Jack’s Blog

It’s vacation time!  This will be my last blog until Tuesday, May 14.  Look forward to returning with more stories to entertain and inspire.

Whatever anyone says about Jerry Tarkanian, no one refutes he was the master of getting guys to play hard.  The one type of guy who Tark couldn’t stand to have on his team, whom he knew that if he played, sooner or later, they were going to lose.  He called that kind of player a “Cool Guy.”  I haven’t talked to him yet about the Chicago Bulls but I imagine he was totally impressed.  Not because they won in Game 7 but because . . . they don’t have any cool guys.

One coach Tark has always been unbelievably impressed with is Tom Thibodeau.  Tibbs doesn’t like cool guys either.  He took a Chicago Bulls team without Kirk Heinrich, Luol Deng and, of course, Derrick Rose, a former MVP whose services he hasn’t had all year, into Brooklyn’s brand new digs and came out a winner.  He took a franchise which has had incredible success - but had never, NEVER, won a game 7 on the road.  Yet they did it.  Why?

Thibodeau has been telling us all along:

“We have enough.”

So LeBron James is going to be the MVP of the NBA.  A probability nearly as certain is that he will lead the Miami Heat to their second consecutive championship.  A year of debilitating injuries to guys who could influence games’ outcomes, e.g. Rose, Rondo, Westbrook, Nash, Bryant, Griffin, Gallinari and Lee seemed to align the stars perfectly for a Miami repeat.  Not that they weren’t poised for a repeat anyway, but if ever was there a year they could get by without Dwyane Wade at 100%, this one’s it.

Tomorrow’s MVP award will be his fourth, as many as Wilt, one shy of MJ and Bill Russell, two fewer than Kareem.  It will also be his fourth in five years, the string split by Derrick Rose, who, after taking the entire year off in order to be 100% when he returns, could pose a threat to both accomplishments (MVP and NBA champion) in the future.

Michael and Russ accomplished the duel feat a record 4 times, Larry and Kareem twice, and eight others once.  So, assuming the Heat live up to expectations, the championship would be theirs and LBJ would move into the company of Bird and Jabbar.  Certainly elite company but, as anyone who knows LeBron, or has talked to him, or has read about him, or has heard about him, . . . understands is that elite company is not his goal.  Unique is the level to which he aspires.

He turned 28 a little more than four months ago.  He’s in better shape than 98% of the guys he plays against and has enough resources to keep up with any new advances in science and technology, be they in nutrition, strength training, flexibility, cardiovascular or psychological.  How much longer can he play barring serious injury, at a championship/ MVP level?  Eight more years puts him at 36.  That’s a lot of hardware he could haul.

The obvious question then is: Is he the best player of all-time?  Maybe it’s my age or when I was involved with basketball at a level just below the NBA but my answer could lie in an old joke:

“George Washington was first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen.  First president of the United States.  But he married a widow - which just goes to show, that no matter how hard you try, you can’t be first in everything.”

After watching the Bulls totally throttle the Nets, Bill Simmons must have been proclaiming, “Can anybody say, ‘sweep BULLS IN FIVE!’ ”

The Heat is (doesn’t it sound like it oughtta be “are”) clearly the favorite but a team that might give them trouble would be one made up of Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Kobe Bryant, Amar’e Stoudamire, David Lee, Jordan Hill, Jared Sullinger, Danilo Gallinari, Danny Granger and Boris Diaw.  82 games is a lot of wear and tear on a body, especially one that has to endure the increasingly allowable physical play. That group of injured guys, if healthy, would be a tough one to beat.

At first it simply sounded like another case of superlative playoff commentary when Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith anointed the Warriors’ Steph Curry and Klay Thompson “the best two shooters in the world” - until you start thinking about it.  Even Reggie Miller - who might not have been the greatest shooter in the world, but was certainly in the finals - agreed with the assessment.  After seeing them up close, George Karl wasn’t about to disagree.

Is it really fair to report that the Clippers need to get to the Western Conference finals for Vinny Del Negro to keep his job?  And then continually ask him how he feels about it?  If, in fact, getting to the finals is what’s necessary, why not leave the guy alone so he can put everything he has into achieving that goal?  Naturally, it’s typical NBA tomfoolery that a coach who produced a franchise high 56 victories, won the division and finally gained the respect of the league isn’t the man to take them to the next step.  First of all, the Clippers have never sniffed the next step, so how would they even know what type of coach should lead them there?  Seems like their motto is, “If it ain’t broke, break it.”

