Durant: Phil Jackson Comments were 'disrespectful'

[sa_butta]

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=5091485

The posturing has begun between the Lakers (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=lal) and the Thunder (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=okc).
Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson told reporters Wednesday that Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=3202) gets preferential treatment from referees.
"Yeah, by the calls he gets, he really gets to the line a lot, I'll tell ya," Jackson said, according to The Oklahoman's Web site.


Phil Jackson has to be one of the biggest jackasses ever...give credit where credit is due...If you are an aggressive player and can get to the rim you are going to get calls...Durant is going to be a great player in this league for years to come... I dont think the Thunder will beat out the Lakers in the series, but they do give them some trouble...Give em hell KD.

[bostonguy]

Durant must not know how Phil works. The guy says shit like this to get inside your head. It is mindgames. He has been doing this forever.

[coyotes_geek]

Phil plays mind games. Durant just fell for one.

[Pelicans78]

Pathetic by Phil Jackson, but not surprising since its part of his MO. He's always out to criticize others. Worry about your own team Phil before they get upset in the playoffs by a hungrier, better coached team.

[coyotes_geek]

Pathetic by Phil Jackson, but not surprising since its part of his MO. He's always out to criticize others. Worry about your own team Phil before they get upset in the playoffs by a hungrier, better coached team.

Phil is worrying about his own team. Part of Phil's strategy in worrying about his own team is to try and bait the other team into worrying about things Phil says as opposed to worrying about their own team.

[Cane]

Phil Jackson = POS

[Mel_13]

Phil plays mind games. Durant just fell for one.

Exactly.

Phil has been doing stuff like this for 20 years for a simple reason, it works. Now the first time KD doesn't a get a call that he's been getting all year, he'll be thinking that the refs have been influenced by Phil's remarks.

True or not, Phil wins.

[mogrovejo]

Mind games? He's simply bitching about officiating. He does it every time, especially after he loses. I mean, he's still playing mind games after the games as well? Not sure why people say Durant "fell for it". In fact, it seems to me Durant gave the best answer possible.

[mogrovejo]

While Jackson might be setting the stage to get a few calls to go his way, Durant doesn't think it will work.

If the refs pay attention to that and change how they call things because of that, that's terrible," Durant said, according to The Oklahoman. "That's terrible to the game of basketball and to us. If that happens, then [coach] Scotty [Brooks] could talk, too. Or any other coach could talk, too, just so the refs could switch everything up. But I doubt they do that.

"They're smarter than that, and they have more skills than that as refs. So I don't really worry about it too much," he said, according to the report.

Now, if Durant doesn't get his wealthy dose of trips to the line, there will be a lot of pressure on the refs. "Why is Durant not getting FTs?", "Are the refs intimidated by what Phil Jackson said?".

If Durant goes to the line, Lakers players will be too worried about it instead of focusing on the game.

[Killakobe81]

he can be an ass but his record speaks for itself and he is great at manipulating refs, his own team and others.

But let' be real here. PJ wouldnt bother if he didnt consider Durant and the Thunder as a tangible threat.

[monosylab1k]

"If the refs pay attention to that and change how they call things because of that, that's terrible," Durant said, according to the newspaper. "That's terrible to the game of basketball and to us. If that happens, then [coach] Scotty [Brooks] could talk, too. Or any other coach could talk, too, just so the refs could switch everything up. But I doubt they do that.

"They're smarter than that, and they have more skills than that as refs. So I don't really worry about it too much," he added, according to the report.

imho it looks like Durant out-mind gamed Phil Jackson. Everyone knows Phil is a fraud anyways. It's easy to look like a genius playing mind games when you've always got the best player on the planet on your roster.

[coyotes_geek]

Mind games? He's simply bitching about officiating. He does it every time, especially after he loses. I mean, he's still playing mind games after the games as well?

There's always another game.


Not sure why people say Durant "fell for it". In fact, it seems to me Durant gave the best answer possible.

"No comment."


Now, if Durant doesn't get his wealthy dose of trips to the line, there will be a lot of pressure on the refs. "Why is Durant not getting FTs?", "Are the refs intimidated by what Phil Jackson said?".

If Durant goes to the line, Lakers players will be too worried about it instead of focusing on the game.

If Phil didn't think it would work to his team's advantage, he wouldn't say it. Will it actually work out that way? We'll see.

[HarlemHeat37]

Ignoring Jackson's reputation, it's just so ironic to hear the Lakers and their fans talking about other teams getting calls..it's kind of ridiculous..

I'm interested to see the Durant vs. Artest matchup..Durant gets a lot of calls, while Artest gets away with more handchecking than anybody in the NBA by a large margin..

