| |
|  | | Phil needs to find a way to get Kobe more shots in this series. |
PORTLAND, Ore. -- He has turned the sideline into the place to go for headlines, sticking stubbornly to unpopular strategy and backfiring mind games.
Mike Dunleavy? Hack, no.
Try Phil Jackson, for once the more second-guessable coach in a big-time playoff series.
In these Western Conference finals, at least for the moment, the lanky Zen Master can't get away with looking down on anyone. Jackson has been forced to scale back some on that typically condescending tone, because momentum wasn't the only force that shifted when Dunleavy's Trail Blazers stomped the Lakers in Game 2.
The 29-point rout that gave the Blazers a 1-1 split at the Staples Center also firmly affixed a bull's eye to Jackson's back. Getting past Portland and into the NBA Finals, remember, is the only reason why Lakers owner Jerry Buss -- not the free-spender everyone thinks he is -- consented to pay Jackson $6 million a season. This is precisely the time Jackson is supposed to steer Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant where they've never been ... while proving to all the cynics that he can get there in a city besides Chicago, and without that dribbling deity known as MJ.
Instead, Jackson finds himself in an unusual spot, needing a pretty big weekend to quell the mounting doubt in the Hollywood hills. "Lose one game and it's like Armageddon around here," observed Bryant, whose Lakers now must win at least once at the raucous Rose Garden to get us media know-it-alls back on Dunleavy's case.
Dunleavy actually commanded the scrutiny first, but only for 48 hours. Hack-A-Shaq -- and the numbing, all-for-naught parade of O'Neal free throws in Game 1 -- was quickly forgotten. Jackson, you see, just as intentionally forgot to call a timeout during Portland's third-quarter surge in Game 2.
Jackson doesn't like timeouts. He often gives the impression that he is above them, that his team -- being so well-schooled, of course -- will eventually work itself out of any problem.
Problem was, the Blazers just kept scoring Monday night, 20 unanswered points in one clip. And there was Big Chief Triangle, sitting impassively through it all, matching the Lakers' offensive output by calling zero timeouts in that stretch.
"I take credit for that," Jackson said later. "I let them hang out to dry."
Credit? Uh, Phil, don't you mean "blame?"
Never mind. That's merely one of this week's unanswered questions, and the following mysteries have a bigger bearing on whether Jackson will be able to keep his team from being sucked into full crisis mode:
Can Jackson get these guys focused? That has been a problem throughout the playoffs, starting with LA's back-to-back losses at Sacramento and later evidenced by a pounding absorbed in Phoenix when the Lakers had a chance to close out the Suns. Then came Monday's 44-point turnaround, resulting in the worst playoff loss of Jackson's coaching career and the evaporation of the Lakers' home-court advantage.
Can Jackson get Bryant more shots? Portland's relentless swarms of double- and triple-teams are forcing O'Neal and Bryant to pass to open teammates, but Kid Kobe has never been this unselfish. Eighteen shots in two games? And 12 misses? With Glen Rice down to one good knee and the other Lakers too inconsistent to count on, L.A. needs Bryant's best Michael Jordan imitation -- and fast.
Can Jackson come up with matchups that help O'Neal and Bryant stay out of foul trouble. The Blazers are going right at the Dynamic Duo at both ends, and it's working at both ends. Bryant, who wants to switch onto Scottie Pippen, couldn't avoid foul woes against Steve Smith in the last game.
Can Jackson get his mojo back? Even his attempts at between-games mental warfare could use a tweak, judging by the effect on Pippen. Announcing to the world that Scottie, a career sidekick, was Portland's only conceivable leader has not choked Pippen with pressure or divided up the Blazers. To the contrary, an ultra-aggressive Pippen led and the Blazers followed in Game 2 better than Dunleavy ever dreamed.
"Phil feels like he's the greatest at it," Pippen said. "Whatever Phil says, it's not going to be personal. He's already tried to do that, saying our team has no leader and that we're overpaid.
"But I don't think Phil is hitting the panic button yet," Pippen cautioned. "Do you?"
OK, maybe not yet. Check back Monday, though. A summer of second-guessing awaits if Jackson can't make the Lakers think Friday or Sunday, or both, is Feb. 29 all over again.
Marc Stein, who covers the NBA for The Dallas Morning News, is a new contributor to ESPN.com. | |
ALSO SEE
Portland at Los Angeles
Blazers can put pressure on L.A. in Game 3
Lakers hope time heals wounds for tonight's Game 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 An awful first half got even worse for Phil Jackson and the Lakers.
wav: 157 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Phil Jackson says it's what everyone's been waiting for.
wav: 103 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|
