12.03.2008

The Zen Mistress and his Inner Child



I don't think Phil Jackson had the happiest of childhoods. Whenever the Lakers lose, his inner child comes out as he tries to explain the loss.

"I told them this in the first quarter."

"I warned them about that in the second quarter"

"They didn't listen to me at half."

"Now see what happens at the end of the game."


The Zen Mistress strikes me as someone whose parents made him work to earn their approval, and now he's going to adopt that same approach toward his players. Last June Bob Ryan observed that Jackson's oversized bench chair isn't used just for therapeutic purposes.

It also is designed to build an aura.

A major part of that aura is projecting an "I'm the father, you're the child" relationship with his players. "You listen to me," the imperious Jackson intones, "or I'll take off my belt and we'll go to the shed."

If the Lakers fall behind the Celtics for homecourt, the purple may find themselves in the shed more than anyone in Tinseltown imagined.

9 comments:

Lex said...

I scroll down on this blog and all I see is purple.

Kind of odd for a Celtics blog...

FLCeltsFan said...

I just love that Gasol picture. I have been coming here several times a day just for a chuckle looking at it :)

I can't stand Phil Jackson. Never could. He has always been a coach to pick his teams that are already championship caliber or that have a superstar on them. He has never had to build a team like Red did. There is nothing I like about this guy. And my low opinion of him went even lower with his whining in the finals and pronouncing Leon's name wrong. I hope he retires without ever winning another championship because there is no way he should ever pass Red.

My two favorite teams have always been the Celtics and anyone playing the Lakers. It is even moreso now.

FLCeltsFan said...

Oh yeah. Last night's Lakers' loss was just their 5th game away from the Staples Center. This is their first East trip. And it is telling that both of their losses were to Eastern Conference teams.

Lex said...

Good stuff, FCF.

Glad you like the picture.

For me it's a tie between that one and the one where KG grabs a rebound over the flailing Gasol.

Have a good day!

Lex said...

Yeah, those who say that there is a shift underway in the balance of power in the nba are missing out. The balance has already shifted to the East!

The Kid said...

I can't stand Phil Jackson but keep in mind it's not up to a coach to build a team but a GM. And as for Phil picking his teams I always felt that was garbage talk. The Chicago Bulls was Phil's 1st coaching job and they never won a thing without him and he brought them a title in his 2nd year of coaching. You can't pick your spots with only your 1st coaching job.

The Lakers were an underachieving team before Phil came and never won a thing, but as soon as he arrived he brought them 3 titles. He quit and came back to a 1 player team and eventually got them back to a Finals.

Phil is an asshole of a person but he is a damn good coach.

The Kid said...

The East has been better than the West going back to '04. The Spurs playing style for the last 5 years has been exactly like that of the powerhouses of the East. When teams other than the Spurs have made the Finals a lack of defensive intensity have doomed these teams.

Carolyn Hastings said...

I love this post. Can't bring myself to hate anyone, including Phil. But I do love this post. Did I mention I love this post?

Lex said...

And One, you are the man!

Thanks...