QUOTES: 06/07/09 - Lakers 101, Magic 96 - NBA Finals Game 2
2009 NBA Finals, Game 2
STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, CA
06/07/2009
Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson
Q. Give us your assessment from Game 1 now to Game 2, a nail‑biter. You actually dodged a bullet today. What can we expect in Orlando for Game 3?
"You're going to see a wide open game. It's going to be a much more free‑flowing game, up tempo. In the second half they started to speed the game up a little bit. I think they thought it would help their action and their ability to find open shots and rhythm in the game.
The three‑point shooters seemed to flourish tonight, even though looking at the stats sheet they shot 33 percent from the three‑point line. It still kept them in the ballgame."
Q. The first quarter both teamed scored 15 points. Very slow start. Why do you say about why it was such a slow start for the team? And then in the final did the teams wake up?
"It's just like a couple heavyweight boxers that have gone against each other before. They're just feeling each other out in the first round, second round, third round type of thing, just kind of looking for holes and the changes in the game a little bit. We stayed in the ballgame because they turned the ball over and we had opportunities because of it and couldn't capitalize on it. They still didn't shoot the ball as well as they can. We know that that's still a possibility next couple games. "
Q. How did the Lakers win the game?
"We just drove ourselves through the game. I didn't think Kobe had a good game at all as far as his standards go. They double‑teamed him, they trapped him, they came on all his drives, and we didn't adjust to it immediately. We were able to find other guys that did things for us. Lamar had an outstanding game, Pau was there again, as he is usually. We had other guys contribute as we went through. "
Q. Along what you're saying, was Kobe trying to do too much, and leadership‑wise was he over the line? He was definitely telling guys what he wanted, but was that what you wanted?
"We talked about that possibility happening, moving the ball ahead, and they forced the turnovers because we can't get that ball moved ahead quickly enough when they trapped him or double‑teamed him or went to strip him. He'll make that adjustment, but his leadership was still there. He was still encouraging the guys on as we went."
Q. Lamar had some troubles in the last round with his back. Did you ever have doubts that he'd be able to get back to this level that he's had last several games now?
"The fortunate thing with his injury was that it wasn't a spinal injury, it was a muscular. It wasn't anything that had to do with his nervous system or sciatic nerve or whatever. It was about being able to play with discomfort, pain that arises from that. So we that he would improved, and actually he has improved. He's come through in every game, has action, and it creates a reaction from him. I know he's struggling out there at the end of the game but still came through in a big way for us."
Q. Of course a big win for the Lakers but were you a little bit upset about the last play of regulation time when there was only six‑tenths of a second and it was a very good possession.
"Yeah, we warned Kobe that was probably what they were going to come back to because the first time he was helping on a lob opportunity to Howard, and we suspected that that would probably be the action that they would come back to, but they still found a way to get a shot off. "
Q. Can you talk about the camaraderie or the intuitiveness that Kobe and Pau possess? They connected for that lay‑up that put you guys into overtime.
"I thought they were struggling during the ballgame. They kept communicating during the course of the game about how they're going to react to the actions that Orlando was defending, how they're defending it. They finally found a way at the end of the game to come through with some of those plays.
But you're right, it was a communication struggle there for a while."
Q. Derek Fisher had 41 minutes tonight, the most minutes he's played in quite some time. Did you just feel like you could not, with the game so close, experiment with Farmar and Brown?
"Well, you know, this is a reason why Derek has been playing 24 to 28 minutes during the course of the season, so that he could have this type of minutes during the playoffs. He's capable of playing. It's recovery time that's necessary for him. We know how valuable he is just for his heavy play out there and his ability to organize our game and keep everything in flow. So that was important for us to have him out there.
Otherwise I thought Jordan came in, he was aggressive and I wanted to see him do that. Shannon got a few minutes out there and touches a few times, too."
Q. For the past year or so there's been a lot of talk about Pau being soft. How has he responded to that? And do you think he's become a tougher player?
"You know, his resiliency is ‑‑ he's not physically a compact muscular player. He obviously weighs 265 pounds, so he's not a lightweight. But his ability to tip the ball, to get angles, to play his length on people is very striking, and I thought tonight he did a great job. We tried to double‑team obviously. Drew was having troubles in there. They got three‑point looks in the third quarter. Turkoglu knocked down a couple, he got hot at the end of the second quarter. Lewis ripped off some points against us, so then we had to go straight up, and Pau did a good job on him."
Q. I'm curious, do you feel fortunate because of the way regulation ended, or do you feel that because they dug deep in the overtime you take something out of that?