Speaking of interfering with a coach’s concentration, is it really necessary for Kobe to tweet during games?  It’s almost like Mike D’Antoni is supposed to be looking at his iPhone while the game is going on.  It’s one thing to want to stay involved but what Kobe does from a hospital bed (or his own) ought to be kept between him and his teammates - just like players say when their privacy is invaded.

Coaches in the NBA make an incredible amount of money, have a cushy life - in terms of having things done for them that the rest of us have to do for ourselves, enjoying perks the average person could only dream about (exorbitant per diem, private jets, luxury hotels), but the way these intelligent, decent people - with families - are treated is truly criminal.  It’s a sexy job, but to have other people who might not know, but think they do determine whether you continue your passion defies all logic.

Many of the owners and front office people have been called cynics and as Oscar Wilde once said:

“A cynic is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

Stan Van Gundy “occasionally” had his differences with the media.  Not surprising since Stan knew his craft well, certainly better than the people who covered him and his team.  Rumors abounded during his tenure as head coach of the Orlando Magic and it definitely rubbed him the wrong way.

Since the invention of the Internet, writing the game story isn’t enough.  Sportswriting has become a sport.  So many people are writing about the same team that writers are looking for the “story within the story,” i.e. the gossip.  I have to admit that my memory is not nearly as good as it was - from what I’m told, the result of reaching 60 plus - but I can’t remember the term “anonymous source” being used in sports stories - or any other stories for that matter - when I was growing up.

Possibly, I shouldn’t have been surprised when I read that Stan, on a radio show in Orlando, made the seemingly outrageous statement that Chicago Bulls’ superstar Derrick Rose might leave Chi-town.  Rose, a Chicago native and former #1 overall pick, signed a $50 million contract extension that keeps him from free agency until the summer of 2017 but Van Gundy said “the league has changed.”  While Stan said Rose is a great player and ambassador for the NBA, in today’s world guys want a chance to win it all and if Rose doesn’t get better players than his current supporting cast, he might be tempted to go to a team with that has a superior roster.

The turning point in the NBA came when the Boston Celtics obtained Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to go along with their all-star Paul Pierce - and proceeded to win the championship.  LeBron James and Chris Bosh hooking up with Dwyane Wade took a couple years but won a title this past season.  Van Gundy cited Chris Paul leaving a bad roster in New Orleans for a better one, that he wants to improve even more, with the Los Angeles Clippers.  Add to that the recent transactions of Steve Nash and Van Gundy’s former stud Dwight Howard by the LA Lakers and you can see Stan’s point.

Basically, it comes down to winning - and winning it all - which ain’t easy.  As the saying goes:

“If winning was easy, losers would do it.”

Heading to Stanford for a radical procedure I’m hoping will bring some relief to my chronic back pain.  The blog will return on Friday.

Is it true that good offense beats good defense as so many NBA players contend?  Or, as the baseball adage goes, does good pitching stop good hitting?  Coaches have always been proponents that good (team) D will overcome good (individual) O? 

The NBA finals match an offensive club against one that hangs it hat on defense (although they score in transition better than any team we’ve seen on some time).  The Miami Heat haven’t yet seen anybody in the playoffs like Dirk Nowitzki.  Conversely, Dirk hasn’t had to deal with a defender as strong, quick and long as LeBron James - a matchup that, if it didn’t take place would astound many.

The Heat will have its hands full with Jason Kidd, aka the anti-Derrick Rose.  Kidd won’t be blowing by anybody and finishing at the rim but Miami better not count on him turning the ball over a whole lot either.  No one runs a half court offense better than J Kidd (with the exception of Steve Nash).  Nowitzki scores in bunches but has shown a willingness to hit open men for what amounts to “warm up” threes.  The Mavs ought to have a decided advantage at center as well with Tyson Chandler and Brendon Haywood.

On the flip side, the matchups for the Mavs at the defensive end are a nightmare.  Even if Caron Butler plays (his absence is the equivalent of Udonis Haslem’s so, if things play out as they did with UD, expect one good outing), who guards James and Wade are questions with frightening answers.  If anyone thinks DeShawn Stevenson and Shawn Marion can even contain LBJ & DWade, they are certain to be on the guest list at Mark Cuban’s next party.

My guess is the winner of the series will be the offense.  Sure, there will be some defensive gems throughout the series, but this is a finals the fans ought to love.  High scoring.  Each game’s top 10 plays will be 80% at the offensive end.   The Heat have looked invincible, but my wish is the veterans (Kidd, Nowitzki, Terry, etc) can prevail.  If it goes the other way, look for the NBA (as much a copycat league as the NFL and MLB) to become a 6-7 team league of superpowers, with another half dozen average clubs and the remainder a bunch of dogs. 

