Clutch City 01
06-23-2009, 06:03 PM
The great, veteran NBA writer Charlie Rosen takes aim at the question: who was better, Phil or Red?
Like the endless debate about who is the GOAT, it will never of course be truely answered and can't be, but is fun to talk about. In the end both were great coaches and the very, very best of their time.
Here is a very good, well thought out piece for those who want to delve into this debate and conjecture once more. it is good reading for those interested in the subject:
There are several records that have been established in pro sports that will never be surpassed. In baseball, for example, Cy Young's 511 career wins (1890-1911) and Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak (1941). In basketball, there's Wilt Chamberlain's points-per-game average of 50.4 over the course of the 1961-62 season.
And the NBA's latest unbreakable mark is Phil Jackson coaching his way to 10 championships.
With P.J. finally pulling ahead of Red Auerbach's nine titles, a comparison between these two great coaches is only natural. So here goes:
First off, it has to be noted that Jackson and Auerbach coached in vastly different circumstances.
Auerbach's first title came with the Celtics in 1957 when the NBA had only eight teams — and that number increased only to nine for the duration of his championship run.
Jackson's initial championship came in 1991 when the NBA had 27 teams — and they currently have 30.
All of which means that the odds against winning a title were much greater in P.J.'s era due to the increased competition, as well as the additional playoff rounds.
Also, because the reserve clause in players' contracts prohibited free agency, rosters were much more stable in Auerbach's halycon days. Obviously, this led to more season-to-season continuity and familiarity between the players as well as the players and their coaches. It could be said that the one basic reason for Auerbach's long reign atop the league was that Bill Russell perpetually manned the center position.
If Jackson's title-winning teams weren't hugely affected by free agents either coming or going, he has won his titles with various bigs in the middle — Bill Cartwright, Luc Longley, Shaq and the current tandem of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.
In other words, P.J. was forced to continually tinker with his game plan, while for Auerbach it was always business as usual.
The relationship between the referees and the coaches has also drastically altered through the years. It used to be Standard Operating Procedure for coaches to loudly and viciously curse and threaten refs with violence during games, with Auerbach universally conceded to be the worst offender. During Auerbach's early days on the bench technical fouls cost a coach a mere $25. So when an enraged Auerbach would storm into the officials' locker room after a loss and rudely challenge Sid Borgia to fisticuffs, he was only fined $25.
Compare this to the $25,000 penalty Jackson has to pay for questioning the authenticity of referees' calls during an in-game interview.
Moreover, in Auerbach's era the league considered refs to be little more than disposable hirelings, who were paid around $60 per game. Since no security guards were assigned to protect them from irate fans, refs routinely had to take off their belts and swing them so that the flashing buckles would discourage the frenzied courtside multitudes from physically attacking them as they sprinted to their postgame locker rooms. Jackson, of course, must show much more restraint in his attempts to intimidate refs — which is precisely why he's forced to use the media to give voice to his complaints.
The ability of a coach to motivate his players has also evolved since Auerbach sat in the command seat. Back then, no-cut contracts were extremely rare, and player salaries were very low. Bill Russell's initial contract with the Celtics was for only $20,000. Because most players of that era were forced to get summer jobs if their teams failed to win championships, Auerbach could easily motivate them with reminders of dire offseason catastrophes.
But since even the last man on the bench in today's game earns close to $1 million, such strong-arm motivations would be useless. And understanding that the modern players can only motivate themselves, Jackson's leadership has to be much more subtle.
Jackson's critics have claimed that he simply rode to glory on the backs of such extraordinary players as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaq and Kobe. In truth, every championship team in the modern-day history of the league has featured extraordinary players. And the above quartet labored in the NBA for a combined total of 18 years without even sniffing a championship — until Jackson showed them all how to be winners.
Also, a count of current, future and possible Hall-of-Famers is significant. Playing for P.J.'s 10 championship squads were only three guaranteed honorees — Jordan, Shaq, and Kobe — plus Pippen, whose admittance would be a long shot.
