Transcript from Lakers townhall meeting: Phil Jackson on Crawford

[adidas11]

I know that there have been a lot of Joey Crawford threads...but hopefully Kori will let this one slide through. I thought it was very interesting take on refs in the NBA


Quote: "Phil: In 1993, we were playing the New York Knicks when I was with the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden. I was complaining about Charles Oakley pounding one of my forwards, Horace Grant on the offensive boards all the time. It was a notorious offensive rebounding team with Patrick Ewing and Oakley and a variety of players they had playing small forward. After an offensive rebound that Oakley got over Horace Grant’s back, I stood up and folded my arms and looked at Joey Crawford as he ran past me on the court. He stopped at half court and gave me a technical. He turned around, gave me a technical. I didn’t say a word – I just looked at him. He gave me a technical for looking at him. So, I know Joey, he’s a very unique official and he is dearly loved in the NBA.

They are very hard on the officials, the NBA is very strict and difficult with these officials so they ride them very hard, they are under a lot of pressure and we understand that and we sympathize with them in that regard. If you remember back a few years ago, in the 90’s, Clyde Drexler was with the Houston Rockets – he got traded that season. He went to the Houston Rockets and they were playing a playoff game against Phoenix and Jake O’Donnell, one of the great referees in the NBA threw him out of the ball game, in the playoffs and that was Jake’s last year. The league reprimanded him after that playoff. He retired. He did have a little bit of a vendetta against Clyde, they had a bad relationship and he realized that he carried it and the league asked him that he just be graceful and retire and he left the game after that. There are situations that are exacerbated in this game that change up how referees look at players and how they get calls and they’re human. We have to remember that they carry grudges, it’s a normal thing. There are avenues to go through and Mitch has discussed that. "

[SPARKY]

Synopsis: Joey Crawford is a psychopath but one uva a guy. Jake too.

[picnroll]

One of Jackson's strenghts is working the refs, in games and in the media between games. Sympathizing with and siding with them publicly at the start of the playoffs is Phil starting to do his playoff voodoo.

[SPARKY]

Jackson's strength is the ability to disparage and compliment in the same breath.

[GhostofAlfrederickHughes]

If Kobe had gotten tossed for a similar 'infraction,' Phil would have been less than demure about it.

[degenerate_gambler]

One of Jackson's strenghts is working the refs, in games and in the media between games. Sympathizing with and siding with them publicly at the start of the playoffs is Phil starting to do his playoff voodoo.

Yeah well his 'voodoo' is only as good as his team.