"Well, there is a sense of relief because they played very well. There's no doubt that they had every opportunity or chance to win the game. However, we had that ball at the end of the game with nine seconds after making a really good defensive play. We didn't get a good shot, and that Kobe didn't get a good opportunity I thought it disappointed him. It disappointed us but it didn't weigh us down going into overtime and that's what you're worried about. You don't get a good shot and they get a couple looks with some time‑outs and that's what you're always worried about. Even though we got a tip at overtime and got it going."
Q. What's been keeping Orlando from running, two fast break points tonight? And talk about possibly going to Orlando for three games.
"As you know, this has always been a difficult, the 2‑3‑2 alignment that comes out. It's been almost impossible to sweep three games. Detroit did it on us. I couldn't remember many times since this configuration happened that that goes down. But it weighs on the ‑‑ a big factor because Orlando hasn't had a playoff Finals in, what, 18 years, 16 years, it's going to be a big event for their town. We know there's going to be a lot of energy that's surrounding their team. We're going to have to play in a situation where we're going to have to use all our centers, foul situations, and I think that that's where they're going to be best at running and fast‑breaking and transition game. I think they'll be much better. Usually teams are on their home floor. We've kept that to a minimum at this point, and we're fortunate because of it. "
Q. How concerned are you about Andrew's effectiveness in the next couple games?
"I think he'll learn as he goes along. He made a critical mistake with his fifth foul, trying to run through a pick instead of sliding his way through and wedging his way through that screen. But I think he'll find a way to be effective for us. We need him for 20 minutes. We can't play him for the kind of minutes when he's in foul trouble. "
Q. Could Pau have played that type of defense on Howard last year? A lot of times he found himself alone.
"I'm not sure. It's hard to go back in retrospect and think of it. I know he's tougher ‑‑ he's done weight training, put his work in towards having more of a physical nature to his game. But I've always been impressed with his ability to find angles and play guys in a way in which the ball is not there for them. It's not as easy as it might appear, even with his slight or slender build.
Los Angeles Lakers Guard Kobe Bryant
Q. Do you feel you guys dodged a bullet tonight?
"I don't think we dodged a bullet. I think they played extremely well and we played well enough to win. You know, they bounced back like we knew they would, played extremely well, and we got out of here with a win."
Q. Talk about preparation and your traveling to Orlando.
"Just work hard tomorrow. I'm sure we'll watch film, see some of the things that we can correct, which are many of them, blew a lot of assignments tonight, and just be ready for Game 3."
Q. Can you give us a defender's eye view of that lob to Courtney Lee.
"Honestly, it was just a brilliant play. It was just a very, very smart play that he drew up. He knew my eye was more on the shooters coming up, and just a hell of a play by a hell of a coach. "
Q. You've been through these Finals so many times before, can you talk about the importance of holding the home court? I know the series is far from over, but at the same time you did what you wanted to do. Talk about the importance of being up 2‑0 as opposed to possibly having the series tied going to Orlando.
"We just did our job defending home court. Last two series we didn't do that, put ourselves in jeopardy having to go on the road and win a Game 3, and here we managed to do it. Now it's time to go to Orlando and see if we can't get one."
Q. You found Pau for that lay‑up in overtime that was a key play. Can you talk about the way you communicate and keep each other involved in each other's games throughout the course of the game?
"We're always talking to each other, always, things that we see and defenses ‑‑ their whole defense is cocked towards me and Pau, so we're in constant dialogue that we can see, adjustments that we can make on the fly, and we've been kind of trying to time that up the right way the whole game. It just didn't work out for us, and at the right time it did."
Q. When you speak to him in Spanish, is that more of like a gesture, or at any time is it a tactical advantage?
"You know what, it's just what language comes to me first to be honest with you. It's just whatever rolls off the tongue."
Q. Can you describe that play a little bit more in detail, what you saw, how it unfolded from your perspective?
"Which one?"
Q. The one where you passed to Pau.
"We just put Dwight in a situation where he had to make a choice, simple as that. Pau and I timed it perfectly with him being parallel to myself and him having the right angle to get it to him just in case Dwight committed. He committed, and I got Pau an easy bucket, and one."
Q. Phil said that he didn't believe this game was up to your standards. What do you think about that comment? And if so, why?
"Meaning what?"
Q. Seeing open players, being able to strip the ball if you were doubled.
"He said the team wasn't up to our standards?"
Q. He said he didn't think you played up to your standards tonight.
"No, absolutely not. I didn't read the coverages as well as I did, and we still managed to win the game. It's on me to make those adjustments, make those reads, and I'll come back Game 3 ready."
Q. Is that being a little overanxious or what?
"No, it's just like the quarterback throws an interception every now and then. You know what I mean, it's the same type of situation."
Q. Can you talk about the difficulty of what Orlando has to do on their home court? Fish and I have been discussing how big this game was and how tough it is for anybody to win three straight, whether it's on their home court or not.