The list of Auerbach's Hall-of-Famers contains several players who didn't play major roles — Arnie Risen, Andy Phillip and Clyde Lovellette. But Auerbach's roster of mainstay players enshrined in Springfield includes Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, Frank Ramsey, John Havlicek, Tommy Heinsohn, K.C. and Sam Jones. Several of Auerbach's ball clubs actually featured five eventual HOFers in the starting lineup. On a more technical level, the advancements in technology and the increase in the number of assistant coaches (Auerbach had none) have made both scouting and game preparation more sophisticated. The same can be said of between- and in-game adjustments.
All of these factors, of course, were beyond Auerbach's ken. But they do make modern-day coaching a more complicated undertaking.
Auerbach was never an outstanding Xs and Os technician. Instead, his biggest strength was to recognize players who could fit into his up-tempo system. Indeed, he was the first to fully appreciate the full value of such defensive-oriented players as Russell, K.C. Jones, and Satch Sanders. And the key to all of Auerbach's championships was his brilliant utilization of Russell's unique talents to revolutionize the game. Before Russell, blocked shots were accidents. After Russell, shot blocking became an art.
The fact that Auerbach functioned as both coach and general manager enabled him to assemble his rosters to suit his own designs. But if Jackson is a superior Xs and Os coach, to a significant degree he has had to coach the players that are collected by his GM of the moment. This was particularly the case under Jerry Krause in Chicago. That's why P.J. has been stuck with several players who simply couldn't fit into his geometric game plan — the likes of Gary Payton, Karl Malone, Darrell Walker, Travis Knight, Randy Brown and Glen Rice.
Critics have also complained that Jackson, unlike Auerbach, never built a championship team from scratch. This is true, but only because Jackson is a finisher, not a starter. Also, with 20-plus teams in the mix, rising from the bottom to the top is a monumental task that can no longer be accomplished during the career of a single coach.
So, then, who was the better coach, Jackson or Auerbach?
In truth, this is a meaningless question. Each was best suited to succeed in the contemporary NBA culture that prevailed during their respective careers, which means only that each was the best in his own generation. The accomplishments of both Jackson and Auerbach should therefore be celebrated and cherished on an equal basis.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/9690024/Phil-vs.-Red:-Who's-the-NBA's-best-coach-ever?
Like the endless debate about who is the GOAT, it will never of course be truely answered and can't be, but is fun to talk about. In the end both were great coaches and the very, very best of their time.
Here is a very good, well thought out piece for those who want to delve into this debate and conjecture once more. it is good reading for those interested in the subject:
There are several records that have been established in pro sports that will never be surpassed. In baseball, for example, Cy Young's 511 career wins (1890-1911) and Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak (1941). In basketball, there's Wilt Chamberlain's points-per-game average of 50.4 over the course of the 1961-62 season.
And the NBA's latest unbreakable mark is Phil Jackson coaching his way to 10 championships.
With P.J. finally pulling ahead of Red Auerbach's nine titles, a comparison between these two great coaches is only natural. So here goes:
First off, it has to be noted that Jackson and Auerbach coached in vastly different circumstances.
Auerbach's first title came with the Celtics in 1957 when the NBA had only eight teams — and that number increased only to nine for the duration of his championship run.
Jackson's initial championship came in 1991 when the NBA had 27 teams — and they currently have 30.
All of which means that the odds against winning a title were much greater in P.J.'s era due to the increased competition, as well as the additional playoff rounds.
Also, because the reserve clause in players' contracts prohibited free agency, rosters were much more stable in Auerbach's halycon days. Obviously, this led to more season-to-season continuity and familiarity between the players as well as the players and their coaches. It could be said that the one basic reason for Auerbach's long reign atop the league was that Bill Russell perpetually manned the center position.
If Jackson's title-winning teams weren't hugely affected by free agents either coming or going, he has won his titles with various bigs in the middle — Bill Cartwright, Luc Longley, Shaq and the current tandem of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.
In other words, P.J. was forced to continually tinker with his game plan, while for Auerbach it was always business as usual.
The relationship between the referees and the coaches has also drastically altered through the years. It used to be Standard Operating Procedure for coaches to loudly and viciously curse and threaten refs with violence during games, with Auerbach universally conceded to be the worst offender. During Auerbach's early days on the bench technical fouls cost a coach a mere $25. So when an enraged Auerbach would storm into the officials' locker room after a loss and rudely challenge Sid Borgia to fisticuffs, he was only fined $25.
