Posts tagged PhilJackson at FanHouse

The Lakers, like a lot of NBA teams, play several pre-season games in cities that are nowhere near NBA arenas. The idea is to give those fans a chance to see some live NBA action, which is normally a great idea. But this season, if you live in Fresno, Ontario, San Diego, or Anaheim, you may just want to pass up this opportunity. Because according to Phil Jackson, due to the heavy workload of playing through the Finals and then in the Olympics, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are likely to see an extremely limited number of pre-season minutes.

Jackson said he's trying to limit some of their activities because both are coming off the Olympics, and hinted that their participation in exhibition games could be limited as well.

"I'm just going this week, see how they're doing, how they feel, what their energy level is like," Jackson said of Bryant and Gasol. "I was told not to say that I wasn't going to play Kobe in exhibition games. So I'm not going to say that Kobe's not going to play in this exhibition, but there's a chance he may not play in exhibition games."

Ah, Phil, always the comedian. I'm sure he was told not to say anything about sitting Kobe and Pau by the league, as it probably wouldn't help ticket sales in those markets that I mentioned. Will he be fined for giving the fans and the media the heads up? Maybe, but I'm pretty sure it's worth it to have a slightly more rested duo of stars to begin the regular season.

Yesterday I mentioned how I thought Lamar Odom's comments regarding the proposition of him becoming a sixth man this season -- although he might have been kidding around -- were a little stiff. Apparently Phil Jackson thought so too, and the two talked a bit to hash things out. Odom backed off his comments a bit, but made it clear he wants his minutes this season.

"We talked a little bit. At the end of the day, that's out of my control. He's going to do whatever he wants to do. But I wouldn't suggest that, especially in a year when I want to be on the court, for obvious reasons. - I would take it like he bumped his ... head. Nah, that's a joke. I don't mean that. I would take it as this: He's trying to motivate me a little bit. I'll take it as a challenge."

Nice spin, Lamar. And the "obvious reasons" that Odom makes mention of are in the millions: as in, the millions of dollars he hopes to secure in his next contract, which he will be signing before the start of next season.

Contract years are not the time that players want to hear that they'll be receiving less minutes in a role off the bench, but Jackson says the minutes might not even change, that it would be more of a role like the one super-sub Manu Ginobili has on the Spurs.

There was a little bit of talk over the summer about the idea of Lamar Odom coming off the bench this season. With Andrew Bynum back in the mix, it seemed like a delightful possibility; one that would especially help the Lakers offensively when their second unit was on the floor. But you can forget all that. Odom was asked about it at the Lakers' Media Day yesterday, and hinted that Phil Jackson might have a screw loose if that's what he was thinking:

"He must have woke up and bumped his head. He probably hit his head on something -- boom," Odom said about Jackson. "To start off like that, you've got to be out of your . . . mind."

I have no proof of this, but having heard athletes speak for many years now, I'm guessing that the ellipsis between the words "your" and "mind" might just have been an expletive. And while I'm sure Odom was speaking in a lighthearted tone when he said this, it's still kind of disrespectful to Phil Jackson, isn't it?

We're not exactly sure how serious Phil was about moving Lamar to a sixth man role, or how serious Odom is about having no desire to go there. But it's definitely something to keep an eye on, as Odom is due for a new contract next season. If things go south between Lamar and his coach, Odom may very well find himself in another uniform before February's trade deadline.

Phil Jackson has put a temporary kibosh on the suggestion Lamar Odom may come out of the gate as L.A.'s sixth man, telling the assembled media in El Segundo Friday Odom will be the team's starting small forward. Jackson does leave open the possibility of a switch to Trevor Ariza at some point, should the combination need a tweak. Odom is the superior offensive player -- a talented scorer and distributor who knows the Triangle and is deferential enough to play with Kobe and Pau Gasol. Forum Blue & Gold seems on board with the "start the five best players" philosophy, and I tend to trust them on all matters Lakers.

But we know L.A.'s offense will be extraordinary with or without Odom. The Lakers -- with a Kobe, Pau, Odom troika -- racked up amazing numbers in last season's stretch run and through three rounds of playoff basketball. Andrew Bynum will come in. He's a fantastic offensive weapon -- he's still learning, but few Western bigs will be able to keep him off the offensive glass or kill his half-hook and baseline spins. He's not Hakeem, but he might already be one of top five low-post threats in the conference.

If Odom starts, will Bynum get any opportunities? I'm of the mind L.A.'s offense would be just fine with Kobe and Gasol handling most of the duties: Derek Fisher can hit shots, Ariza can sprint in transition, and again, Bynum's good. If you can be assured your starting five offense will be dominant and bolster the starting defense (with Ariza over Odom) and the bench offense, isn't that a better use of your weapons? I think the opportunity cost of starting Odom is greater than what you'd give up making the switch.

If you were one of the millions who followed Brett Edwards' FanHouse live blog, you'll remember Phil Jackson's marvelous Chris Mihm Experience in Game 5's second quarter was well-received by Lakers fans. According to the Orange County Register's Kevin Ding, even the celeb fans loved it!

Actor Denzel Washington, usually the picture of cool in his courtside seat at Lakers games, stood up Sunday night in the second quarter when no one near him was up or saying a word. With urgency that was no act, he yelled across the court toward the Lakers' bench after Chris Mihm air-balled a hook shot: "Phil!"

