Now and Zen

 Phil Jackson...Talent or Luck?

Phil Jackson has won eleven titles coaching the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. He has earned the nickname "Zen Master" for his unique way of coaching, perfecting Tex Winter's Triangle Offensive and harnessing enigmatic personalities such as Dennis Rodman and the immortal Ron Artest.  He has never lost a first round playoff series after winning the first game and has been more successful in the past twenty years than the Harlem Globetrotters, Creed, and Lyle Lovett combined.

However, as the old saying goes, a coach is only as good as his players.  And for that matter, his players have been unprecedentally outstanding.  Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, LUKE WALTON.  The first four were top five players in their respective primes ON THE SAME TEAM. It was as if Phil Jackson had rigged the fantasy draft on NBA Live so he could have the top two picks for the next twenty years.  Throw in some invaluable role players (Horace Grant, Rodman, Kukoc, Harper, the soulless Derek Fisher, etc.) and Jackson's teams were more powerful than Team Iceland from The Mighty Ducks II, and let me tell you, Phil Jackson is no Gordon Bombay.

No matter how fortunate Jackson has been his entire coaching career, I have considered Jackson to be just another cocky, media-manipulating public figure that I brushed aside, not unlike Lindsay Lohan.  That was until the Lakers faced off against the Rockets earlier this season.  Jackson was asked about Rudy Tomjanovich, Houston's fantastic coach during their back-to-back championship years in the mid-90's, and his chances on making the Hall of Fame.  From The Big Lead:

“We’ll see. I’m not on that committee. I like all the coaches to get a chance to go in.”

Jackson agreed with the argument that the Rockets’ championships were tainted because Michael Jordan was out of the league for the first of their title seasons and much of the next.

“Definitely,” Jackson said. “Without a doubt. Clearly, if the Bulls were whole, we would have won. It’s pretty much registered by now. When Michael played, we won the championship.”

Now, the rumor is that this was part of Jackon's "dry" sense of humor, but come on, this is coming from the same guy who wore a hat that proved his "dominance" over professional basketball after winning his tenth championship.  I have no problem with Jackson being in the Hall of Fame, he has earned it no matter how bitter I am that his team can pull off one-sided trades that change the entire makeup of the league.  But to even pretend to say that Rudy T doesn't deserve the Hall of Fame is like saying that Leif Garrett isn't perfect for Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.

Phil Jackson is a great coach who may very well go down as the greatest coach in NBA history...but do I think he is as talented as work-hard-and-stay-modest Spurs coach Gregg Popovich (someone who I have been trained to disdain as a Rockets fan)?  No way.  I'm pretty sure Charlie Kelly could show up high on paint and win at least six championships with Phil Jackson's talented teams.  Don't believe me?  Look at Mike Brown, who coached a team to the NBA Finals (not to mention eventually named Coach of the Year) purely because he gave the ball to LeBron and told everyone else to get out of the way.  But just like the fact that I think Cloverfield is one of the greatest movies of all-time, I know I am the minority on this one. 

(PS - Happy birthday to Nick, who can break as many windows in failed attempts to kill a hornets' nest as he wants today.)

-PB