Thrown Under the Bus

     It was painful watching the Los Angeles Lakers give away game four in Utah last night, but worse was listening to Phil Jackson throw Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Derek Fisher, and Sasha Vujacic under the bus after the loss. How dare the head coach play Monday-Morning-Quarterback moments after a loss that he steered.  Those aforementioned players didn't tell Kobe Bryant to play through the pain he was in.  Nor did they decide whether he should stay in the game.  They weren't responsible for not calling timeouts when the offense wasn't executing. They were not responsible for Kobe jacking up three pointers, penetrating without passing, and last but not least, guarding his man and theirs.  It was Phil Jackson's job to make all those decisions and to a lesser extent Kobe Bryant.

     I have felt for quite some time that Kobe is arguably the smartest player in the game, along with the most talented, but his common sense, his memory of last night's fourth quarter, and the trust he has spoken of all season of his teammates went out the door when the overtime began. Why, when Fisher had drained three long range three pointers, would you stop passing to him?  Why would you stop tossing the ball into Gasol, who had a phenomenal game?  Why would you not set up Odom, who was virtually unstoppable all night? Courage? Bullshit! Willis Reed and his broken leg was a different era and a much different circumstance.  This was game four in Utah in the second round.  The goal is to play two more rounds.  The Lakers had a chance to come home up three games to one and Jackson sat frozen as his Golden Child Bryant let what was so hard fought slip away.

    Why after all season did Jackson suddenly blame the other players on the floor with Kobe, when that is exactly how they have played all year long?  Why say "the other players abandoned Kobe," and "they gave the ball to him too early?" You can't have it both ways Phil.  You don't get to decide after the fact that the team wasn't playing the way you wanted them to.  Call a timeout for Chrissakes. Pull Kobe aside and tell him to continue to draw the double team like he has all series and then kick the ball to one of your hot, and not hurting, teammates. Draw a play up for Sasha, who was hitting all his shots in the first half, and watch him drain it. Come on, is it just me, or don't you find it offensive when Mr. Nine Championships finds fault with the four players who did exactly what they have done in game after game, and lay all the blame on them? I do.  Not once did Phil say he and the staff screwed up. Blame Tex Winter, but don't blame the four for doing what has worked in the past. Be a man and a real coach and take some responsibility for what happened in that game.  

     How exactly are those players, particularly the ones that have not been in a pressure situation like this before, expected to respond after comments like Jackson gave to the media?  We have heard for weeks that the team is young, inexperienced, etc. Is this how you build confidence?  Is this constructive coaching? In my book it is chicken shit. Phil is a blamer.  He is a guy that takes sides. Read his book that trashed Kobe after his first stint with the Lakers and you'll get my point.  Phil should have made better decisions; a timeout, a short rest for Kobe, a brief chat with Fisher instructing him to bring the ball up, etc. He took the coward's way out, and in doing so, has left his team wondering how they are really supposed to play. Worst of all, he demeaned them at a time when they need to be confident and focused on the task at hand, which is beating the Utah Jazz, not worried about getting run over by the bus driven by Coach Jackson.