Go Mavs.  The alternate would mean for the NBA:

“A sign of the apocalypse.”

The Bulls signed Carlos Boozer for $80 million, mainly for his offense.  They deserve more for their investment.

The Bulls failed to take advantage of one of the worst nights of Dwyane Wade’s career (5-16 shooting).

Derrick Rose might be the league’s MVP but, on the two biggest possessions, he couldn’t get by LeBron James.

Chris Bosh hit clutch open shots and FT’s but is clearly bothered by Joakim Noah’s defense.

The battle of the “white guy shooter” went to Mike Miller over Kyle Korver.

Prior to the series, Chicago was said to have the better bench but the Bulls starters logged well over 40 minutes.

No team can expect to win turning the ball over 22 times - especially one which usually scores under 100.

The end of the game was so similar to the Dallas-Oklahoma City contest in that the Bulls had an excellent chance to win it & tie the series (although not as good a chance as the Thunder had) but failed to do so because of poor execution.

In both the East and West it can be said:

“Maybe the fat lady isn’t singing, but she’s definitely clearing her throat.”

Many people are wondering why, after the game was already decided (with the Bulls facing defeat), that Derrick Rose was still in the game.  Especially after he had sustained a sprained ankle prior to the contest.

I just wonder how many people were saying that before Rose hurt his ankle.  Sports is one of the greatest industries for second guessing that ever existed.  A person can sound so smart by saying something that’s painfully obvious, even if it’s after the fact.

The bottom line is that someone connected with the Bulls, assistant coaches, trainers, front office personnel, somebody, should have reached out to head coach Tom Thibodeau and suggested (demanded) Rose be taken out.

I recall a game in the second round of the 1992 NCAA tournament when I was coaching at USC.  We were the #2 seed in the Midwest, playing an underachieving team from Georgia Tech (c’mon, a 7 seed with Jon Barry, Travis Best and Matt Geiger?)  In the game just before ours, Memphis State (a team we would most assuredly have conquered) had upset Arkansas, meaning if we beat Georgia Tech, we could see ourselves playing for a berth in the Final Four!

We scored with about three seconds left to go up two.  They called their final time out.  We told our guys in the huddle to pick up full court and not to let Barry or Best beat us.  They inbounded and Barry dribbled the ball off our guy’s foot, out of bounds, directly across from their basket.  0:00.8 read the clock.  8/10ths of a second!  They were frantically looking at their bench which was in utter chaos.

Maybe you have seen what happened next since it’s been replayed about a hundred to two hundred thousand times.  Our guards denied Barry and Best and just before the referee’s five count, James Forrest, a freshman broke out, caught the pass and launched a shot.  In the post game press conference, a reporter asked Forrest, who had just made the first three-pointer of his career if he knew it was going in when it left his hands.  His response was, “I really didn’t get a chance to look at the basket.”  Oh, pour some salt James.

In the years since I have often thought of what we could have done differently.  One thing crossed my mind.  Harold Miner was our offensive wizard, a player no one in the country could stop.  But he was definitely a defensive liability.  As an assistant, I should suggested to our head coach, George Raveling, that we sub for Harold during that last time out.  There was no need for him to be in the game during that last three seconds.

A couple years ago, I confessed to George that it bothered me that I could have prevented the loss - which quite possibly kept us from a Final Four appearance - had I just done my job.  The guy Harold was guarding, or rather was supposed to have been guarding, was . . . James Forrest.  Whether George would have listened (personally, I think he would have), is now moot.

All that aside, I (or somebody) should have been on the ball.  Just like somebody should have mentioned removing Rose to Thibodeau.

In sports, like life, one thing is sure:

“Hindsight is 20-20.”

So the first day of the NBA playoffs has passed and exactly how much excitement have the fans witnessed?  The answer depends on whether you’re in “NBA mode” yet.  The overall top-seed, the Chicago Bulls, were down for nearly the entire game until MVP favorite Derrick Rose decided to, once again, put the club on his back and scored or assisted the Bulls to 16 of the game’s final 17 points.  The Bulls won, 104-99.  Whew!  That was a close one.  Had they not made the final surge, . . . they would have lost their home court advantage.  The second-seeded Miami Heat also avoided such a scenario by slipping past the scrappy 76ers.Orlando wasn’t as fortunate although Dwight Howard put up monster numbers (46 & 19, 31 of the 46 points in the first half).  The Magic were defeated by the Atlanta Hawks, the team that was embarrassingly swept by the same Orlando squad last year.

