Phil Jackson complaining about officiating during an NBA playoff series is about as predictable as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. The inevitable happened after the Lakers lost, 103-94, in Game 2 of the 2010 NBA Finals and the series now tied 1-1. During his regular postgame news conference, Jackson … [Read more…]
Ron Artest was at the TD Garden when the Boston Celtics crushed the L.A. Lakers in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals. He went to the Lakers locker room to seek out Kobe Bryant, following the Lakers’ star all the way to the showers. Artest told Bryant, and anyone else who would listen, that … [Read more…]
When Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times asked Phil Jackson if the memory of the 2008 NBA Finals still lingers, the Lakers coach responded with a sarcastic quip. “I forgot. I have amnesia,” Jackson claimed. “What year was that now? 2-8? Ok.” Jackson was obviously kidding about not remembering anything from the ’08 Finals. … [Read more…]
Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson revealed on Sunday night that he is considering sitting center Andrew Bynum for Game 4 to rest his ailing right knee. The Lakers have a 2-1 edge in the Western Conference finals against the Phoenix Suns and Game 5 is on Thursday in Los Angeles so that would give … [Read more…]
The first jab of the 2010 Western Conference finals was thrown by Lakers coach Phil Jackson when he said Steve Nash, Phoenix’s All-Star point guard, is tough to guard when he is allowed to carry the ball. When asked what a chore it would be for his team to contain Nash and simulate what he … [Read more…]
All championship teams have great role players – guys who play their position, make all the hustle plays and knock down shots when called upon. Magic Johnson’s Laker teams had Michael Cooper. Larry Bird’s Celtic teams had Danny Ainge. Robert Horry, who was instrumental in helping Hakeem Olajuwon’s Rockets, Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers and Tim … [Read more…]
Trouble in Laker Land? If you decode Phil Jackson’s recent comments after Game 2 of the Lakers’ first-round series against Oklahoma City, you get the sense that there is a certain discord between the Lakers coach and superstar Kobe Bryant. When reporters asked Jackson if Bryant’s shooting performance – 12-for-28 in Game 2 and finished with 39 points … [Read more…]
The inconsistent officiating in the NBA playoffs is becoming predictable. In Game 3, the Los Angeles Lakers were awarded 45 free throws and won 103-97. In Game 4, the Denver Nuggets were awarded 49 free throws and won 120-101. It is coincidence? Neither coach doesn’t believe it is. Nuggets Coach George Karl reasoned his players … [Read more…]
Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson made the first move in the Western Conference finals and now it is up to the Denver Nuggets to adjust. Jackson put Kobe Bryant, his best defender, on Nuggets point guard Chauncey Billups for much of Game 1. Even though Billups scored 18 points, he made just 38% of … [Read more…]
When he was a freshman at USC, O.J. Mayo spent his summer vacation playing one-one-one against Kobe Bryant at Bryant’s basketball camp held at Loyola Marymount in Marina del Rey. Bryant won most of the battles, but Mayo more than held his own against the player regarded as the best in the world. Mayo’s basketball … [Read more…]