Jack’s Blog

Sorry, readers, but no new blogs until Tuesday.  Watching younger son, Alex, play a couple games in the Bay area.  

Kobe Bryant has such passion for the game of basketball in the way he plays (30,000 points is only one aspect of his greatness), speaks (to his teammates) and acts (he’s absolutely obsessed), it’s transparent that he wants to be known as the greatest of all-time (G.O.A.T.) but that moniker belongs to one Michael Jeffery Jordan.  He’d probably be thrilled to be referred to as the best of all-time but, alas, Pat Riley, the master of copyright (remember “Three-peat”?) has taken B.O.A.T. off the market, donning his superstar, LeBron James with that acronym.

So what’s left for Kobe?  First, getting Steve Nash on the floor has got to be his Christmas wishes #1 through 10.  Short of that, he needs to change his motivational speech to Pao Gasol.  Pau has been a part of a championship team so it’s not like he doesn’t know, or can’t handle, the feeling of winning it all.  Kobe’s verbal assaults, “You’ve got to put on your big boy pants,” being the latest, might have a reverse effect on the apparently ultra-sensitive Gasol.  How to reach Gasol in time to turn the season around is something beyond anyone not close to the Lakers and if anyone were to think otherwise, they would be foolish.  It’s just that Kobe wants desperately to win, Pau’s not getting it done and Kobe blitzing Pau with sharp words hasn’t been a solution.  Suggestion?  Try something else.

Next, downplay Dwight Howard’s poor foul shooting.  BUT, get him to make up for it at the defensive end.  Dwight was right when he said their loss to Orlando wasn’t due to his poor foul shooting.  It was the fact they continued to allow the Magic to score following his misses.

Finally, Kobe and Mike D’Antoni need to stay together during the tough times, e.g. until Nash comes back.  The coach can handle hostile fans and media considering where he’s been (and I’m not talking about Phoenix).

If Kobe can do all that, keep on scoring and doing whatever else it takes to win, someone will come up with an anagram for him.

What might work for Kobe is Goethe’s line:

“Treat people as they are and they’ll remain as they are.  Treat them as they can, and should, be and they’ll become that.”

Which finals coach has the make up of a champion?  Neither Rick Carlisle nor Erik Spoelstra has been to the mountaintop of coaching.  How can they be evaluated then?  The following is a blog from last June.  Does it shed light on which guy will be hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy?  Decide for yourself.

Much has been made of the fact that in the last 20 years, only six coaches have claimed the NBA championship (neither of this year’s contestants are a member of that group).  So what ingredients go into making a championship basketball coach on the professional level?

Great player?  Doubtful (Carlisle was the better player but neither would be considered great).  There have been many more great players who’ve tried their hand at coaching and haven’t won than those who have. Of the six latest NBA championship coaches, Rudy Tomjanovich would probably rank as the best player, with Gregg Popovich being at the bottom of the list skill-wise (Doc Rivers, Pat Riley, Phil Jackson and Larry Brown are the others who’ve won titles in the NBA since 1990).  Moot point this year.

As far as coaching in the college ranks prior to taking on an NBA job, only Pop and Brown had done so, Larry having a great deal more success (winning an NCAA title with Kansas) than Pop (who struggled mightily at Pomona-Pitzer).  If I’m not mistaken, of all the coaches who’ve ever won an NBA championship, only Chuck Daly, Jack Ramsey, Dick Motta, Paul Westhead and Bill Fitch were collegiate head coaches before going on to win an NBA title.  Once again, non-factor.

In fact, there doesn’t seem to be any blueprint for NBA coaching success other than the obvious: having a whole lotta talent (advantage Spoelstra).  But even with that, a championship isn’t guaranteed.  Within the past two decades, communication has become of vital importance in leading any type of organization.  The authoritative mentality, e.g. “He treats us all the same - like dogs” used so successfully by Vince Lombardi would meet with resistance (probably to a man) now, unlike in the heyday of the Packers.  Neither fits the bill.

