The reason Phil Jackson is talking about Pierce

[BleedinGreen417]

Phil Jackson's playoff press conferences are nothing more than Jedi mind tricks - distraction and misdirection for the weak-minded. He never honors the competition and he really despises the Celtics. Everything he says is done so purposefully to give his players an edge psychologically. While it sounds like whining, I see it as gamesmanship.

I'll worry when he starts talking about the officiating (cf. Shaq/Kobe title teams) because he has a high level of credibility with the league, media and the uninitiated due to his amazing success with the Jordan/Bulls teams in the 1990's. I won't make the mistake to underestimate the impact of his words.

I gotta admit though it felt pretty classless, and frankly disingenuous, to discredit Pierce's injury after some of the hyped-up shenanigans his players have pulled over the years.

[Redz]

He's desperate.  I swear, I saw that incredulous look on his during Game 1 that he was realizing what he was up against.  He's not playing with a loaded deck and he knows it.  The Celts have turned the corner and have the mental edge of being the superior team at this point.  Phil can see that, his players can see that, so he's left with playing the mental card.  The Celts are way past that, and Pierce certainly has proven he's past that.

I really feel like the Celts are going to give the Lakers an unholy pounding tomorrow and leave them whimpering all the way back to L.A.. 

[pablohoney]

Paul Pierce hurt his knee and 5 minutes later it felt okay and he went back in.   It was dramatic because it is the NBA finals and TV cameras are rolling.   He himself left in pain and ran back in.   On his return he just played.   There were no dramatic winces in pain (like everytime Lebron got fouled for example).   He just manned it up and played.   This same guy got clawed and was bleeding and just shrugged it off.   The guy is a warrior and if he overreacted to severe knee pain so be it.

The real reason Jackson is poking fun at Pierce is that he doesn't want to address how Pierce made his team's defense look like cottage cheese.   Pierce effortlessly coasted to 22 pts on a mere 10 shots.  70% shooting from the field and not once did he hit the floor.   Having watched him for his whole career I can't remember a game where he had uncontested layups.   He is physical but by NBA standards is not that fast for a SF.   Where was the defense?

Meanwhile, Kobe got his typical 24 pts on too many shots and blamed his teammates as usual.   This season, due to overwhelming talent on his team, Kobe is finally playing efficiently.   But the 26 shots for 24 pts is closer to the post-Shaq Kobe of the past 4 seasons than the guy that won the MVP this year.

If I was a Laker fan I wouldn't look at his poor shooting and think it was just a cold night.  Lebron also talked about all the "bunnies" he missed and Kobe can drool all he wants.   He is in for a tough series.   And if the softest team in the NBA wants to joke about Pierce's toughness after the matador defense they played on him so be it.  When Lebron struggled against the Celtics, at least he made life tough for Paul on the other end.

This Laker team has no answer for Paul Pierce.  Meanwhile, the Celtics have more answers for Kobe than any team he has played in the playoffs so far....even if he truly is the most unguardable SG in the league.  If Paul Pierce actually is healthy this series is going to be very short.   Phil Jackson can joke all he wants..... but deep down he is hoping Pierce's knee is "that bad".

[Redz]

Paul Pierce hurt his knee and 5 minutes later it felt okay and he went back in.   It was dramatic because it is the NBA finals and TV cameras are rolling.   He himself left in pain and ran back in.   On his return he just played.   There were no dramatic winces in pain (like everytime Lebron got fouled for example).   He just manned it up and played.   This same guy got clawed and was bleeding and just shrugged it off.   The guy is a warrior and if he overreacted to severe knee pain so be it.

The real reason Jackson is poking fun at Pierce is that he doesn't want to address how Pierce made his team's defense look like cottage cheese.   Pierce effortlessly coasted to 22 pts on a mere 10 shots.  70% shooting from the field and not once did he hit the floor.   Having watched him for his whole career I can't remember a game where he had uncontested layups.   He is physical but by NBA standards is not that fast for a SF.   Where was the defense?