"I don't think they're thinking about that, they're thinking about one game. This is a very loosy‑goosy team we're playing against. You seen some of the shots they hit tonight, those are tough shots. Supposed to be tough shots. For them it's like shooting fish in a barrel. They're just thinking about Game 3, and so are we."
Q. The second part is your game face has been on the entire series. Still waiting for a big smile out of you. You're up 2‑0. What's the story? Are you not happy or only half happy?
"What's there to be happy about?
Q. You're up 2‑0.
"The job is not finished. Is the job finished? I don't think so."
Q. I wanted to ask you two questions: One, what kind of coverages were you getting tonight? And it seemed it was a more difficult night for you offensively. What were they doing to force that? And can you talk about some of the adversity this year Derek Fisher has gone through lately, his shot wasn't falling, having trouble with some of the guys like Aaron Brooks, and what he did tonight?
"Coverage is a little misleading. In terms of me turning the ball over, that was me having to make smarter decisions with the basketball and not having to force the ball in certain situations and making sure guys stayed spaced, stayed in right positions. Those are things we can adjust in terms of scoring the ball. That is what it is. The thing I need to adjust to is the turnovers.
Derek is a professional, he's going to keep on coming all the time. If he's not shooting the ball well, it's not going to affect him. It's not going to affect the next shot, and he's going to continue to shoot the ball and play with great energy and play with great confidence."
Q. Experience is divine on this squad right now, making the plays, executing down the stretch. You've reached the abyss with the warrior glare, but it just seemed tonight Gasol and D. Fish separated themselves making key plays in money time.
"Yeah, that's what great teams do. You've got to have other guys step up and contribute and make big plays, and we've been doing that the whole playoffs. Lamar just had a great, great game, particularly in the fourth quarter. The guys played well."
Q. You talk about energy. Think about what you spent the other night to have that kind of win and then think about tonight and the fight that you had tonight. How hard is it to keep that even, knowing where you want to go and the goals you have? How hard is it for you guys to be on an even plane energy‑wise?
"We're about to kick it up."
Q. So you have more to give?
"You'd better believe it. We're close. You see what I'm saying? This is The Finals. We're going to be ready to go."
Q. Is it hard then when you win a game the way you did the other night, is it hard not to have a drop‑off coming into today?
"No, I don't think we had a drop‑off at all. Our energy was actually higher than it was the other night. But Orlando, they just executed extremely well. They have a great coach, they made great adjustments, and they busted us. The energy was there, it's just that they made their adjustments. So we have to make ours and we have to be ready to go in Game 3, and we will be. But they will be, too."
Los Angeles Lakers Forward Pau Gasol
Q. Could you have played that type of defense on Howard last year?
"Did I?
Q. No, could you have? How much have you improved defensively?
"I think I've improved. I think I've improved physically to be able to hold my ground a little better. I worked hard for it all year long and continued working to show I can be effective against bigger guys. So far, so good. But I'm looking forward to continuing to do my work in the upcoming games."
Q. You were right there that last play of regulation. You came rushing over, were you surprised that Lee missed it? Do you guys feel like you got away with a second chance there? That was a pretty well executed play, they just didn't finish it.
"I was happy he missed it. I was obviously relieved when he missed that shot because it could have been a heartbreaker, and right now we could be in a totally different situation. I was surprised he was kind of wide open. But I tried to contest it as good as I could, and then we gave ourselves a chance to win the ballgame."
Q. Since last year's Finals last to Boston, there was a lot of talk about you and Lamar kind of being soft inside. How much did that motivate you guys? And did you do anything to kind of correct that or anything like that?
"I never really got upset about it. I think that the media try to find reasons why things happen. But I think I'm the hardest on myself than anybody else. I really criticize myself when I don't perform well, when I fall short, and last year I felt like I fell short at the end. I ran out of strength. I ran out of energy and couldn't deliver the way I wanted to. I think I played pretty tough throughout the playoffs. We had a couple games that we just couldn't or didn't compete as hard as Boston did, and we got labeled as being soft, a soft team. Oh, well, right?
This year, bottom line, we're playing tougher. We understand what it takes to go get the championship, and so far we've been doing pretty well. We're in a good position right now. We still haven't done anything, we just took care of our first two games, and we're looking forward to going to Orlando and accomplishing something positive there."
Q. I've been told that you were in the weight room a lot more this year. Can you compare how much you're in there this year versus the previous seasons?
"Yeah, I just feel stronger. I feel like the work that I put in this year has paid off and is paying off. I'm able to hold my ground a lot better, and overall I think I'm doing pretty well. I've been staying out of injuries all year long I think because of it, also, because I got myself in that position, and I've been disciplined about it. It's been good."
