Why the Thrill with Phil?

Click here for more on this story

Posted: Tuesday June 01, 1999 02:46 PM

NBA teams are falling over themselves and their million-dollar contracts to make Phil Jackson their next head coach. AP

By Tom Heitz, Turner Sports

The 1999 truncated NBA season has taught us two things: 1) We now know what the word "truncated" means. 2) Michael Jordan was an even better player than we had originally thought.

Watching the way some of the former Bulls have struggled this year without Jordan by their side makes us realize that MJ was not only the greatest individual player in NBA history but also (along with Bill Russell) the greatest team player in NBA history The shine that coated the play of Scottie Pippen, Steve Kerr and Luc Longley has suddenly turned into shinola. And their new teams are left holding the bag.

So why is it then, that everyone is so enamored with Phil Jackson?

Do we realize that maybe the fact he "coached" the Bulls to six titles in his nine seasons has more to do with Jordan's game than with Jackson's reign? Call me crazy, but if Jordan were able to make his teammates look good (and, as it turned out, net them a lot of money) then wouldn't it stand to reason Phil Jackson benefited from MJ's largesse, as well?

Only twice during his nine seasons as head coach did Jackson's Bulls not advance to the Conference Finals ('94 & '95) and Jordan missed all or parts of those seasons while on temporary retirement. Coincidence? Maybe. And maybe it was also a coincidence that 1994 was the only season that the Bulls ever lost to the Knicks in the playoffs (again, no Jordan).

The Triangle Offense is a great offense, so long as you have Jordan running it. Without his Airness, points don't come as easily. Just ask Jim Cleamons.

But Jackson remains the coach that every team wants.

The courting of Jackson is similar to the hype surrounding Pat Riley after he stepped down as the Lakers' head coach following the 1990 season. Like Jackson, Riley coached nine years in the NBA before resigning. Like Jackson, Riley won multiple championships as head coach (Riley's four to Jackson's six). Like Jackson, Riley took a year off to recharge the batteries following his resignation. And Riley, like Jackson, rode the coattails of a superstar guard who allowed his teammates and coach to become champions. That superstar guard, of course, was Magic Johnson.

And Pat Riley is still trying to win his first championship without him.

Jackson is a good coach. But is he that much better than Jeff Van Gundy? The Knicks' coach has done a pretty good job this postseason considering that his best player can barely walk and his top two scorers play the same position.

Yet the Knicks inch closer to the NBA title and Knicks' GM Dave Checketts continues to line up replacements for Van Gundy.

It's not as if the New York franchise needs something to get the fans excited again. The team continues to sell out every game and is in the Conference Finals. How can you not get excited if you're a Knicks' fan? These are not the Hawks' fans we're dealing with.

So as the Knicks shower Phil Jackson with all that Broadway has to offer, realize that he is not a great coach. He is merely a good coach who was fortunate enough to coach the greatest.

It's Ewing... again

As he's done during most of this year's postseason, Knicks' center Patrick Ewing was the key player down the stretch for the Knicks in Game 1 of the East Finals on Sunday.

With New York down five points and 2:20 left, Ewing forced up a lay-up over Rik Smits that somehow rolled in and then proceeded to connect on all six of his free throws in the last 90 seconds. Combine his performance last night with his play against the Heat in the First Round and fans and media might start believing that the Knicks can actually win a title with Ewing.

"Every [Ewing] miss has been well-chronicled and every make has been overlooked," Van Gundy said following the game. "He made his free throws, he made the big hoop."

Eastern Conference Quotables

"He's milking it," said Pacers' guard Mark Jackson, who played five seasons with Ewing in New York. "I'm happy for him, [but] for a guy that takes shots and makes plays and then hobbles down the court ... enough is enough."

Ewing, whose injuries have been well chronicled since midway through this season, disagreed with Jackson's assessment. "There is nothing to milk," said Ewing who registered 16 points and 10 rebounds in Game 1. "My teammates know how hurt I am and I know how hurt I am."

Larry Bird used stats to back up his contention that Ewing is OK. "He played 40 minutes right?" the Pacers' coach asked. "Come on, I don't think he's hurting that bad." Ewing was the only player for either side to amass 40 minutes in Game 1.

By blowing a five-point lead with over 2:30 left, I guess you can say the Pacers, like Robby Gordon six hours earlier at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, ran out of gas down the stretch.

Tom Heitz has been involved with Turner Sports production for four years, and currently provides behind-the-scenes analysis for the NBA on TNT.

 

Related information
Stories
Turner Sports' Tom Heitz: Taps not a Jazz tune Turner Sports' Tom Heitz: Another story on the Lakers English Lesson: Pacers may be too much for Knicks Ewing shrugs off pain to help Knicks
Multimedia
Click here for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call 1-888-53-CNNSI.