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

[Redz]

Phil had that look on his face like he knows he's up against a better team.  Maybe I'm reading him wrong...

[RebusRankin]

Does mad Kobe mean he's going to stop passing and jacking up shots?

[BballTim]

I think Doc has done a pretty good job with the Celtics this year, but to compare him to Phil is a little absurd IMHO.

Yes the Celtics are in the Finals, but lets look at how they got there.

1st round - A 37 win team that the Celtics swept in the regular season takes them to 7 games
2nd round - A dysfunctional Cavs team with little chemistry (midseason trade) takes them to 7 games (with Lebron shooting abysmally)
3rd round - Defeated a good Piston team in 6 games (no criticism here)

Neither the Hawks nor the Cavs had any business taking the Celts to 7 games, and a large part of the reason why they did is because of Doc Rivers.

  Instead of looking at how we got here, look at the fact that we did get here. This team has never played in a playoff game together before this season, and probably hadn't been in more than a dozen close games. We had the biggest single season turnaround in NBA history. I think the best any of the next four on the turnaround list did was winning 1 game in the conference finals.

[Roy Hobbs]

Doc: 1
His Highness, the Great and Powerful Phil Jackson: 0

[nickagneta]

Doc: 1
His Highness, the Great and Powerful Phil Jackson: 0

Roy, last year at this time could you ever in your wildest dreams haver thought that you would be not only be reading that and having it be the truth but writing it?

Heck, I'm not sure when the regular season ended I would have belived that statement could ever be true. And I am a Doc supporter!

Except for his use of Sam in the fourth where he left him in about 2 minutes too long, Doc coached well. Not outstanding because let's face it the emotion in the building went a long way towards making his job very easy, but he did coach a good game.

Better than Jackson, that's for sure. Jackson's removal of Kobe may not have backfired on him but it was a bad move. And once the Celtics adjusted to the Laker's pick and roll, Jackson had nothing in response. And the way his players were playing in that last two minutes and not fouling was atrocious and that's on Jackson for not making them aware of what needed to be done.

[Sweet17]

If Doc had been Michael's coach or Shaq's coach in their primes he would have been known as a 'great coach'. <g>

[Discoflux]

Let's just hand Boston the trophy now.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Doc 2 - Phil 0.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Doc 4 - Phil 2

Celtics - 17

[RebusRankin]

Yeah, it was a mismatch in Boston's favour. Who's the genius now? 

[TerreHaute]

If Doc had been Michael's coach or Shaq's coach in their primes he would have been known as a 'great coach'. <g>

TP for you. Phil is a great coach, but he has been handed great teams. That alone continues to separate him from Red.

[nickagneta]

If Doc had been Michael's coach or Shaq's coach in their primes he would have been known as a 'great coach'. <g>

TP for you. Phil is a great coach, but he has been handed great teams. That alone continues to separate him from Red.

TP4U

That's what most nowadays analysts miss about the Red vs Phil comparison.

It's one thing to coach 9 championship teams when you have been given the two best players in the league on every single one of those teams. It is something completely different to build a team and make it into a nine time championship team.

Red had to build that team from the bottom up and then constantly replace retiring stars with new Hall of Fame talent while still keeping the core motivated and focused and coach them to championships.

Phil had to......what.... say give the ball to Michael or Shaq or Kobe. I'm belittling his accomplishment but there is a huge difference between what Red did and what Phil does(like bail on his championship teams as soon as the superstars move on) and the national media is to busy kissing Phil's butt to explain the difference to the average or johnny come lately basketball fan.

And I think that belittles the legacy of the greatest coach and front office man in league history. It bugs me when the media does that in the NBA. Baseball scribes won't compare Joe Torre to Casey Stengal. Football guys were hesitant to compare Belichick to Paul Brown or Vince Lombardi. After Spygate you will never hear any comparison of that type ever again.

But basketball does it and that really bothers me.

[Last Train]

Turns out to be a yes.

[Redz]

Let's just hand Boston the trophy now.

Discoflux knew all along...A fortune teller...Here I thought the guy was just being sarcastic...Guess you never can judge a book by the cover