[doobs]

Ignoring Jackson's reputation, it's just so ironic to hear the Lakers and their fans talking about other teams getting calls..it's kind of ridiculous..

I'm interested to see the Durant vs. Artest matchup..Durant gets a lot of calls, while Artest gets away with more handchecking than anybody in the NBA by a large margin..

I recall Pau recently saying something stupid along those things.

And yeah, Artest is merely an above-average defender if he isn't allowed to handcheck.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

:lmao anyone who seriously thinks that someone who just won the scoring title and carried the youngest team in the league to 50 wins at the age of 21 can get flustered this easily.

And mogro is right, all real men have some sense of pride and self-respect. None of the refs in that series want to turn on ESPN and hear about how Phil Jackson mind fucked them and made them his bitch. If I were a ref, my attitude would be, "Phil Jackson wants to bitch about how I'm not doing my job up to his standards? Fine. I'll send Durant to the line 20 times. Now Phil really has something to bitch about."

[coyotes_geek]

:lmao anyone who seriously thinks that someone who just won the scoring title and carried the youngest team in the league to 50 wins at the age of 21 can get flustered this easily.

And mogro is right, all real men have some sense of pride and self-respect. None of the refs in that series want to turn on ESPN and hear about how Phil Jackson mind fucked them and made them his bitch. If I were a ref, my attitude would be, "Phil Jackson wants to bitch about how I'm not doing my job up to his standards? Fine. I'll send Durant to the line 20 times. Now Phil really has something to bitch about."

Phil's only been pulling stunts like this for a couple of decades now. If the refs were going to retaliate against him for it, I'm pretty sure he'd have stopped saying stuff like this a long, long time ago. The fact that he hasn't should make it pretty damn obvious to everyone that Phil thinks he's gaining something by it.

[HarlemHeat37]

Either way, even if it doesn't work, there's no reason for Jackson not to at least try it..it's his M.O, so he might as well..

[D-Wade #3]

We're sweeping the dirt out and resting up for the next pathetic team in the West. How does that sound to yall?

You must be so sure of this that you have to keep posting it over and over, that reeks of confidence

[alamo50]

It's your job to shut him up Kevin.
Please do so!

[mogrovejo]

If Phil didn't think it would work to his team's advantage, he wouldn't say it.

He's a whiner. Always has been, always will be. His books are hundreds of pages of persistent, endless whining - about the refs, the players, the owners, the reporters. Can't help himself. People only call it "mind games" because it's Phil Jackson. But it's merely a whiner whining.

[Mel_13]

He's a whiner. Always has been, always will be. His books are hundreds of pages of persistent, endless whining - about the refs, the players, the owners, the reporters. Can't help himself. People only call it "mind games" because it's Phil Jackson. But it's merely a whiner whining.

Ten championships in nineteen seasons suggest other conclusions are possible.

[HarlemHeat37]

Ten championships in nineteen seasons suggest other conclusions are possible.

Like this one?..

http://mcaaron.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/jordan-pippen_19971.jpg

http://nbcsportsmedia.msnbc.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040529/040529_kobe_shaq_vmed.widec.jpg

[mogrovejo]

Ten championships in nineteen seasons suggest other conclusions are possible.

Like what? That he won them because he's a whiner?

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Ten championships in nineteen seasons suggest other conclusions are possible.


Coaches don't win championships, players do. PJ is one of the best coaches of all time and is great at things like keeping his players loose, but it's not like the refs used telekinesis to guide MJ's shot over Bryan Russell into the hoop because they were worried PJ would talk about them if they didn't. It got a little ridiculous when ESPN decided to analyze whether or not Phil intentionally mispronounced Leon Powe's name.

[ambchang]

The refs would rather look stupid than to look crooked. If the Lakers getting favourable calls in the series, the media will point to how stupid the refs are by falling into the Phil trap, rather than how they are screwing a small market team for Stern's favourite.

[DesignatedT]

i cant believe how much this guy complains about officiating and catches no heat for it.

[Donkeybong]

i cant believe how much this guy complains about officiating and catches no heat for it.

He gets fined all the time. And the fact that Durant took notice enough to respond to those comments, means it affected him somewhat.

[picc84]

Phil is the most successful troll in NBA history. In a bunch of different ways.

[Mel_13]

He's a whiner. Always has been, always will be. His books are hundreds of pages of persistent, endless whining - about the refs, the players, the owners, the reporters. Can't help himself. People only call it "mind games" because it's Phil Jackson. But it's merely a whiner whining.



Ten championships in nineteen seasons suggest other conclusions are possible.


For those that have responded to my post with reminders that there were great players on those ten teams, you missed the point.