Q. Talk about the team's defensive intensity in the overtime. It was very, very clutch. What was going through you guys' mind, the team defense in overtime?
"Yeah, it was great. I think we were able to turn it up a notch and make sure that Turkoglu wasn't getting those shots he got at the end of the fourth quarter, those looks that he got. Trevor did a great job of chasing him around the screens. I was able to pull up higher and make sure he didn't have those looks, force him to penetrate and then contest the shot.
It was definitely a very good team effort down the stretch. We understood that we had to get this done and how well we could do it, we did it, and we're definitely excited about it, happy about it."
Q. Have you ever sensed that that soft label gets quickly attached to European players more so than other players? Have you sensed that with you and other guys that come from Europe?
"Yeah, it tends to be that way, I think, because a guy has a set of skills and is more of a finesse player, then he's labeled as a soft player more likely. It is what it is. I'm not bothered by it because I know I'm a competitor, I'm a winner, and I've competed for my whole career, and nobody has given me anything. I had to earn everything I got, and I'm proud to be where I am today.
You know, aside from that, I don't really care much about comments like that."
Q. For their starting front court, 73 points, 33 rebounds, 15 assists. Can they play any better than that, and what can you guys do differently to scale that back?
"Yeah, they played well. Their front court really stepped up tonight and was able to have a big, big impact in the game. I think Rashard got going and obviously had a huge game for them. Hedo stepped up and made a lot of plays, also, and Dwight had a pretty good game, too. We're going to have to do a better job of limiting them to tougher shots and make sure they don't get open looks. I think they got too many open threes that nobody was even close to them, and we just can't afford that against this team. They're too good of a shooting team to allow them to have good looks repeatedly. I think we can make adjustments, we can get better as a team for Game 3, and again, try to get another win."
Los Angeles Lakers Forward Lamar Odom
Q. Tell us how you felt tonight in your performance. Did you feel more energized? Did you feel that you would have to come out and take up the slack with Andrew getting in foul trouble?
"Just was focused on the game and wanted to perform well, wanted to make the game hard for Rashard Lewis. I didn't do a good job with that in the first half. I kind of lost him a couple times, lost him on some rotations. I just had to stay involved in the game and help off the ball and try to make some plays defensively. I felt really comfortable and really confident in my shot."
Q. Tell us about going back to Orlando. With the two‑game win now going back to Orlando, them having home court, tell us what your expectations are and the level of intensity that will be required for the Lakers to win back there.
"Of course we know how it is to play on the road in The Finals, with having to ‑‑ we played Boston last year, so we know what to expect. We've just got to take it possession by possession, take care of the basketball, don't turn it over, shoot well from the free‑throw line and let our game do the talking."
Q. Can you talk about the significance of holding on to home court here, winning both the games. Obviously the series isn't decided after the first two games, but history certainly gives the huge advantage to a team that can win both at home, the first two.
"We wanted to win this game just to keep the pressure on them. Both teams want this. It was is tough for us last year, getting embarrassed in Boston. I guess with this win, we kind of kept that pressure on. But we still have to take care of business, like I said, just focus on each possession.
It's tough on the road, and they're going to be comfortable at home. We've got three games out there. Hopefully we can just take it possession by possession."
Q. Can you talk about your rotations defensively. When Bynum came out, it looked like you and Pau really communicated very well, you switched very well on Howard, and it seemed like you guys were still able to get back. How do you feel about the way you guys rotated down low and defended the line.
"I think we did a much better job last game. This game we had a couple breakdowns, and you can't give Turkoglu and Lewis open looks because it kind of gets them going and they start putting the ball on the floor, they start making plays, and next thing you know they start making these tough threes, these tough jumpers with the time running down on the shot clock. We have to run those guys off their shots at the beginning of the game. They did a great job of getting those threes up.
You know, me and Pau have a lot of experience. Experience is the best teacher of them all. We played in The Finals, went to The Finals, I guess only in a half a season of basketball with each other, and we have a strong connection."
Q. Is it tough on that sag because you're sagging low when Howard is out there. Is it tough to get out of that?
"Any time you've got a guy like that rolling to the basket, if you don't catch them, then they hit for a dunk. You have to chuck him as hard as possible and get to a shooter like Rashard Lewis, and even Turkoglu is tough. But the job has to get done, we don't have a choice."
Q. Just a couple weeks ago your back was really tender, you had that big bruise. Were you ever frustrated, think you wouldn't be able to get back up to the effort you had the last couple games?
"Nothing in my life has been easy, like from day one. I don't expect it. I've got a nice big house, I expect the door to break. I expect something to go wrong. That's life.