Compare this to the $25,000 penalty Jackson has to pay for questioning the authenticity of referees' calls during an in-game interview.
Moreover, in Auerbach's era the league considered refs to be little more than disposable hirelings, who were paid around $60 per game. Since no security guards were assigned to protect them from irate fans, refs routinely had to take off their belts and swing them so that the flashing buckles would discourage the frenzied courtside multitudes from physically attacking them as they sprinted to their postgame locker rooms. Jackson, of course, must show much more restraint in his attempts to intimidate refs — which is precisely why he's forced to use the media to give voice to his complaints.
The ability of a coach to motivate his players has also evolved since Auerbach sat in the command seat. Back then, no-cut contracts were extremely rare, and player salaries were very low. Bill Russell's initial contract with the Celtics was for only $20,000. Because most players of that era were forced to get summer jobs if their teams failed to win championships, Auerbach could easily motivate them with reminders of dire offseason catastrophes.
But since even the last man on the bench in today's game earns close to $1 million, such strong-arm motivations would be useless. And understanding that the modern players can only motivate themselves, Jackson's leadership has to be much more subtle.
Jackson's critics have claimed that he simply rode to glory on the backs of such extraordinary players as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaq and Kobe. In truth, every championship team in the modern-day history of the league has featured extraordinary players. And the above quartet labored in the NBA for a combined total of 18 years without even sniffing a championship — until Jackson showed them all how to be winners.
Also, a count of current, future and possible Hall-of-Famers is significant. Playing for P.J.'s 10 championship squads were only three guaranteed honorees — Jordan, Shaq, and Kobe — plus Pippen, whose admittance would be a long shot.
The list of Auerbach's Hall-of-Famers contains several players who didn't play major roles — Arnie Risen, Andy Phillip and Clyde Lovellette. But Auerbach's roster of mainstay players enshrined in Springfield includes Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, Frank Ramsey, John Havlicek, Tommy Heinsohn, K.C. and Sam Jones. Several of Auerbach's ball clubs actually featured five eventual HOFers in the starting lineup. On a more technical level, the advancements in technology and the increase in the number of assistant coaches (Auerbach had none) have made both scouting and game preparation more sophisticated. The same can be said of between- and in-game adjustments.
All of these factors, of course, were beyond Auerbach's ken. But they do make modern-day coaching a more complicated undertaking.
Auerbach was never an outstanding Xs and Os technician. Instead, his biggest strength was to recognize players who could fit into his up-tempo system. Indeed, he was the first to fully appreciate the full value of such defensive-oriented players as Russell, K.C. Jones, and Satch Sanders. And the key to all of Auerbach's championships was his brilliant utilization of Russell's unique talents to revolutionize the game. Before Russell, blocked shots were accidents. After Russell, shot blocking became an art.
The fact that Auerbach functioned as both coach and general manager enabled him to assemble his rosters to suit his own designs. But if Jackson is a superior Xs and Os coach, to a significant degree he has had to coach the players that are collected by his GM of the moment. This was particularly the case under Jerry Krause in Chicago. That's why P.J. has been stuck with several players who simply couldn't fit into his geometric game plan — the likes of Gary Payton, Karl Malone, Darrell Walker, Travis Knight, Randy Brown and Glen Rice.
Critics have also complained that Jackson, unlike Auerbach, never built a championship team from scratch. This is true, but only because Jackson is a finisher, not a starter. Also, with 20-plus teams in the mix, rising from the bottom to the top is a monumental task that can no longer be accomplished during the career of a single coach.
So, then, who was the better coach, Jackson or Auerbach?
In truth, this is a meaningless question. Each was best suited to succeed in the contemporary NBA culture that prevailed during their respective careers, which means only that each was the best in his own generation. The accomplishments of both Jackson and Auerbach should therefore be celebrated and cherished on an equal basis.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/9690024/Phil-vs.-Red:-Who's-the-NBA's-best-coach-ever?