Phil: "Kobe had to screw up the game by going one on one"

[The MVPlaya]

Oh my, this will be a hit on RealGM.

"We get behind early on in the third quarter on some stupid plays -- poor passing, poor transition defense -- and then Kobe has to screw up the game and start energizing the team by going one-on-one and that takes the rest of the guys out as a consequence," Jackson said. "That didn't bring us back in, but it did give us a little run, we got the game back a little bit but we couldn't sustain it and we just went right back and made the same mistakes again."

"The game got to a point where we didn't use our strengths which is our inside players," Jackson said. "When we started off the game I think Pau got six out of our eight points and didn't score again in the first half. He ended up the game with 10. He got four more points in the second half. He's too good a player for a game like that."

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/n ... id=5983633

Thoughts?

[Quiet-Storm]

[Optms]

Funny that Phil is pointing fingers when just about everyone is responsible for the no-give-a-damn atmosphere thats running rampant. If you're whining about Pau not getting enough touches, then you obviously aren't doing your job as the head coach. See how that works, Phil?

[doctorfunk]

My thoughts is that Kobe is getting to many iso's this year, Pau should get more touches. Especially given that Kobe isn't at his best atm.

[kingkirk]

IB Phil is a master Zen Master, he is just zenning atm

[Basti]

Phil sounds like a real life troll. If you have a problem with Kobe taking so many shots as his freaking HEAD COACH do something about it. I'm starting to get sick of Phil Jackson and his whiny attitude.

[Donald Kaufman]

Lakers are 7-1 this season when Gasol makes 10 FG's.

In the game vs Memphis, no Laker had more than 2 assists. That's some Yinka Dare sh*t right there.

Phil speaks the truth.

[Subway Token]

Did he say something untrue? Is he lying?

I personally think he's just motivating or sending a message. He's coached numerous mega-stars. He knows what he's doing, or, at least, much more than all of us here.

[knicks742]

Did he say something untrue? Is he lying?

I personally think he's just motivating or sending a message. He's coached numerous mega-stars. He knows what he's doing, or, at least, much more than all of us here.

Or maybe he knows he is retiring and doesn't care anymore. The Lakers as a whole looked awful and with no energy yesterday. Isn't this like their third or fourth 20 point loss in the last 2 weeks? That's not just on one player, that's on the entire team.

[MitchellUK]

Funny that Phil is pointing fingers when just about everyone is responsible for the no-give-a-damn atmosphere thats running rampant. If you're whining about Pau not getting enough touches, then you obviously aren't doing your job as the head coach. See how that works, Phil?

Gasol was quoted in the article as having said that they were given a game plan, and some people weren't following it. Maybe Jackson is calling Kobe out publicly because doing it privately didn't work?

One way or another, it's rarely good to be airing dirty laundry in the media.

[Dekadez]

Is it me, or did Kobe 'forget' to shake Phil's hand ytd?

It's on, theyre going to implode. Time to tank etc.

[LascelleL]

Im having a flashback to 2002-2004....our inside game is our strong point.....Kobe going 1 on 1 too much...only thing Different is that Pau won't take shots at Kobe and that may end up saving the team

[bl2k]

Pau takes his little shots the difference is that Pau is way too fragile mentally to have Kobe fire back at him. I think Kobe realizes that, who knows though

[droponov]

Having Kobe dominating games worked sporadically last season versus teams with good wing defense.

This season, it will rarely work with teams with strong wing defense and sporadically versus teams with weak wing defense.

The way the Lakers are playing is truly bizarre. Phil Jackson is trying to shame Kobe into playing less self-absorbed basketball.

[droponov]

Pau called out Kobe last season in his passive-aggressive way.

I have good reasons to believe he'll be a lot more outspoken this season if this keeps going.

[carrottop12]

He's trying to motivate Kobe, he knows what he's doing.

Good coaches know when to criticize their star players as well, and Kobe is one of those guys who reacts positively to criticism.

[bathwater]

Pau called out Kobe last season in his passive-aggressive way.

Pau was miserable last night. He was so lazy on offense and defense. He was constantly looking for fouls that the refs wouldn't and shouldn't give. I would say that Pau's effort was the poorest last night. His play really made me sick. In the past few games, Bynum plays a lot better than Pau on both offense and defense. I think that Bynum is showing that he's a better offensive player in the post who knows how to finish strong.

[mr cranky pants]

just another mind game phil jackson is playing, dont take it too seriously.

[jaypo]

2 things jumped out at me. One person said "Phil looks like a troll" by saying this. The other said "Phil is the head coach and should do something about it."

For years, I've posted reasons why I place blame on Kobe for his feud with Shaq. Most of them are backed up by Phil Jackson. But everybody calls me a hater. I don't put personal feelings in it. Just things I've witnessed. Now, you have Kobe's coach AGAIN pointing out that Kobe is doing something that is costing the Lakers games, and he's called "a troll" and it is his fault for not doing something about it. Why no accountability for the player??? Phil said back in 2004 that Kobe was the kind of player that would tell you "yes" when you tell him to do something, but would do what he wanted to do anyway. So regardless who the coach is, Phil can't make Kobe do anything he doesn't want to do. That's part of the reason Phil demanded him to be traded, and why he called him "uncoachable". Not making it up.

I love the apologists that try to spin it. Kobe screws up a game by playing selfish (things Shaq voiced his displeasure about for years and got blasted for), and his coach speaks up. But immeadiately, people are saying that it's Phil's fault and Phil is a troll for saying it.

[BullSoxChicago'sFinest]

I am reading this much differently than the thread or title implies.

If you notice, the title said 'had' and the quote says 'has'. Big difference in this context imo.

It's hard enough to sense context with text and quotes. But to me, by what was said before, he's saying more that Kobe is forced to do that to try and get the team back into it instead of more of a slight on Kobe.

More like 'we got into a hole because of xyz and then that forces Kobe to have to try and bring us back into it by himself', instead of 'that damn Kobe ruined the game for us by going 1 on 1'.