I look down today and I see I played 45 minutes, Kobe played 48. He's always hurt, Pau is hurt. That's the way it is. I'm an athlete. I have to just take care of myself, get better. I feel better. I'm tired as hell, excuse my language. I'm tight, my back is tight, go home and eat, massage, sleep, and just get ready to go and play Orlando."
Q. Has it been a profound bamboo sort of flavor, a bend, do not break mentality, you guys have to be ready for that, but you locked in for probably the two biggest free throws of your life. What was going through your mind when you buried both free throws?
"Actually nothing."
Q. That's perfect.
"You know, as an athlete sometimes that's the best thing that you can do is not think. It's a muscle memory thing, let that take over. I've been playing for how many years, right, practicing for eight months. How many free throws did I sink in practice? I just got up there, three dribbles, get it up and let my muscle memory take over."
Q. Talk about the Spaniard Pau Gasol making so many plays in the fourth quarter plus overtime.
"Incredible. His hand‑eye coordination is remarkable for someone that size. He never drops the ball. He's great at catching and delivering really quick, keeping the basketball high. He's one of the best players I've ever played with."
Q. So you're not a selfish guy. I've talked to you before about this, so I'm going to ask you, when you're scoring as efficiently, you said you were very comfortable in your shot tonight, can you call for it more or try to get more touches, more offensive looks, or do you just get it let go and is that not on your mind in that situation?
"You've got Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, those guys are perennial All‑Stars. I know the offense, I know how to find my way through the offense and get those shots and make them when they count, and all I have to do is get the defense leaning to me and then Pau and Kobe get it going. There's going to be some nights I just have to be efficient. I got nine shots, I want to make eight. It was just one of those games. I've got to just take advantage when my opportunity comes. "
Q. Orlando was able to jack up 30 three‑point shots. What do you have to do to limit their touches beyond the arc?
"That's part of the offense. That's who they are. You've got to deal with Dwight Howard or he'll get 40. It's tough. You have to be able to run them off those shots. Some of them they're going to make. After the first half we came in the locker room and we thought the three kept them in the game. That's the way it is.
We have to stop the Big Fella. They're a smart team. We get the ball to him first. They'd make it easy if they just got threes and gave him the ball. But when it goes in, you have to dig it out. Turkoglu and Lewis are 6'9"."
Q. What's the best way to deny them?
"Like I said, when the ball goes in to Howard, you've got to double. When you double, somebody is open. They do a good job at kicking it out and swing, swing, and one of those laps happened to be open. They did a good job today of hitting the long ball."
Orlando Magic Forward Rashard LewisQ. Three assists shy of a triple‑double. Talk about your game tonight.
"I felt good coming into the game tonight. I think I wanted to be aggressive early on in the game, if not get shots for myself but create shots for other guys, and I was able to do that. We made it a good game. But unfortunately didn't get the win. When you lose a game like that, the stats doesn't really mean anything."
Q. Can you talk about two things, the turnovers, concerns with that in this game, because that really killed you. And what you expect to be different when you get in front of your home court.
"Turnovers was the reason we lost the game tonight. We had 20 turnovers, and I don't remember the last time we had that many turnovers. We're pretty good at taking care of the ball, and that most definitely was the outcome of the game. We created a lot of fast break points for them. If you turn the ball over against a good team like the Lakers, they're going to take advantage of it. Hopefully we're looking forward to going home with a lot of energy in the building, and hopefully we'll get wins when we go back home."
Q. What did you think of Courtney's attempt there at the end of regulation?
"He got a good look at it. I don't know if it was a bad pass. It seemed like he was a little bit under the basket when he caught the ball for the lay‑up and it was a tough play for him. He had to get it off quick because there was only 0.6 seconds left. From the angle I was at it looked like he was a little under the basket. Maybe he was a little off. It could have went either way, and you've got to roll with the punches, and didn't get the lay‑up so we had to go into overtime."
Q. Stan was just in here talking about percentage just being still so low, and a lot of the players getting good looks and not being able to get it in. How do you get the offense going in Game 3?
"Got to keep shooting the ball. Shooters never stop shooting, and I think he's talking about the majority of the team as one unit. Only a couple guys are making shots here and there, but we need everybody to step up and making shots, especially when Dwight is getting double‑teamed. We've got to open it up somehow, it can't just be one guy, as a unit, from the point guards down to me. We've got to hit threes or jump shots, so Dwight can have a one‑on‑one."
Q. Talk about guard play, guard rotations. It seems like the guards on this team, on your team, they had a tough night tonight, but it seems like the rotation isn't what you guys are comfortable with or accustomed to and whether that's Rafer and Jameer or whatever. Are your guards in sync and how do you get them back on a roll?