Had this been the NCAA tourney, the country would be abuzz what with a near upset of the tourney’s overall #1 seed being knocked out - in the first round!  The airways would be filled with talk of Rose keeping the Bulls from making dubious history.  As far as the Heat, with the overall greatest “recruiting” class ever, their fans would continue holding their breath as the team everyone loves to hate escaped to fight another day.

The Magic wouldn’t be so lucky.  Their fans would suffer, their promising season over.  The worry over whether Dwight Howard would return or enter his name in the draft, the rumors about Stan Van Gundy losing his job and all the other water cooler topics that surface after the team is eliminated.

Instead, the way the NBA playoffs work, the mind set is whether the Pacers and Sixers can actually steal a game on the higher team’s home court (or if they can at least keep from being swept) and whether Howard’s teammates will give him some support so they can advance as usual.

Which playoff system is better?  For immediate drama, the NCAAs have it.  If you want to see the best athletes in the world, the NBA is your choice.  But which is better?

Take it from Friedrich Nietzsche:

“You have your way.  I have my way.  As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.”

Long-time, loyal reader Pete Vaz (soon to be inducted in the NorCal Hall of Fame) commented that he wanted to hear what his friend and mine, Clippers’ assistant Dave Severns, had to say on The Jerry Tarkanian Show on Tuesday night.  One story, in particular, shed light on the type of competitor Bulls’ guard Derrick Rose is.  (Dave worked on the Bulls’ staff during Rose’s first two years in the NBA).

Before the draft following his announcement he would leave Memphis to go pro (the Bulls held the rights to the first overall pick), Rose had an interview with Chicago’s front office, including owner Jerry Reinsdorf.  Prior to his meeting, the Bulls met with Michael Beasley, who was also coming off a banner collegiate season.  During the session with Beasley, there were a couple occasions in which (one of) his (two) cell phones went off.  Believe it or not, he answered the calls!  

New head coach Vinny Del Negro advised him that he was meeting with the owner and that, at that time, there couldn’t be too many things more important than listening to what Mr. Reinsdorf had to say and answering whatever questions the people at the meeting had of him.  When Reinsdorf posed the question, “What about college basketball bothered you most?” Beasley contemplated for a moment and said, “When you go on the road and the referees make bad calls.”

When it was Rose’s turn in front of the brass, he sat up straight and was totally focused.  He had a thorough grasp of the magnitude of the encounter.  He put his ego aside.  Consider this is a guy who won back-to-back state titles in high school and went 38-2 in his only season in college, dropping the national championship game in overtime.  His answer speaks for the kind of guy Derrick Rose is and why he’s destined for (even more) greatness.  What was his response to Reinsdorf’s question, “What about college basketball bothered you most?”

“Losing.”

When you turn 80 years of age, you become a lot more open about decisions you made when you were younger that, at that time, you’re glad weren’t made public.  Last night on The Jerry Tarkanian Show (1430 ESPN, Fresno), our guest was Los Angeles Clippers’ assistant coach for player development, Dave Severns.

Dave is a Fresno guy (actually Dos Palos - don’t want to get in trouble with the good people there) who climbed the coaching ropes rapidly - over a period of several decades (for an explanation, please read my lengthy blog from 11/4/08).  He gave us an NBA insider’s view on everything from working with talented guys - with incredible work ethics - like Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose (he was with the Bulls prior to taking the job with the Clippers) and Blake Griffin, to Jerry Reinsdorf’s private interviews with potential number one draft picks.

When he mentioned the latter, Tark interjected with a story I’d never heard - and I have worked with him for the past 16 years (first at Fresno State, then as host of his radio show) and have known him since 1974!  I swore I’d heard every fantastic tale (all true too) that he experienced.  Not this one.

“I was in discussions about being offered the Lakers’ job and I was at (then-owner) Jack Kent Cooke’s house.  All their executives were there and they were talking about how they had the number one pick.  They planned on taking Magic Johnson.

“It came up that they could trade it and get Reggie Theus” (who Tark coached at UNLV and was coming off a year in which he averaged over 16 ppg for the Bulls and came in second for Rookie of the Year) “and” (super swingman from Arkansas) “Junior Bridgeman.  Everybody thought the best idea was to take Magic - except me.

“I said they should make the trade.”

To say the fortunes of the Los Angeles Lakers would have been drastically impacted might qualify as the understatement of all-time.  In this case, the wise move would have been to follow this advice:

“Just because you have an opinion doesn’t necessarily mean you need to express it.”