Is Phil Jackson vs Doc Rivers the biggest Finals coaching mismatch of all-time?

[BostonChantsKobeMVP]

Phil Jackson

Coaching record
Team Year Regular Season Post Season
G W L Finish Result
CHI 1989-90 82 55 27 .671 2nd in Central Lost in Conf. Finals
CHI 1990-91 82 61 21 .744 1st in Central Won NBA Championship
CHI 1991-92 82 67 15 .817 1st in Central Won NBA Championship
CHI 1992-93 82 57 25 .695 1st in Central Won NBA Championship
CHI 1993-94 82 55 27 .671 2nd in Central Lost in Second Round
CHI 1994-95 82 47 35 .573 3rd in Central Lost in Second Round
CHI 1995-96 82 72 10 .878 1st in Central Won NBA Championship
CHI 1996-97 82 69 13 .841 1st in Central Won NBA Championship
CHI 1997-98 82 62 20 .756 1st in Central Won NBA Championship
— 1998-99 (Did not coach)
LAL 1999-00 82 67 15 .817 1st in Pacific Won NBA Championship
LAL 2000-01 82 56 26 .683 1st in Pacific Won NBA Championship
LAL 2001-02 82 58 24 .707 2nd in Pacific Won NBA Championship
LAL 2002-03 82 50 32 .610 2nd in Pacific Lost in Second Round
LAL 2003-04 82 56 26 .683 1st in Pacific Lost in NBA Finals
— 2004-05 (Did not coach)
LAL 2005-06 82 45 37 .549 3rd in Pacific Lost in First Round
LAL 2006-07 82 42 40 .512 2nd in Pacific Lost in First Round
LAL 2007-08 82 57 25 .695 1st in Pacific Currently in NBA Finals
Career 1394 976 418 .700

Doc Rivers

Coaching record
Team Year Regular Season Post Season
W L PCT G Finish
ORL 1999-00 41 41 .500 82 4th in Atlantic Missed Playoffs
ORL 2000-01 43 39 .524 82 4th in Atlantic Lost First Round
ORL 2001-02 44 38 .537 82 3rd in Atlantic Lost First Round
ORL 2002-03 42 40 .512 82 4th in Atlantic Lost First Round
ORL 2003-04 1 10 .091 11 7th in Atlantic
BOS 2004-05 45 37 .549 82 1st in Atlantic Lost First Round
BOS 2005-06 33 49 .402 82 3rd in Atlantic Missed Playoffs
BOS 2006-07 24 58 .293 82 5th in Atlantic Missed Playoffs
BOS 2007-08 66 16 .805 82 1st in Atlantic NBA Finals
Career 339 328 .508 667

Here are some other candidates but I don't really see how any of them have a larger gap then what we are going to witness this year. 

2007: Gregg Popovich vs. Mike Brown (four titles vs. a guy that I wouldn't trust to install a large-class high school offense)
1995: Rudy Tomjanovich vs. Brian Hill (two titles, nine winning seasons vs. sub-.500 record)
1976: Tom Heinsohn vs. John MacLeod (two titles and a COY vs. nine losing seasons and having three players on roster that went on to become much better coaches)
1969: Bill Russell vs. Butch van Breda Kolff (two titles vs. sub-.500 career record)

[BudweiserCeltic]

Won't matter much after the Celtics beat the Lakers.

[LarBrd33]

meh... How much credit does Phil really deserve... really.   He coached Michael Jordan for god sakes.  The greatest player of all time. 

Then Shaq/Kobe.  The guy benefits from having some supreme talent.  He's good at keeping egos in check i guess... maybe... i dunno... debatable.  Shaq and Kobe ended up hating each other.  He's won titles, but I think pretty much anyone would with the talent he's had. 

We'll see. 

[PrimusSucks]

meh... How much credit does Phil really deserve... really.   He coached Michael Jordan for god sakes.  The greatest player of all time. 

Then Shaq/Kobe.  The guy benefits from having some supreme talent.  He's good at keeping egos in check i guess... maybe... i dunno... debatable.  Shaq and Kobe ended up hating each other.  He's won titles, but I think pretty much anyone would with the talent he's had. 

We'll see. 

In both Chicago and LA he took over teams who had failed to get to the finals, and with little roster turnover he took both teams to titles. Having good players and running a team correctly is a huge difference.

Of course, when comparing the two coaches, Phil is light years ahead, stat-wise. However, in Doc's only season with a good group of players he won 66 games and is now in the finals. I would never say doc is as good as Phil, but I don't think it is as big a gap as some people would have you believe. 

[mpapic]

Yes... yes it is.