"Our guards are great for us. I thought Rafer and Jameer did what they were supposed to. They did their job out there. But early on we got in foul trouble, I had two fouls, Courtney Lee, Pietrus had two fouls and we had to bring J.J. in off the bench and he played great, so Coach rolled with him and he hit a couple big shots for us that kept us in that game.
I thought the only thing is we just have to make more shots when Dwight is get being double‑teamed. We've got to look in the mirror and point at themselves and not point the finger and see what you can do to make our team better the next game out."
Q. I know you don't dwell on the loss and team has proven itself to be resilient, but if I can ask you a question about a chance, you had the chance to win, is this a bit heart breaking when you're ahead with a minute to go in regulation?
"It is most definitely heart breaking when you feel like you had a chance to win this game and you let it slip right out of your hands, especially playing on their home court. We most definitely wanted to get this win, take home‑court advantage back to Orlando. We feel like we play very well at home. But the ball didn't bounce our way. The last lay‑up Courtney had could have easily went in and we could have easily not gone into overtime and went home tied 1‑1. But it didn't happen, Lakers are 2‑0 and we have to go home and take care of home just like they took care of home. "
Q. Did playing the Cavs and now the two games against the Lakers, a couple key variables that make the Lakers so successful, I know they have LeBron, the Lakers have Kobe, but was it the big guys here? They had Ilgauskas and Varejao, but is it Bynum and Gasol and the big guys that the Lakers have that's the difference?
"Well, their big guys are very good. Bynum is a great player, Gasol, as well, is a great player. But I think the difference is with the Lakers, you can't have 20 turnovers and expect to beat a good team like the Lakers. They're a very smart team. They're a veteran team with Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant, who's a great talent and a great player. When you have 20 turnovers against a talented as well as a smart team, it's going to be very tough to win that game."
Q. Monster resolve from your Magic squad, but to take four out of five, you've learned over the process of the playoffs how to come back in series. Is this any different?
"Coach talked about that in the locker room. We were down to Philadelphia 2‑1 and were down to the Boston Celtics and went on to win the series. This is nothing new for us. The next game is very important. It's a must‑win. You definitely don't want to dig a three‑game hole for yourselves. We'll look at the film. But we're a team that bounces back. I thought we played great tonight, gave ourselves a chance to win the game, and we've got to go home, and this next game is most definitely a must‑win."
Orlando Magic Center Dwight HowardQ. You guys have been down 2‑0 in the past. Just talk about what you can draw from your past experience going into Game 3.
"We've just got to go home and take care of business. The Lakers did a good job of protecting their home, and now it's our turn to do the same thing. We've been in some tough situations. We've just got to fight our way out."
Q. A lot of times when you beat Bynum, Gasol and Odom are right there. How much has their length been a factor in these first two games?
"I don't think it's a big factor. We just had to find ways of scoring or kick it out to the open guys. They do a great job of collapsing once I beat one of their bigs. I've got to do a better job of finding open men, and we've just got to knock down shots."
Q. They had a big advantage in points in the paint in Game 1. You guys were able to control the points in the paint tonight and you guys outrebounded them substantially, but it seemed that you were doomed by turnovers and Stan alluded to the turnovers being what killed you guys. What happened?
"We've just got to take care of the ball. There's a lot of times, I know myself, this is probably one of the games where I've had a lot of turnovers in the playoffs. I've just got to do a better job of finding my teammates and being aware of the guards coming in the paint for strips.
As a team we've just got to do better with not turning the ball over. That's how they got going on the offensive end, because of our turnovers, and it gave them the game tonight."
Q. That being said, as the starting front court you guys were over 50 percent from the field. Can you duplicate that in Game 3?
"Hopefully we can do better. We play better at home. We tend to run more, shots fall more, but we've got to come out and really try not to turn the ball over as much as we did. That allowed them to get off on a break and get easy points, and we can control that, we should win."
Q. Are they doing anything defensively that you haven't seen in the previous series? Second, is Pau a better defender than you might have been led to believe?
"No, I've been playing against Pau for a couple of years. I think they're doing a great job, team defense. They're mixing it up on me. When Pau is on me, he's forcing me baseline, and there's a big coming to trap me. They're mixing it up. They're doing some crazy things, and it's been frustrating me a little bit. But I just have to be more patient and trust my teammates, kick it out and allow them to hit the open shots, and hopefully that will free me up more on the inside."
Q. Is it different, though? Has this defensive scheme been different than what you've seen this playoffs?
"A little bit. You know, they're doing something different. They're forcing me baseline and they're coming as soon as I put the ball down. So it's a learning experience for me. I've just got to really do my homework and try to find ways to beat it. But I think the biggest thing is just passing it out and allowing my team to hit those shots. That should open it up some more."
