Posts Tagged ‘Phil Jackson’

Looks like the Free Agent signing period is now in full swing and it’s no longer just verbal commitments. Here, we’ll start breaking down the signings and the impact they can have on the respective teams. The biggest so far is the official signing of Ron Ron with the Lakers.

Ron Artest had agreed to sign with the Lakers last week for the MLE, but was finally able to make it official today. As tough as it is to see Trevor Ariza leave the Lake Show, the Artest signing should quickly ease that pain.

It seems like the Lakers are definitely trying to shed the “soft” label still. Artest now gives the Lakers a lock down defender that can play the 2 through 4 spots. Yes, he’s undersized at the 4, but he’s strong enough to guard a lot of the PFs in this league. As great of a team defender as Ariza was, he still had a lot to learn about man defense. Artest may be one of the all time greatest man defenders by the time he’s done.

Yes, he may be crazy and have a lot of mental issues that can hurt the Lakers (just Youtube Ron Artest), but take a look at his last few years. He’s gotten older and a LITTLE wiser. This guy was just born into the wrong era of basketball. He would have fit in perfectly with the tougher old school NBA.

Look for Ron to make a big splash with the Lakers this year. Phil will prevent him from pounding out the shot clock and jacking up shots, and so will Kobe. This is a completely different style of ball than Artest is used to, and that could be what he really needs. Ron will be getting way more open looks than he’s accustomed to, especially to start each half when he’s out there with Kobe, Pau, and Bynum.

This signing just made the Lakers even more stacked than they already were. Imagine Odom coming off the bench when either Artest or Pau need a rest… that’s the next signing the Lakers need to take care of.

I’m giving this signing a huge thumbs up. The Lakers will look even more dangerous this year. Stay tuned for more free agent rankings.

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According to coach Phil Jackson and ESPN, Andrew Bynum could resume playing in as little as 4 weeks. This all depends on his rehab, of course. Jackson said that Bynum will focus on icing and resting his knee for the next 2 weeks, and then will focus on basketball activities the next 2 weeks. Not a bad timeline for a guy that was supposed to be out for 8-12 weeks.

This give Bynum much more time to get back into game shape compared to his injury last season. Don’t forget that up until this previous month, Bynum was still just trying to get his rythym back. In January, we finally got a dose of the potential of the REAL Andrew Bynum. I’ll keep you posted on any news on the Bynum front.

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After a disappointing weekend, the question came up in a few discussions in my group of friends regarding why the Lakers have lost 2 in a row to teams they could have/should have beaten if they truly were a championship caliber team.

On Friday, the Lakers lost to a young Miami team that is still working to find it’s identity. Then Saturday, on the tail end of a back-to-back, they lost to a strong Orlando team.  2 losses by a combined 5 points. All throughout history, championship teams found a way to win these close games.

Many basketball fans will put a lot of the blame on Andrew Bynum and his previously injured knee. Others will put the blame on a soft as toilet paper defense. Many will put the blame on Kobe for one reason or another.

After watching these recent losses, one thing stuck out in my mind. Phil Jackson is getting out coached by the youngsters. One Friday, Spoelstra managed a young team to victory by firing up his team and making the right moves at the right time. Then came Van Gundy and the Magic. Jackson, on the other hand, stood by and watched teacher’s pet Luke Walton get manhandled while putting up 4pts on 2-6 shooting, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist in 25 minutes in those 2 games. Yet Jackson continues to go with him in the starting lineup, even though Odom has been outplaying him this year… and will continue to do so for the rest of his career.

Then you have Bynum. I’m not sure if Jackson is trying to teach Bynum a lesson in humility or if he’s just being stubborn, but Drew needs to be in at the end of games. Teams are marching to the basket like pre-game layup lines when Drew isn’t there to alter their shots. Yes, Bynum is still getting his timing back, but just simply having a 2nd 7 footer in the paint is scary. I don’t care who you are. You never want to take it in against 2 towering players, especially when one of them (or both) can send your shot into the 3rd row.

Phil Jackson has always been stubborn with his player rotations and timeouts blah blah blah. It used to work. It doesn’t anymore. It’s about time something changes. Phil had started Vlad Radmanovic for the majority of this season, but suddenly decided to switch it up and start Luke. Now the premiere outside threat for the Lakers is barely getting any minutes. The guy is shooting 46% from beyond the arc and you bench him? Yeah some people might say that he’s not playing solid defense. Is ANYONE on the Lakers really playing defense? If that’s the case, pretty much all the players need to ride the bench for a while, with the exception of Trevor Ariza. Rad can at least stretch out the defense and force other teams to stay honest and not double off of him. That’s exactly what made Sasha Vujacic so valuable last year. Great job benching him, Phil. Notice the slip since you started playing Walton?

The offense will continue to be there, but Jackson needs to stop talking about his team playing defense, and get them to actually do it. He left Kurt Rambis in charge of the defense, and apparently it’s not working right now. It’s time for the Zen Master to get off that huge chair of his and actually preach defense. You have an athletic and talented team. Maybe you should use their skills rather than force them into your style. The Lakers were clicking on all cylinders at the beginning of the year when Jackson allowed the bench to run up and down the court and tire out the opponent. Now they’ve struggled since Jackson put the reins on Farmar. Ariza isn’t getting as many steals and breakaway dunks because of this either. And the rest of the bench is simply stagnant as the ball keeps getting passed around the perimeter until there are 3 seconds left on the 24 and someone is force to throw up some garbage.

Woo hoo great coaching. I’m so glad the Lakers have the greatest coach of all time on the bench. Needless to say, something has to change. And that change is Phil’s coaching philosophy. The times have changed, Phil. Now it’s your turn to adjust to the new NBA.

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At the beginning of the weekend, PJ Carlesimo was fired from the OKC Thunder after their horrible start to the year. This morning, Eddie Jordan was fired by the Washington Wizards. Let’s take a look at these 2 firings and see who is next.

First, PJ has never been a great coach. Then, he was given a crappy, underachieving team in turmoil. Seattle/OKC had issues all summer long with the whole transition in moving from Seattle to OKC. Then you have guys like Durant, Green, and Westbrook that will be you FUTURE stars. They’re nowhere near that right now. This is a young team with no true identity, and they’re still growing. They’ve shown no signs of even being a decent team, let alone a .500 team. A lot of times, a bad record does truely point back to bad coaching. In this case, it wasn’t just the coaching. You can’t blame your coach when you haven’t given him anything to work with. Toss Phil Jackson or Gregg Popovich in there and you’ll end up with the same freakin results.

Second, Eddie Jordan. Alright this one you can blame on the coach. You’ve got a team with Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, who played extremely well last year, and now you’re one of the worst teams in the league? Something isn’t right here. This is a team with a solid core of players, and several young players on the rise. A coaching change was necessary here.

Hmmm, who is gonna get fired next? I’m callin that Dunleavy is gonna get fired from the Clippers by the break, and the rest of the coaches should be safe. Dunleavy lost Brand, but he wasn’t around much last year anyways. This perennial celler-dweller picked up Camby and B Diddy while keeping the rest of their core players. But now they’ve traded away Mobley and Tim Thomas. Those were 2 of their more consistent players, especially with Mobley’s recent play. Tim Thomas is just one of those hard nosed guys that can help out most teams, without any glaring weaknesses. Zach Randolph’s locker room cancer isn’t gonna help anyone either. Good luck, Dunleavy.

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