Lakers vs Bulls
STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, CA.
11/18/2008

Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson:

On the way the team played tonight:
“Well again we saw we went back and forth in that ball game with runs but came back out in the second half and started of the quarter with the energy that was necessary to play in that type of game.”

On the Lakers’ defense in tonight’s game:
“We had some steals but we did not get a lot of points off of them which is the big difference. Overall, we were active defensively. I was not happy with our board work

On coming back tonight after Friday’s loss:
We wanted to play a little better, and we did that. We shot the ball a lot better then we did last game. Our defense, we’re not pleased with 100 points. We had a big lead, and we started to relax a little bit. We got 65 points in the third quarter so we were on pace to get exactly where we wanted, and set us up for the fourth quarter.

On Chicago’s performance:
Well that’s their brand of basketball. They play high energy. They get out and transition. When you play a team like that you have to fight their runs, and the first half we couldn’t do that, couldn’t quite contain them. The third quarter we did a much better job

On his team’s effort against Chicago:
The 109 points was a result of bad defense. We’re going to have to play better on Thursday especially against Phoenix. We can’t relax like that. We do great for three, four, five minutes and then relax and let them right back into the game. We can’t do that. We need better focus.

Lamar Odom

On Chicago’s offense:
They played really up tempo. They took quick shots and had a lot of field goals today.

On Pau’s performance:
 Pau’s game today was big time. It was a tough match up for those guys and he defiantly made them play. He played really well today, that soft touch he has around the basket, we really saw that today.

Pau Gasol

On his team’s overall performance:
 Things went our way inside this game. We were able to be aggressive and go in and get things flowing. The difference from last Friday’s game is we were able to share the ball better and played a better game than Chicago. I think defensively we still need to improve. 107 points is a lot of points to let go, doesn’t matter who we play against. I think we played well but there’s still room for improvement.

On his first quarter performance:
My team was able to find me a lot, I was running well, and they gave me a couple of open and easy opportunities. When you put it together you get a pretty good first quarter.

Chicago Bulls Coach Vinny Del Negro
 
On Pau Gasol’s big performance:
“He’s long and very effective in the paint. We didn’t come out on the double team because we were trying to stay on the perimeter guys and he got in a little bit deep which gave us a lot of trouble. We were effective in the first half and thought we were a little bit more aggressive in the second half but their length bothered us.”

On Lakers’ second half effort:
“We didn’t have control of the game. They jumped on us in the third quarter which I expected and that’s what good teams do. They took control of the game’s tempo and had a big 3rd quarter. They picked up their defensive  effort a little bit and gave us some issues there but we had 21 turnovers and that’s not going to be good enough against a team this caliber.”

On Andrew Bynum’s return and impact on the court:
“Kobe looks for him a lot and they get him around the basket and he’s such a big body so you have to really focus in. You have to focus on Kobe and then you’re worried about Gasol and now you got Bynum on the glass which gives them another threat which opens up the perimeter a bit more for their second unit when they push the tempo a little bit with their energy. So Bynum is definitely a factor just from his size and athletic standpoint. He continues to improve and you have to be cognoscente when he’s out there.”

On how the Lakers took control of the game:
“They got too many easy baskets and took us out of everything we wanted to run offensively by taking away our first option. They were usually there playing good ‘D’ and pressuring the ball. They did a tremendous job defensively on us tonight.

On trying to contain Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol:
“You know, it was frustrating. Kobe Bryant draws so much attention and you throw Andrew Bynum in there and you throw Pau Gasol in there and you have to blitz and go back and find those guys. Going up to the rim, it makes it tough.”