[Bahku]

Probably is .... but that will just make for even more of an "upset" for the Lakers and the media, when we close this down in five! Time for LA's wake-up call ... and it's a big, green, three-headed monster that eats purple and gold short-shorts for breakfast! Say good-night, Phil!

[celtics2]

Doc vs. Phil...hahahahahahahahahahahahaahaha, you gotta be kidding. Doc has Attention Deficit Disorders during games. All Phil will need is a minute or 2 of that stuff. I'm just hoping the 3 Super Stars + the Vets on the bench can cover for Doc. Defense will be the key to our winning. We should be able to smother them enough to get 4 wins. It won't be pretty. Celts in 7.

[clover]

On one level, probably.  On another level, as long as Doc channels his inner KC Jones and coaches as he has coached most of the last 8 or 9 playoff games they've played, he and the C's should be okay.

[Bastone]

All this Doc talk again is starting to p--- me off!  Get off his back, look at what he has accomplished with this team so far!  To top things off, he has the respect of all his players.
Doc will only be appreciated here after he wins a couple of championships, which he will do, mark my words!

[BballTim]

meh... How much credit does Phil really deserve... really.   He coached Michael Jordan for god sakes.  The greatest player of all time. 

Then Shaq/Kobe.  The guy benefits from having some supreme talent.  He's good at keeping egos in check i guess... maybe... i dunno... debatable.  Shaq and Kobe ended up hating each other.  He's won titles, but I think pretty much anyone would with the talent he's had. 

We'll see. 

In both Chicago and LA he took over teams who had failed to get to the finals, and with little roster turnover he took both teams to titles. Having good players and running a team correctly is a huge difference.

  The lack of roster turnover probably worked in his favor. Teams generally need a year or two together to develop chemistry regardless of the coach. What the Celts have done (under Doc) rarely happens.

[Brickowski]

Probably, and Doc Rivers vs Greg Popovich would have been a close second.

[nickagneta]

A couple of points just to throw into the discussion:

- It's pretty unfair to belittle Phil Jackson's accomplishments by saying that he coached Jordan/Pippen and Kobe/Shaq. Let's not forget that our own Red Auerbach won his world championships while coaching arguably the second greatest player to ever live and the greatest defensive player ever in Russell, one of the greatest PGs ever in Cousy, the greatest 6th man ever in Havlicek, the greatest same name backcourt in NBA history in the Jones boys, and a guy that threw up a 20/20 just about every thrid game in Tommy Heinsohn.

- Let's also give a little more respect to our own Doc Rivers. There have been some Doc critics who still don't like the man's coaching abilities and style that have at least given him some props for what he has done with this team. Both for the most part the Doc bashers on this site continue with the same old stuff and honestly, the more this team wins, the lessvalid a lot of your criticisms are becoming.

Doc has coached better game to game as these playoffs have progressed. He has shown significant game making decision improvements since the postseason started. And he does have this team 4 wins from a championship. Let's give the guy a break.

Some are so set to say the talent got Doc here but then argue that Jackson is such a better coach even though he's only made it this far when he has had the talent. Without the Gasol trade is Jackson such a zen-master and still coaching his team right now?

Management of star players and the ability to get them to play together and see the team concept is a rare talent. Jackson has it. Auerbach had it. Joe Torre has it. So does Terry Francona.

Flip Saunders doesn't. Neither do Rick Pitino, George Karl, Doug Collins and I seriously question Jerry Sloan's talent in this area as well, although he is without question a great coach in most other areas.

- I truly believe that coaching will be as far from a deciding factor in this series as it could possibly be. The players will decide this series. There's just too much talent on both sides for the coaches to have that much of an effect.

Celtics in a classic 7 gamer because the GPA make it happen even though Kobe tries to will it to happen.

[Celtic]

Say what you want about Doc's past vs. Phil's past, but look at the players they had to work with respectively. For all the Lakers fans posting on here, allow me to explain something to you, outside of LA Phil Jackson is pretty much known for being overrated. It's very similar to how some Patriots fans in New England don't realize how little people outside of NE think of their Patriots.

In all honesty, Doc has been the better coach this year, there is nothing about Phil that intimidates me as a fan, and probably the Celtics as an organization. The Lakers ability to win a championship this year starts and ends at Kobe Bryant.

[cordobes]

Looking at those winning % records:

Were Lakers' 2005-2007 rosters so much worse than Orlando's 2000-2004 and Boston's 04-05 rosters?

Anyway, I guess it maybe, but I don't think it'll affect the outcome so much. I trust in Doc.

[Frontierboy]

In this series we should actually be looking at Tom Thibideau vs Tex Winters.... great defensive coach vs great offensive coach,and not be looking at the head coaches