Earlier, Phil Jackson decided to go ahead and get his shots in at Steve Nash, talking about arguably the best point guard in the league as if he were simply skirting the rules by carrying the ball consistently. Because, you know, whatever advantage you can get, you should get when you only have the best player remaining in the playoffs, multiple All-Stars, homecourt advantage and a lineup that is approximately 700 times the size of your opponent.
Today at practice, Steve Nash decided to weigh in on the Zen Master’s little tweaks. And FanHouse’s Brett Pollakoff nabbed video.
http://www.youtube.com/v/RIMl-rpsqqE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1
The gem from this is Nash saying “The best coach in the league, Gregg Popovich, didn’t have a problem with it last week.”
Cue the Lakers fans in the comments going off on how Phil’s the best. I imagine there will be several mentions of Phil’s 10 rings to Popovich’s 4 rings, the Lakers record with Phil against Pop in the playoffs, and a lot of exclamation marks. I think both sides have strong cases as to why either coach is the best, but that’s besides the point.
Beyond the question of whether Jackson should be trying to tamper with officiating before the series even starts is the fact that Jackson’s obviously gotten under the Suns’ skin. Once that happens, it’s already a mark for Jackson in the win column. He wages these little battles which may or may not have an impact, but the cumulative result is to even in the slightest way gain an advantage. Jackson knows those edges are what can make the difference.
And if nothing else, at least it’s entertaining.