My post was in direct response to the one above it. A post which dismisses all of Jackson's public remarks of the last two decades as mere whining.

That's one possible conclusion.

Other possibilities exist.

Over the course of ten championship runs, there were several series that were influenced by judgment calls made by the officials. Are you all so sure that Phil's public comments never played a part in calls going the way of his teams?

[sook]

:lmao anyone who seriously thinks that someone who just won the scoring title and carried the youngest team in the league to 50 wins at the age of 21 can get flustered this easily.

And mogro is right, all real men have some sense of pride and self-respect. None of the refs in that series want to turn on ESPN and hear about how Phil Jackson mind fucked them and made them his bitch. If I were a ref, my attitude would be, "Phil Jackson wants to bitch about how I'm not doing my job up to his standards? Fine. I'll send Durant to the line 20 times. Now Phil really has something to bitch about."

he won the scoring title wtf!?!??! i knew he was top 4 but damn! :wow:wow

[monosylab1k]

A chimpanzee could have coached the Bulls to 6 championships, and could have won any of the 4 titles Phil won in LA. A halfway decent coach would have won 4-5 titles with the Shaq/Kobe Lakers, and never would have let Boston go all 131-92 on them.

[monosylab1k]

Hypothetical - You have two teams that are perfectly even in every way. No advantages whatsoever on the court. The only way to win the game is to outcoach the other guy. You have to pick one coach to win one game in this scenario.

How far down the list do you go before you finally get to Phil Jackson?

Off the top of my head and in no particular order

1. Larry Brown
2. Chuck Daly
3. Jerry Sloan
4. Stan Van Gundy
5. Lenny Wilkins
6. Scott Brooks
7. Pat Riley
8. Gregg Popovich
9. Red Auerbach
10. Rick Carlisle
11. Don Nelson
12. Jack Ramsay

[monoslyab1k]

Durant is basketball Jesus!

I like Duran Duran

xwjoshiS9g4

[Mel_13]

Hypothetical - You have two teams that are perfectly even in every way. No advantages whatsoever on the court. The only way to win the game is to outcoach the other guy. You have to pick one coach to win one game in this scenario.

How far down the list do you go before you finally get to Phil Jackson?

You posed the question.

Tell us which coaches you would choose ahead of Jackson.

[Thunder Dan]

Phil Jackson is a douche bag. The guy seems like the most unhappy piece of shit walking, but he has had a career handed to him thanks to a bunch of great players. Just shut the fuck up and be cool to people. When you are supposed to do an interview, do it without acting like an asshole. You have had the easiest job in the NBA for over 2 decades

[monosylab1k]

You posed the question.

Tell us which coaches you would choose ahead of Jackson.

I already listed 12 off the top of my head, and after doing some research, I can honestly say there's probably about 50 head coaches in history I'd take over Phil Jackson.

[monosylab1k]

tbh in a one game scenario I'd take Avery Johnson any day over Phil Jackson.

[monosylab1k]

Dick Motta
Del Harris
Larry Bird
Hubie Brown
Mike Dantoni

[monosylab1k]

Rick Adelman
Nate McMillan
Rudy T
Jeff Van Gundy

[picc84]

A chimpanzee could have coached the Bulls to 6 championships, and could have won any of the 4 titles Phil won in LA. A halfway decent coach would have won 4-5 titles with the Shaq/Kobe Lakers, and never would have let Boston go all 131-92 on them.

Like I said, most successful troll in NBA history.

[hitmanyr2k]

Durant's response was pure genius. He gave the league and officials respect and put himself in a better light above the pettiness of Phil's comments. If I'm an official reading that response I would be more inclined to give Durant more calls :lol

That kid should be a politician.

[ffadicted]

lol riding hall of famers to 10 rings. Let's see jackson do what adelman did with the rockets this season, or even coach a young team like the Bucks

[Strike]

lol riding hall of famers to 10 rings. Let's see jackson do what adelman did with the rockets this season, or even coach a young team like the Bucks

Never happen.

[SomeCallMeTim]

imho it looks like Durant out-mind gamed Phil Jackson. Everyone knows Phil is a fraud anyways. It's easy to look like a genius playing mind games when you've always got the best player on the planet on your roster.

You just made Mike Brown cry.

[SomeCallMeTim]

Hypothetical - You have two teams that are perfectly even in every way. No advantages whatsoever on the court. The only way to win the game is to outcoach the other guy. You have to pick one coach to win one game in this scenario.

How far down the list do you go before you finally get to Phil Jackson?