Q. Is the Lakers' defense the toughest defense you have faced in your career?
"We've played against a lot of teams that play great defense. I think every team in the NBA is good when they have a chance to set up their defense in half court. We have to do a better job of running and getting open shots and freeing up different people. I think during the game we ran and got in transition and we were able to get easy buckets. But any team is tough to score on once they get their defense set."
Q. Did you ever feel frustrated tonight?
"Yeah, I was frustrated tonight and in the first game, but being the leader on my team, my teammates cannot see my frustrated. I've got to play through all the different situations and learn from them."
Q. It looked like you guys kind of came on the floor to maybe console Courtney after the play at the end of the regulation. What were you saying to him there?
"He had a close one. He had a chance to finish the game. It just wasn't there for it to happen. There was nothing we could do about it. He missed the shot."
Q. Do you feel like you let them off the hook a little bit?
"We had our chances to win. You know, we turned the ball over too much tonight. That got them the win."
Q. You played the Cavs and now you've played the Lakers two games. From your perspective, are the Lakers' bigs more challenging than the Cavs' bigs?
"It's their defensive scheme. Phil is a smart, smart coach. Not saying the coach from Cleveland isn't, but the way they're using their bigs on the defensive end has been a little tricky for me. Like I said, it's something that I'm learning. Their bigs are doing a great job of forcing me to other bigs.
Like I said, I've got to trust my teammates and allow those guys to hit shots, and that will open everything up for me. But I've just got to do some more work on the offensive end, running, going to the glass and trying to get points that way."
Q. Do you think that Jameer's play has hindered the team chemistry? And do you think he'll be more effective at home?
"I don't think Jameer has hindered anything. He's gone in there and he's done a good job, just lost some tough games. First game was obviously a blowout, tonight's game turnovers cost us, but there's nothing one individual person did to mess up the game. We win as a team and we lose as a team, so we can't fault Jameer's coming back messing up our team."
Q. But do you expect him to play better next couple games at home?
"I expect all of us to play better. If we want to win, all of us got to step our games up."
Q. Do you think that Cleveland's big guys were slightly slower than the guys that you're playing now?
"The Cleveland series is over with. It's a different ballgame. They've been doing a good job so far. There's no way you can compare Cleveland's bigs to the Lakers' bigs. They're different styles. You've got Ilgauskas who's more of a shooter; Bynum and Gasol, they move their feet better than Ilgauskas.
But it's two different teams, two different game plans. We've just got to go back, do our homework and come out ready for Game 3 and get a win."
Orlando Magic Head Stan Van GundyQ. You went the last nine and a half minutes without either Jameer or Rafer on the floor. What prompted that decision? And how effective do you think it was?
"You can decide how effective it was. You know, I thought Rafer was playing well, but they're just leaving him open on every post‑up, and we couldn't get the ball in the basket, so we were just searching for somebody to be able to make a shot. Obviously we didn't find anybody. Our guards were 6 for 26, and I think for the most part ‑‑ I thought, again, LA's defense was good, but I thought our guards for the most part had very good open looks. For the most part we just couldn't knock anything down. That was the only thing, we were just trying to see if we could get somebody out there who would make shots off of the double teams and off the pick‑and‑rolls and things like that. I thought our guys fought hard, but we couldn't make enough plays. And the 20 turnovers crushed us in the end. "
Q. Can you talk about that last play of regulation of Courtney?
"He missed it. I don't know what else to say. Hedo made a ‑‑ we executed well, Hedo made a great pass, and we missed it. I don't really know. I'm not trying to be a pain in the butt. I just don't know what else to say about it. It was a great pass, it was right there, and he missed it. "
Q. And you mentioned the guards just not being able to get shots and the offense in general.
"I thought they got plenty of shots. I don't think it's much trouble to get our guards shots; they're not guarding them. They're only guarding three guys, so it's not very hard to get those guys shots."
Q. So the execution then, how do you fix that?
"I don't have any idea how to fix that. "
Q. Where did that play come from? Have you seen something that made you think that he was open?
"If I did, I would have called it the first time. We had to take a time‑out after the first play. That didn't work, and you draw up something different."
Q. Did you just draw that up or did that come from deep in the play book?
"Well, I mean, I have that play, but I did draw it up. I mean, so I don't know how to put that. We've run that play before, but it's not one our guys would know on a call. We certainly haven't run it much. We've run it maybe two or three times."
Q. Can you talk about the decision to put Hedo on Kobe Bryant and how that went?
"Well, I didn't think that we had a lot of choice. When Pietrus fouled out, I think that ‑‑ you know, if you notice the first part of each half, particularly the first part of the second half, on Courtney, on smaller guys, even when we were trying to come and give some help and double, he was just turning away from the double, raising up, and so we felt like we needed more size on him.
