple-team Kobe at the end. So he's not going to get the ball. Somebody else is going to have to step and make shots.

I am pleased with Kobe and how he controlled the offense. We had people open because they were doubling him and that got some people open and we found them.

It will affect our season, there's no doubt about it. And we're going to live with it, ... We're going to deal with it. And we're fortunate to have made some moves that will help us, regardless of what happens in the Kobe situation.

They played Kobe tough and a little harder than the refs wanted to see.

I felt at some times Kobe might have taken advantage of our flexibility,