Off the top of my head and in no particular order

1. Larry Brown
2. Chuck Daly
3. Jerry Sloan
4. Stan Van Gundy
5. Lenny Wilkins
6. Scott Brooks
7. Pat Riley
8. Gregg Popovich
9. Red Auerbach
10. Rick Carlisle
11. Don Nelson
12. Jack Ramsay

Phil's strength isn't Xs and Os... he admits as much. Good thing that isn't primarily what wins championships in the NBA.

[da_suns_fan]

Durant should have a one word response:


"Whatever."

Jackson is an egoist. Give him indifference and focus on the game.

[PGDynasty24]

LOL @ ya'll who say PHil never takes heat for his comments. He is probably the most fined coach of all time. He has already been fined 35k for this comment.

[Donkeybong]

LOL @ ya'll who say PHil never takes heat for his comments. He is probably the most fined coach of all time. He has already been fined 35k for this comment.
Wasnt he just fined 35k last week too?

[PGDynasty24]

Wasnt he just fined 35k last week too?

Yup,that's just Phil.

Remember when Phil made the brokeback mountain comments and every1 got all butthurt. He just likes shaking a tree

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-NLzjcA3kM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-m0xfdID34

[BRHornet45]

lol yet he has Kobe Bryant on his team who makes his living from the free throw line.

[daslicer]

Phill is very overatted coach when he goes up against a evenly matched team or a more talented team it results in an epic loss. He lost in '03 to a superior spurs team by nearly 30 points in the elimation game none of his zen shit worked. How about the pre-Gasol years in '06 and '07 when he choked away one series and then nearly got swept a year later.

In '08 he was really great when he coached against a better celtic team and despite his bitching and "mindgames" he still suffered the worst loss in finals history. I don't call it playing mindgames when in reality you are actually talking shit to inferior opponents. There is no cleverness in Phill's comments its always "Blah blah gets away with fouling supertar A or blah blah blah superstar A is not getting enough freethrows or blah blah blah rival superstar B is getting too many freethrows or blah blah rival superstar B is doing illegal moves." Its always those 4 lines Phill mentions throughout the playoffs I just don't see it as mindgames but merely straight up whining.

[TheMACHINE]

PJ just trolling all you mother fuckers.

[TheMACHINE]

PJ is just as overated as Pops.

[daslicer]

PJ is just as overated as Pops.

I will not even argue this point due to some of the crazy small ball stuff Pop has done the last few years

[xellos88330]

Yup,that's just Phil.

Remember when Phil made the brokeback mountain comments and every1 got all butthurt. He just likes shaking a tree

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-NLzjcA3kM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-m0xfdID34

Never heard that before!

That was some funny shit! Horses... really!?!

I can understand why people freaked out, but the fact remains.... that was some priceless humor there. I have new respect for Phil after that. :lmao

[picc84]

Glad people are finally seeing how overrated he is. Easy to stack up titles when you're coaching the GOAT and the MDE. Rick Adelman kicked his coaching ass last year.

[TheMACHINE]

Never heard that before!

That was some funny shit! Horses... really!?!

I can understand why people freaked out, but the fact remains.... that was some priceless humor there. I have new respect for Phil after that. :lmao

typical phil and typical spurstalk reaction everytime he mentions the refs. Same old same old.

[jacobdrj]

P-Jax - 1
KD - 0


P-Jax already working his magic.

[TheManFromAcme]

A chimpanzee could have coached the Bulls to 6 championships, and could have won any of the 4 titles Phil won in LA. A halfway decent coach would have won 4-5 titles with the Shaq/Kobe Lakers, and never would have let Boston go all 131-92 on them.

It's not only his "coaching" that makes him great. X's and O's are just part of the job as a NBA coach. Managing egos, hotheads, wierdos, etc., etc., are the other part. Each one of these aspects compliments the other. It's nuts to think you could have stuck any coach to those Bulls/Lakers teams. You know it. I know it. Sure Phil is a butthole at times but that's just his personality. There are many more Phil's of the world that are not in basketball that you probably encounter daily.

[PGDynasty24]

Here's a fact. MJ and Pipp and Kobe and Shaq hadn't won 1 title b4 phil came. Phil got both of those squads over the hump.

[cobbler]

LOL at the guys who do nothing but whine here on a daily basis about the Lakers supposed preferential treatment actually whining about PJ whining (which he does every year at this time).

The hypocritically obsessed! :lmao

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

My main criticism of Phil is that 9/10 of his championships were him taking over a team that already was a contender and not having to do much to put them over the top. There wasn't a ton of development he had to do, and his teams were full of players who didn't need a coach to micromanage them. Still, the fact remains the teams he took over couldn't do without him. IMO, the top 5 coaches ever:

1. Pat Riley
2. Larry Brown
3. Greg Popovich
4. Phil Jackson
5. Chuck Daly