We couldn't get much playing time out of Pietrus today because of the foul trouble, so when he fouled out, I mean, I don't have a lot of choices. I don't have another big guard. All our other guards are small, so it's Hedo or Rashard.
How did it go? About like it always goes guarding Kobe. "
Q. In two games you lose the first game by 25, you lose a nail‑biter in overtime here. You've done as a coach everything you possibly could have done today ‑‑
"I wouldn't say that. That's not right. We win and lose together. It's not me doing everything and our players not getting it done. All we did was try a lot of stuff today. If you don't walk out with a win, you didn't do the right stuff. The bottom line is we tried some different things.
I will say this: I'm not sure I got another lineup to throw out there that you haven't seen now, okay, unless I'm going to play like Dwight, Marcin, Tony, Rashard and Hedo. I don't have another one now. We played with no point guard, we played conventionally, we had Rashard at the three, we played Hedo at the one, two and three. We played Rashard at the three and four. We played big, we played with no point guard. What do they say, just keep throwing stuff at the wall and hope something sticks. "
Q. What do you tell your team as you go home for three games?
"I mean, what I just told them was the bottom line is we knew we were going to have to win here in LA in this series, just like we had to in the Boston and Cleveland series. From a mental standpoint it was a little easier in those series because we won Game 1. Bottom line is we came here for two games and we didn't get the job done. Now we have to go home and have a great Game 3. I've seen series turn, as I told them. I was still in Miami not doing a damn thing, but I was still in Miami in 2006 when they lost both games in Dallas and then were way down in the third quarter in Game 3 at home, came back and won that one, Dallas never won another game.
You know, series can change. You've got to take it one game at a time. Right now extremely frustrating not to have gotten tonight because I thought we fought hard. I didn't think we played great again because we had 20 turnovers but we fought hard. We had chances to win. We didn't get it done. We've got to go home and play a great game in Game 3 and get the win. "
Q. I'm not talking about a moral victory because there are none at this stage, but do you think that at this point you're starting to see there's some ways you can attack the Lakers? Do you feel like there's a formula you're putting together as a coach?
"No, I didn't see that. If the formula was 20 turnovers and 41 percent shooting, it's not a very good formula. "
Q. As far as Hedo and Rashard tonight, they had a much better offensive night than the time before. What do you draw from that?
"Well, Rashard made shots, so that's a good thing, and I do think ‑‑ Rashard I thought was very active away from the ball moving around. I thought he moved without the ball. We moved him into some different spots. He moved on his own on Dwight's post‑ups and on pick‑and‑rolls. They lost track of him a little because they're giving so much attention to Dwight on the roll, and Hedo on the pick‑and‑roll was able to get free a little bit. I thought Hedo made some good plays on the pick‑and‑roll but also had five turnovers, and I thought for a while there, particularly late third quarter, we did a good job on Dwight's post‑ups. Dwight was patient, throwing the ball out and creating open shots, and then in the fourth quarter I think he wanted to do it. He wanted to do it and be the guy and forced him into some bad plays and some turnovers and some really difficult shots. So we went away from that.
But I do think all three of those guys played better than they did on Thursday night, and we'll need them to not only continue that but to get better from here. "
Q. And also, as far as overtime, what do you think were the keys for the Lakers and what went wrong for you guys?
"Well, I thought that where it turned, and we had back‑to‑back plays, I thought, where J.J. had a wide‑open three, wide open and missed it, and then he had a play on a pick‑and‑roll and a turnover on the pass to Dwight. So we came up empty on two plays where I think we had created what could have been very good shots, and that was difficult. I thought J.J. played real well, but he was like the rest of our guards, he struggled to get it in the basket. I thought he played real well, but I thought those back‑to‑back plays sort of turned it their way.
Q. You were talking about needing to find something that worked in the half court. What you were just alluding to, the plays where Dwight was kicking the ball out to shooters, seemed like it got Turkoglu going. It seemed like you got a handle on how to run an offense?
"That's kind. We had 20 turnovers and shot the ball 42 percent. We got it going a little better in the third quarter. I think the key for us, not because it's the Lakers or anything they're doing, simply because it's the way we play, we've got to continue to play inside out. And I thought when we did, when we got in the paint either on drives or on post‑ups, took the second defender and threw the ball out, we were able to create pretty good shots. We've got to make more of them than we did, but I think we will.
But then there were still times when we forced plays, and obviously we've got to be a lot better with the ball. 20 turnovers, especially when you're not shooting it great, makes it very difficult. When I look at these numbers, it's amazing to me that this was an overtime game. I can't quite figure out how it was looking at these numbers."