The one common denominator each of those championship coaches had was a very focused leader on the floor, one who commanded the respect of his teammates.  At the risk of upsetting some, let’s say these leaders are named Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade.  Of course they all possessed overwhelming talent, but beyond that, each superstar had his own style of leading, some more vocal than others, but each displaying one common theme - leading by example (put each in that category).  From MJ to Hakeem to David Robinson and Tim Duncan to Kobe and Shaq (granted, it was difficult to follow Shaq’s example - he, among all of these guys, could truly be categorized as unique) to Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton to KG, they were comfortable in their roles as the go-to guy and were, for the most part, players who set good examples.

So, to make one of the greatest understatements of all-time, it seems like the coach isn’t nearly as valuable as the best player (much more apparent this year).  As long as that player doesn’t flaunt his power. In all, acceptance of leadership is what’s necessary for a championship club (and this year - THAT could be the key) and in the words of Nathaniel Branden:

“Accepting does not necessarily mean ‘liking,’ ‘enjoying,’ or ‘condoning.’ I can accept what is - and be determined to evolve from there.”

A cliche is a great line that’s so great people overuse it.  Pat Riley coined (among other terms) the statement, “Nothing happens in the NBA playoffs until the visiting team wins a game.”

Wonder what he thinks of this year’s playoffs which seems as though visiting team wins more often than does the home squad?  Last night, the Dallas Mavericks, who lost home court advantage in game two of their series with the OKC Thunder, turned the tables and led from start to finish (although in true NBA fashion, they made an early blowout close at the end), going up 2-1 in the Western Conference finals.

Somehow I don’t think Pat minds his claim being torn apart as long as his Miami Heat can beat Chicago tomorrow - in South Beach.  This year’s motto should be:

“Nothing happens in the NBA playoffs until one team wins four games.”

When an NBA lifer calls it quits - in the middle of the season - red flags start flying.  Especially after the guy in question is Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and his abrupt resignation takes place suspiciously close to an altercation he had with talented point guard Deron Williams.

Something sinister - with a villain?  Apparently, the answer to that depends on . . . your date of birth.  Old timers yearn for the days when the coach called the shots - even if Red Auerbach had to privately meet with Bill Russell and ask him to play along when Red yelled at Russ at practice because if he did, the rest of the guys would see Red was the boss.  This was in the day when winning took precedence over everything - including contracts, no-trade clauses, endorsement deals, personal stats.  Of course, Auerbach’s and Russell’s Celtic teams won every year so that strategy paid off handsomely - for one team in the league anyway.

Back then, there were no halftime extravaganzas, Kiss cams, tattooed players or agents.  Of course, there also weren’t chartered flights, three-point shots, NBA television network and smoking was allowed in the arenas.  In short, they weren’t the good old days as much as, merely, the “old days.”  It’s up to the individual to decide which days are good.  Or better.

What’s most disappointing about the Sloan situation is the post-announcement posturing, led by the coach himself who took the high road, a stance somewhat inconsistent with the way he normally confronted issues.  Definitely different from the way he played.  Jerry Sloan never backed down from a good battle.  Then again, maybe he was being completely honest, that it was “his time.”  Maybe the new breed of superstar (or even average player for that matter) had simply worn him down to where he realized these confrontations were no-win options.

That’s the indication the fan on the street gets when former players like John Stockton and Karl Malone make public statements regarding how highly they think of their old coach.  Each said they were surprised by his move and felt the word “quit” was something they’d never associate with their old boss.  Certainly not in the middle of the season.  Malone, when questioned about verbal player-coach battles when he was playing, openly admitted there were many, but maintained every player on the team knew who was in control and that person was the coach.

Woodard and Bernstein coined the phrase “non-denial, denial” when they reported on Watergate.  After hearing Williams’ response to Sloan’s retirement, that was the exact phrase that came to mind.  He didn’t deny the verbal disagreement he had with Sloan but claimed that, in no way was he attempting to give management an ultimatum.  Most damaging to Williams’ non-denial, denial was ESPN’s Chris Broussard, who has made his bones as the NBA’s leader in spreading gossip - and the nastier, the better.  Broussard, doing his best Stephen A. Smith impersonation, said that the removal of Sloan from the Jazz bench would be welcome to Williams, as would the promotion of assistant Tyrone Corbin who, as Broussard said, recommended different plays during games than those that Sloan did, but which Williams thought were better.  If ever something defined the difference between the old NBA and the new, that statement was it in a nutshell.

