March 23, 200917 yr Don't give me Phil Jackson. He may be a great coach, but we will never really know. He coached the Bulls with Jordan and Pippen. No one was going to beat those teams. As soon as Jordan retired the 2nd time he got out of dodge. Amazingly he ended up in LA with the most dominant big man of all-time in Shaq and a young emergilng star in Kobe. Those teams walked to the championship. When their run was finally ended, Shaq wanted out and so did Phil. Now he's back. Team is talented. Last year he had his first real adversity in a finals series and the Lakers got smacked. He may be a great coach but it is tough to tell considering he has coached teams that involved two of the best duo's in NBA history.
March 23, 200917 yr Don't give me Phil Jackson. He may be a great coach, but we will never really know. He coached the Bulls with Jordan and Pippen. No one was going to beat those teams. As soon as Jordan retired the 2nd time he got out of dodge. Amazingly he ended up in LA with the most dominant big man of all-time in Shaq and a young emergilng star in Kobe. Those teams walked to the championship. When their run was finally ended, Shaq wanted out and so did Phil. Now he's back. Team is talented. Last year he had his first real adversity in a finals series and the Lakers got smacked. He may be a great coach but it is tough to tell considering he has coached teams that involved two of the best duo's in NBA history. That argument would have held more weight prior to Phil's most recent stint in LA. The Lakers weren't that good when Phil returned. He has played a huge part in this team's return to elite status. What he does best is develop the role players on his team. He gets them to buy into and take pride in their roles, while getting his star(s) to trust those guys. He deserves a lot of credit for the development and progression of this team. The Lakers went 34-48 and 45-37 in two year's without Phil. He returned three years ago. In his first season back, the Lakers were 42-40 (#7 seed) with virtually the same roster as they started last season with. After adding Fisher, the Lakers were not regarded as a front-runner before last season began, yet they came out strong, won the west and lost in the NBA finals. Prior to the season, they weren't expected to be that good. (And, before anyone brings up the Gasol trade, the Lakers were winning the western conference before the acquired Gasol, when Bynum was healthy). So, it took Phil Jackson roughly one season to turn a .500 team into a the top dog in the western conference and a strong contender to win the title. Nobody was claiming the Lakers were loaded with talent a year and a half ago. Now that Jackson has put his stamp on the team, he doesn't get the credit? Best current coach for sure and probably the best in league history.
March 23, 200917 yr Additionally, Phil could have very well won a title in Chicago without Jordan were it not for some questionable officiating in the conference finals.
March 23, 200917 yr Additionally, Phil could have very well won a title in Chicago without Jordan were it not for some questionable officiating in the conference finals. I don't know if they could have stopped Olajuwon in the finals. He was tough.
March 23, 200917 yr I don't know if they could have stopped Olajuwon in the finals. He was tough. For sure. But, I think Chicago should have been there. I think they were better than New York and got jipped by the stripes. Whether they would have beat Houston, we'll never know. But, I certainly think they could have.
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