Phil Jackson on Player's In-Game Responsibilities

Some excellent insight on how Phil Jackson foster independence in his players from a June 9 interview by Kevin Ding in the OCREGSTER.COM

It is not about empowering as much as developing the mindset that your players are responsible for helping to determine what is effective and what is not in the flow of a game.

Q. That two man game that Kobe and Derek were running last night, is that a wrinkle of the triangle offense or some of their improvise drawn up on their own?

PHIL JACKSON: No, it’s just the most basic format we have, based on strong side fill and get the ball moving and what happens. But in the process of a couple actions that went on prior to that, they recommended that this is a place where we can go that’ll make a difference. They don’t want to come off Kobe to have to deal with it.

So, you know, we can take advantage of this, and we did.

Q. Is that something that you empower the players to be able to come to you and suggest that type of thing?

PHIL JACKSON: It’s really their responsibility, it’s not even empowering. It’s their responsibility to understand how they’re being played inside and what we do and recommend those things and make the adjustments on court. That’s what they’re to do, the veterans.

Playoff strategies - apply them all season

On March 16th, thoughts were provided regarding tournament strategies and how they should really be applied all season. The same can be said of the NBA playoffs. The lessons and messages from the coaches of the four semi-final teams have likely been stressed repeatedly. Even though the playoffs seem to provide the bigger spotlight and microscope, if the concepts below aren't addressed in the regular season then a team will not even make the playoffs. Some recent quotes to ponder:

• "Most disappointing to me was I didn't have our team better ready to play," (Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy)
• "It's my job. I'm the coach of this team. It starts with me and I'm not happy with where we had our team tonight or anything I did." (Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy)
• "He's leading the team. He's playing with great focus. He's giving an amazing effort, never giving up on any possession." (Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers commenting on the play of his point guard, Rajon Rondo)
• "We've found a number of ways to score." (Lakers coach Phil Jackson commenting on his team's unselfishness and every player being involved)
• "Every time we tried to make an adjustment to slow them down.......they go somewhere else" (Suns coach Alvin Gentry regarding the Lakers having many players that attack, the sharing of the ball, and the subsequent difficulty to defend)
• "It was a defensive game, and we like those.......everyone is healthy, everyone's listening, and everyone's buying into our defensive schemes." (Celtics coach Doc Rivers)
• "As a coach you try to look at situations and try to put them in the best positions to see if they can execute and do some things that would help us defensively. Didn’t work, so we’ll try something else." (Suns coach Alvin Gentry on defensive game-planning, using his defenders, trying to exploit a team's weakness)
  

Last minute gift suggestions

At this time of year, many people find themselves looking for that perfect gift for a coach, assistant, athlete, volunteer, etc. Consider a book. Learning is indeed a lifelong process. There are plenty of great basketball books (old and new) available in stores and online. Of the many titles, in no particular order, here are a few recommendations:

• The Ultimate Coaches' Career Manual by Pat Williams
• Beyond Basketball by Mike Krzyzewski
• Court Sense by John Giannini
• Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
• Wins, Losses, and Lessons by Lou Holtz
• Coaching Team Basketball by Tom Crean and Ralph Pim
• Dream Big Dreams (Jack Donohue) by Mike Hickey
• Born to Believe by Butch and Cris Carter
• The Carolina Way by Dean Smith
• Sacred Hoops by Phil Jackson
• Roger's World (Roger Neilson) by Wayne Scanlan
• Beyond Winning by Gary Walton
• My Story by Bob Knight
• Basketball Basics - How to Play Like The Pros by Jay Triano
• A Coach's Life by Dean Smith
• The Miracle of St. Anthony (Bob Hurley Sr.) by Adrian Wojnarowski
• A March to Madness by John Feinstein
• You Haven't Taught Until They Have Learned (John Wooden) by Swen Nater and Ronald Gallimore

The holidays are a wonderful time to catch up on some reading. Encourage it. Share it.