Phil Jackson’s 10th Championship Will Be Won Fooling Them All
As Derek Fisher hit his 2nd 3-point dagger in overtime of Game 4 of the NBA Finals (the first one tying the game in the final seconds of regulation), it occurred to me:
Phil Jackson is going to win his 10th championship ring by fooling them all. Red Auerbach challenged him to build a team from the bottom. Alonzo Mourning said Kobe coached more than Phil.
Am I Dreaming? Is it 2002 Again? There's Fisher, Hitting Clutch Shots Again!
The entire basketball media community, yours truly included, wondered if he had lost it by letting a struggling Fisher start and log major minutes throughout the playoffs.
Phil Jackson knew how to push Andrew Bynum’s buttons for him to finally be the solid, hustling defender he was tonight. Phil Jackson is perhaps the only coach that could take the obsessive wrath of both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
The Man? The King of Cool? How About the Greatest Coach of All-Time.
And most of all, Phil Jackson was the only coach that would fully trust a struggling Derek Fisher throughout the playoffs, which set up Fisher’s two three-pointers that all but sealed the NBA championship for the Lakers (who now have a commanding 3-1 lead in the series).
If the 10th championship Phil Jackson is supposed to be the ultimate nod for him being the greatest coach of all-time, then he must see things us mere mortals do not.
Phil Jackson doesn’t merely coach in the moment (which is probably why he gets nailed for not being the greatest X’s and O’s coach). He sees moments before they happen. As the final Derek Fisher 3-pointer went in, I knew it at once: He is the greatest coach of all-time.
The Lakers Practically Had a Hugging Cermony for Fisher After the Game.
The Lakers went from not making the playoffs to a potential ring 3 years into Phil Jackson coming back and taking over. Derek Fisher is a hero again. Kobe Bryant will be redeemed. Andrew Bynum’s potential will be realized. Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza will be champions instead of castoffs.
And Phil Jackson will ride into the sunset, somewhere in Montana, smiling. Smiling, because he always knew more than us. Smiling, because he fooled us all. The Zen Master.
Fooled? More like got lucky that Fischer finally made a shot. Fortunately for Laker fans, it happened when it counted the most. That and a oh so common opponent breakdown in the last minute fuels another “classic” Lakers championship.
Now that was a crazy comeback! Fisher’s clutch count is going off the charts.
D-Fish! Phil Jackson! Kobe! OK, I am excited!
That was an awesome game! Phil is the greatest, and his teams always rise to the top.