First: the Lakers will win the title this year. That´s the ultimate accomplishment. They didn´t implode like the Blazers. Actually not only Shaq had to change his game (if you ask me he raised it), but also is Kobe playing a totally different role in the playoffs. He rebounds better and has more assists, he´s less selfish despite scoring more. Also he picks his shots better, shooting at a higher percentage. He plays more of an allround game right now (30.4, 6.7, 5.9). The Lakers are finally clicking and it didn´t happen out of nothing. How much Phil had to do with it: we´ll never know. But he lets his teams develope instead of overregulating them, just like he coaches games. Who knows perhaps another coach wouldn´t have the mental strenght to sit it out and would have traded Kobe. Sometimes it´s just better to do nothing at all. Also I think the whole Shaq/Kobe thing was hugely blown out of proportion by the media.
Your other points: Rider is a drug addict. No one can help him. Rices (and his wifes) ego are totally out of proportion. He just wasn´t worth the trouble. I was talking about great players like Jordan. They have a big ego, but can back it up on the court (other than players like Rice), so if you´ve got a guy like Jordan on your team you must be able to step back sometimes give them room to fully utilize their potential (with Jordan it was his mental influence on the whole team), and I think not a lot of coaches are able to do that.
So I´d say yes, the Lakers are clearly a better team because of Jacksons mental approach. I truly believe a coach like Dunleavy would have messed it up this year. Also Phil develops his players (leaves them room to develope), which is scary for the league, cause the Lakers will become better and better.
Also what about my Chicago points? What about Riley, Brown? You didn´t say anything about that.
|