Auerbach vs Jackson

      With Phil Jackson closing in on NBA title #10, there will be talk that this will make him the greatest coach in NBA history. Disregard this talk.

     Red Auerbach does. When he is asked about the imminent fall of his record, he is quick to point out that he doesn't hold Jackson in high regard. 

     Red is a free speaker, and he is not above some sour grapes, it seems. He does have some points, though:

- Phil Jackson was handed the best player in the league- by far- twice. If PJ was the GM who drafted Jordan or Kobe, we could talk. If he manipulated the roster/salary cap to bring in O'Neal, then we'd be talking Auerbachian greatness. PJ's just a rich kid who had NASA scientists build his Soap Box Derby racer. Sure, he wins...but let's use our adjectives with restraint.

- Jackson has never rebuilt a team. He ran like a rat when the Bulls went into decline, and will bail on the Lakers before Shaq does...guar-an-teed. When Russell retired, Red built a winner around White, Havlicek and Cowens. When they got old, he built around Larry Bird. Red's semi-retirement has produced a 20 year drought.

- No one has ever trusted the "Greatest Coach" ever with GM duties. They won't let Phil shop for the groceries. Sure, Auerbach had great players. He selected them himself, and coached them into winners. He robbed other teams to get star players- Russell from St. Louis, Bird from LA, McHale and Parish from Golden State, and DJ from Phoenix. Those 5 dudes were acquired for Ed McCauley, Cliff Hagan, Charlie Scott, Joe Barry Carroll, Ricky Brown and Rick Robey. That's genius, folks.

- Jackson's signature offense- the triangle- is a joke. In Chicago, the triangle was 4 guys standing at the 3 point line while Jordan went one on one. Has Pippen ever scored outside of transition? Trust me...truly great offenses don't have one guy shooting 45 times- even if he is God's Other Son. "Triangle" must be Zen for "let one guy gun it all the time".
    
    In Los Angeles, the triangle just doesn't fit the players. PJ hangs with it anyway, even when the results are disastrous- see San Antonio last year, or games 1+2 of this year's series. Only when they abandoned the triangle for the pick and roll/post-up game did the Lakers assert themselves. It isn't that hard folks...feed the Daddy, every time down.

- Red's teams played together. There was no one recording a Shaq Diss rap CD during Red's time on the clock. Granted, in Red's time there were no CDs, rap, or Shaq, but still... in Red's day, those two would have been put into a room, and kept there till they were friends or until one had convinced the other to shut up.
   
    Red has almost double the rings Jackson has...and he earned them. His innovations (the fast break, the shot blocker) are still being mimicked today, rather than abandoned when exposed as folly...like the triangle. He kept order on his teams- he could even make Heinsohn shut up. The Kobe/Shaq debacle is a sign of a team that doesn't have a firm hand on the wheel. Phil rode Wilt 2004 to dominance- Red repeatedly whipped Chamberlain squads.

    Save the "how many titles did Jordan and Kobe win without PJ" questions. Anyone who thinks Jordan wouldn't have won without PJ should hand their credibility in at the door. Blaming Kobe for not winning a title before he could drink is just short-sighted, as is blaming Jordan for not winning by himself till Isiah, Magic, Kareem, Bird and Dr. J had retired or slowed. Once Jordan's time came, a monkey could have coached that team to a Dynasty. Since Jordan retired, whoever has Shaq has had the Upper Hand.

    The Laker fans need not think I'm bemoaning their team's accomplishments. LA has a kick-ass team, by far the best of this generation. They have(had) a guy who I would say is just about as good as Red, if not better. A guy who worked the system and got the Franchise(s) that started the Dynasty(ies).

    He has done everything positive that I listed above, in some form or another. He has won titles for the Lakers with his feet on the court AND in the front office. He manipulated the rules to bring the dominant player of his generation to his team. His team truly sucked for very few years during his decades-long association with the club, and were usually the class of the league. He has more rings than Elizabeth Taylor. He rebuilt an awful team, and got it into the playoffs, a la Miami or...ummm, the Grizzlies. His greatness makes me put aside the Celtic goggles I usually wear.

   Simply put, this Laker great equaled- and I might say surpassed- the Auerbach standard. This kid could play a bit, too. He deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Auerbach. It just isn't Phil Jackson.

   It's Jerry West.