Meanwhile, Kobe got his typical 24 pts on too many shots and blamed his teammates as usual.   This season, due to overwhelming talent on his team, Kobe is finally playing efficiently.   But the 26 shots for 24 pts is closer to the post-Shaq Kobe of the past 4 seasons than the guy that won the MVP this year.

If I was a Laker fan I wouldn't look at his poor shooting and think it was just a cold night.  Lebron also talked about all the "bunnies" he missed and Kobe can drool all he wants.   He is in for a tough series.   And if the softest team in the NBA wants to joke about Pierce's toughness after the matador defense they played on him so be it.  When Lebron struggled against the Celtics, at least he made life tough for Paul on the other end.

This Laker team has no answer for Paul Pierce.  Meanwhile, the Celtics have more answers for Kobe than any team he has played in the playoffs so far....even if he truly is the most unguardable SG in the league.  If Paul Pierce actually is healthy this series is going to be very short.   Phil Jackson can joke all he wants..... but deep down he is hoping Pierce's knee is "that bad".

TP for the post Pablo, and to help eradicate that Old School negative TP rating.  The negative TP rating is almost a badge of courage in this day and age

[greenisin]

fan33 - nicely said. 

yes, i vividly remember kobe shooting bricks in the 2004 finals. that was because of a combination of overwhelming defense and his ballhoggery.

we have the defense right here. we have kobe shooting bricks for us so far. now, let's get him to ballhog...

i don't think the celtics will win because we are mountains better than the lakers. we will win because we have hungrier players who have worked so hard all season long not to let this opportunity slip away.

we have the passion and heart to overcome anything.

but we still must be careful.

go celtics!

[wdleehi]

It is not just jackson.



All the media guys that were slobbering over Kobe before the series started jumped on this.

Anything to distract from Kobe's struggles against the Celtics this year.

[paintitgreen]

Phil, for all his shortcomings, is an outstanding coach and psychological master. He generally seems to point to external factors during a game or series as the reason for losses or opponents' runs, but I think he's just trying to emanate supreme confidence, knowing that if he has the right personnel, confidence is essential to playing good ball. Just like Red used to tell guys who were missing shots that he'd only pull them if they stopped shooting, because he understood the importance of confidence. Phil's not gonna say his team can't win or can't rebound or can't get through the Celtics defense, because he knows that to do those things, his guys need to believe they can.

As for Pierce comments, I'm sure he, like everybody else, was asked about it. Why shouldn't he be saying it? I understand Pierce's situation, he was probably scared that it was a lot worse than it turned out to be. He admitted himself he was embarassed by it. If it was Kobe, we'd all be saying the same things. And honestly, didn't Phil play with Willis Reed? If I was a teammate of a guy who did something truly inspiring and heroic, and a guy who wasn't really hurt as badly was being compared to my ex-teammate by the media, I'd be a little annoyed too.

The absurd Reed comparison does remind me of one of my favorite Russell stories, though. When he was asked about the Willis Reed situation, which was a year after Bill retired, he said that situation just showed how soft Wilt was. Russell said he would have taken it to Reed, abused him and made him look foolish on principle just for daring to come onto the court and try to play against him injured. That situation right there, a year after Bill retired, is why Bill won 11 titles and Wilt won 2. Similarly, if Bill was there and Pierce came out against him, I think Bill would have made sure his team took it to Pierce and made him work if he was going to contribute anything, not allow him to be left wide open for two straight 3s. I'm just glad there's no other Bill Russell, not on the Lakers or on any other team. NOBODY will ever match him.

[silvershamrocker]

And if the softest team in the NBA wants to joke about Pierce's toughness after the matador defense they played on him so be it. 

 

[Thruthelookingglass]

I really feel like the Celts are going to give the Lakers an unholy pounding tomorrow and leave them whimpering all the way back to L.A.. 

I hope you are a bona fide prophet Redz.  I don't think we can afford to give LA any breathing room.  I've no real desire to even lose a game in LA though I'll settle for the championship any way we can get it.

As for what Phil Jackson says, I don't really care unless it's "uncle."