Fans of today’s NBA are witnessing superior athletes than those of yesteryear, yet a game that’s less team oriented than it was decades ago.  Some of this is due to rules changes and some of it is due to a change in culture.  Which is the better product is left to the viewer.  In the case of young fans, they don’t know any other style and seem to enjoy the game as much as their parents and grandparents did at their age.

When Pat Riley coached, he used to forbid his players from even talking to opponents before a game and actually fined them if they helped up an opposing player up after knocking them down.  Chatting it up when the teams take the court prior to formal warm ups is common place today.

Which side is right in the Jerry-Sloan-stepping-down argument?  As well respected as Jerry Sloan is, there certainly are many who will say that today’s players just don’t respect authority.  The flip side are those who state, as Thomas Jefferson (definitely classified as an old-timer) did:

“If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.”

After last night’s disappointing (to the entire jilted city of Cleveland) blowout of the Cavs by the Miami Heat, the rumors of Pat Riley coming out of coaching retirement and replacing Eric Spoelstra will cease - until the next loss.  Even if it’s two weeks from now.

There’s always been heat, pun intended, on Coach Spo ever since that opening night loss to the Boston Celtics.  At first there were merely whispers, but then Laker coach Phil Jackson dropped the “Van Gundy thing” on the media and since then the pressure has intensified exponentially.  Personally, I always doubted Riley would replace Spoelstra, but last night confirmed my belief.

Sure, Riley won championships with two distinctly different styles - first, with the Showtime Lakers of Magic, Kareem and Co and then, with Shaq & D-Wade in South Beach.  In between, he came close with the grind-it-out, in-your face, physical defense of the Patrick Ewing Knicks.  In this case, it wouldn’t be a matter of coaching style he would have to adapt but personal philosophy.

In the early ’80s, a couple coaching friends and I would hold an annual self-improvement clinic in an effort to stay a step ahead of our colleagues.  After the clinic’s inaugural year, Larry Shyatt, currently associate head coach for the University of Florida Gators, but back then, an assistant at New Mexico, called me (I was an assistant at Tennessee at the time) and said he’d received a letter from the graduate assistant at Providence asking if he could be included in our group.  That’s how Jeff Van Gundy became an integral member of our clique and, to this day, he still attends.

One of the years he was Riley’s assistant with New York, Jeff gave us the inside scoop on Pat Riley and his philosophy of coaching.  Jeff praised Riles as the most organized coach he’d ever been around and also the most insistent in certain areas.  It was news then but has been reported many times throughout the years of how Knicks players would be fined if they helped up a fallen opponent after he fell - even if it was a New York player who knocked him down.  In addition, Jeff told us that no one, meaning players and coaches was allowed to even acknowledge the presence of an opponent on game night.  This included warm ups an hour before the game.

Therein lies the reason pat Riley would never consider coaching LeBron James.  As mature as James’ body and game is, his game day demeanor is equally immature.  Chatting it up during and even prior to games - case in point was last night during free throws when he and the Cavs’ bench were catching up on old times - is a major segment of the way LeBron plays.  It didn’t shock me that LeBron did his customary “powder cloud” before the game last night.  What shocks me is that Pat Riley allows him to ever do it.

At least Riley stopped the childish “picture-taking” prior to games or putting on the fake bowling routines that were part and parcel of his game day preparation in Cleveland.  No wonder the organization was upset he left them.  As long as he played like an MVP, the Cavs let him do whatever he wanted, independent of how unprofessional it was.  The mantra coaches use is “You need to play for the name on the front of the jersey, not the one on the back.”  During his years in Cleveland, LeBron’s name should have been on both sides. 

There’s no official word that Riley has put the hammer down on pregame antics.  Just the smoke and lights celebration the Big Three put on after their signing was out of character for a Pat Riley-run show.  What it would mean if Riley were to put on the sneakers and whistle again is that either he or LeBron would have to change.  If that time ever comes, my bet is that it would be James - until a couple of losses and then we’d be hearing - probably from the media’s favorite snitch, now referred to as “a highly placed source in the organization” that Riles was taking the fun out of the game.  Riley has always maintained that there really isn’t fun in basketball - only:

“Winning and misery.”