What's better, that Denzel -- who starred in one of the better 90s movies with a real live NBA player, no offense to Shazam -- felt the need to talk a nine-ringed coach off the ledge, or that he does so by screaming out said coach's first name only, with no further instruction or qualifications? I can't decide. Poor Mihm. I guarantee he didn't ask to go in the game.

(Via TrueHoop.)

Neither Finals combatant practiced on Friday. The Lakers were summoned to El Segundo, but Phil Jackson dismissed them quickly -- not because they were banged up, though. From the Associated Press:

"You know, just in the checking out of how the guys were and how they felt, I just felt it was a good idea," Jackson explained Friday at the team's practice facility. "We have two days to work on the things we need to work on.

"We have guys that are well-conditioned at this time, and we need rest and recuperation in this situation, probably more psychologically than we do physically."

Not to hypothesize (yeah right), but Jax himself looked like he could use some psychological rest during his pre-4th quarter interview with Michelle Tafoya. A master of his mood, Jackson seemed to stammer, and grope for the right explanation of what was happening on the court as the Lakers made their comeback. All he could do was insist his team would be right ... and his team was certainly not alright.

It's worth wondering how long Jax can fight for this 10th ring, too. The Sacramento Bee's Ailene Voisin said Phil is struggling to get around these days, despite the hip replacements.

As Brinson relayed, Tim Donaghy has alleged the NBA and two referees conspired to fix a playoff game in 2002 in order to provide for a high-ratings Game 7. Only one series in 2002 went to seven games: Kings-Lakers in conference finals. How funny, that's a Game 6 with is the first example anyone brings up when discussing monumental miscarriages of NBA justice.

In said Game 6 -- which makes me queasy on memory to this day -- the Lakers took 27 free throws in the fourth quarter (the Kings had 9). Scot Pollard fouled out in 11 minutes. Vlade Divac battled foul trouble the entire night and finally got disqualified with three minutes left. Chris Webber -- never confused for a banger -- had foul trouble and finished with five. Both Vlade and Webber received techs in the first half. Shaquille O'Neal took 17 FTs, and Kobe Bryant 11. Sacramento was called for a stunning 31 personal fouls ... and lost by 4. Coach Rick Adelman had this to say to reporters after the game:

"It's a shame, a real shame. ... Our big guys get 20 fouls, and Shaq gets four. You tell me. Obviously, they got the game called the way they wanted to get it called. We tried to play through it ... but obviously, it was a huge change tonight over the last few games.''

Donaghy could very well be making an attempt to embarrass the league or save his own skin. He is not a trustworthy person. And being that Game 6 is such a legend, that believing it was fixed is such an easy conceit to make ... it makes sense that Donaghy would make the claim. David Stern's arguments (and Pollard's statements) make sense.

But you can't unsee certain things. And on May 31, 2002, almost everyone saw an unfairly officiated game. Maybe Donaghy's team just knew the right button to push, but you can't blame us for believing him. We think we saw it, and this guy's saying it happened. What do you want to do?

The best part about tonights game is that with the lake-joint already down 2-0 there's a tremendous amount of pressure on Kobe Bryant. (Captain Obvious, here, entertaining all night.)

That means though that he has a fun little quandry to deal with. Does he buck-cowboy-man up and score 75 or does he involve his teammates?

We know the latter works, but the first one is much more fun. Kind of. Kobe's legacy may depend on this game tonight; I just don't see the Lakers coming back from 3-1. Sorry, I just don't.

And I postulated as much before the series started. Although clearly I was wrong in hindsight, it was kind of tough to predict that Paul Pierce would return from a near fatal knee injury to bogart this series with his Schillanigans.

But before everyone freaks out, remember, the home team is supposed to win. Or have these playoffs not taught us anything? As of right now, the Celtics aren't locked into anything, the home team just held serve. Find out if the Lakers can do the same tonight.

Live blog kicks at nine sharp.

I am not entirely sure that asking "what strikes you most about that game?" to Phil Jackson after watching the Lakers come up short in a weird comeback attempt during Game 2 of the NBA Finals was such a smart idea. Unless you were a reporter looking for a quote where Phil laced into the officiating.

'I'm more struck by the fact that Leon Powe gets more foul shots than our whole team does in (Powe's) 14 minutes of play,' Jackson said, even mispronouncing the Celtic forward's name to add insult to his 13-10 free throw edge. 'That's ridiculous

'You can't play from a deficit like that; that we had in that half, 19-2 in the first half. I've never seen a game like that in all these years I've coached in the Finals. Unbelievable.'

See that? Two pot shots in one set of quotes. First he takes a dig at Powe and then he points out just how many freaking years he has been an NBA Finals coach. So you know. Officials, fans, David Stern, Doc. Just in case you didn't realize.

Phil certainly has a point though -- 38 to 10 in terms of free throws is bad enough. But when one player, specifically the guy that made the biggest difference in the game, gets more free throws (13) than your entire team in 14 and a half minutes, well, that's absurd. Thirteen free throws in 14 minutes is ridiculous enough by itself without needing that extra boost.

So far, this series has been as exciting and drama-filled as we could ask for. Game 2 is tonight in Boston, let's get a little roundtable action going again. Your panelists are Matt Moore, Brett Edwards, and Tom Ziller.