Jackson’s title road again blocked by Rivers

The beginning:

The Los Angeles Lakers came to the sideline in the heat of their last, desperate push and listened to Phil Jackson stir their spirits with one final biting criticism of the Boston Celtics.

This team has lost more games in the fourth quarter than anybody in the NBA. They know how to lose in the fourth quarter. They’re just showing us that right now.

Jackson’s words were meant for the Lakers, to be heard only by the Lakers, until ABC’s microphones picked them up. Soon enough, all of New England had one more insult to burn as fuel. Doc Rivers smiled at that. Like all coaches, he’s bleeped his way through a few speeches he’s glad ended up on a network cutting-room floor.

Still, Jackson’s rallying cry gave the Celtics more than a few reasons to laugh. Know how to lose?

Doesn’t that describe Jackson’s own team?

The rest:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AoNwpgDiRSGvBIV_D9LKk_s5nYcB?slug=jy-finalscoaches061410


The Conclusion:

Jackson rarely seems bothered by much, but it’s clear there’s little warmth between he and Rivers. A disciple of Pat Riley and Gregg Popovich, Rivers has never worshiped at Jackson’s altar. The two will grunt the occasional pleasantry when they pass in the hallway, but little else. During the Finals, they’ve traded barbs about the officiating that appear to be aimed more at each other than the refs.

Asked after Game 4 to comment on the job Rivers has done in getting the Celtics to this stage, Jackson quickly made clear he didn’t consider it a subject worth discussing. He views Rivers as a competitor, as he should. Only two coaches have beaten Jackson in his 12 previous trips to the Finals. Larry Brown was one, Rivers the other.

Five games into these Finals, Jackson is again looking up at Rivers, his season on the brink. Jackson is 47-0 in playoff series when his team has won the opener, and the Celtics haven’t taken the Finals yet. So he reminded everyone that his Lakers still have home-court advantage. That he figured the Celtics would finally shoot well for one game. That his Lakers can pick up their defense.

Know how to lose?

Rivers smiled. He’s not the one trying to convince his team it can still win.

gyso, that last line said it all. None of us knows how things will go tonight but I think the one obvious conclusion that can be drawn from this series (with 2008 as further evidence) is that Doc "matches up" well against Phil. I am not even gonna go down the road of who's the better coach but as a long time boxing fan I'll give you guys an analogy. Ken Norton was a good fighter who though he held the heavyweight belt he never actually WON a title fight, but yet he is remembered favorably as being better than what he was because he "matched up" well against Muhammed Ali. This is not to say that Doc is Ken Norton but that he knows how to counteract and deflect the blows aka mind games of the zen (spin) master, the acknowledged heavyweight champ of nba coaches.

PLease don't get me wrong guys I am not trying to say or start a debate that Doc is a better coach than Phil, what I'm basically saying is "styles makes fights" and Doc's style seems to frustrate Phil more than any other coach he goes up against.

Phil Jackson might be an X and O genius. He may be a solid motivator and may have his guys prepared well before games, but his in game management has been pretty bad in this series.

He overworks his starters and is afraid to let any of his bigs on the bench get in the game. Even when Boston has 4 second teamers on the court - Phil has 2 or 3 of his starters, logging big minutes trying to keep up with them.

I dont like Phil personally - I think he is the most condescending, arrogant coach in the NBA - and I think Doc is one of the best motivators and managers in people in the NBA and a hell of a nice guy to boot. But in this case, it is more a matter of Doc's PLAYERS having more tenacity and more desire than Phil's players.

Does that make Doc a better coach - not sure. But it certainly puts the Celtics in a good position to win #18.