Mark Jackson gives Phil an ‘F’
Once Kevin Durant decided to leave Oklahoma City last July to sign a freeagent contract with the Golden State Warriors, it all but guaranteed the longest preseason in NBA history.
Because what we knew back then becomes reality on Thursday: the Warriors vs. the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals for the third straight year. And assuming both teams stay relatively healthy and retain their core players — most notably LeBron James — then there’s no reason to think Cleveland and Golden State won’t make this an annual event for the foreseeable future.
Both clubs are far and away the two best teams and each has improved significantly over the past season. With Game 1 scheduled for Thursday in Oakland, here are the main storylines to follow:
No one has more to lose than Durant, who left a contender to join a powerhouse. The Warriors have already won a title without Durant so all the pressure is on Durant, who in his one and only trip to the NBA Finals in 2012 lost to LeBron and the Miami Heat in five games.
It’s worth noting that Durant averaged 30 points and shot 55 percent in the series that resulted in LeBron winning his first-ever title. He had two young stars as teammates, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, but neither was as experienced as Durant’s new supporting cast in Golden State. If the Warriors win, they were supposed to win. Lose and it’s a long wait until next year’s playoffs for Durant.
To even be in the same sentence as Michael Jordan tells you all you need to know about LeBron, who has been brilliant this postseason.
Jordan, of course, was 6-0 in the NBA Finals and it’s not much of a reach to think he would have been 8-0 had he not abruptly quit to play baseball following the 1993 season.
There’s no getting around that record. LeBron is 3-4 in the Finals but it shouldn’t be held against him that he took a good, not great Cavs team to the Finals a decade ago.
Two years ago, LeBron and the Cavs lost to the Warriors in six games with Kevin Love out and having lost Kyrie Irving to a season-ending injury in Game 1. LeBron’s worst Finals moment was losing to Dallas in 2011, but he more than made up for it with a historic performance in Game 7 last year.
He may never be Jordan but if LeBron, who knocked off the 73-win Warriors last season, pulls off another upset this year he’ll be awfully close.
Very quietly, Kevin Love has put together an impressive playoff run. He is the bonafide third star on a team that is more lethal when Love’s perimeter shooting opens the floor for LeBron and Irving.
If Love continues to play well that greatly improves Cleveland’s chances of back-to-back titles. The same can be said if Klay Thompson continues to struggle.
Once Durant arrived you knew one of the Warriors’ three All-Stars would see his production drop and that’s precisely what has happened to Thompson. His playoff scoring average (14.4 PPG) is 10 points lower than last postseason. He’s also shooting a career-playoff low of 45 percent. Is he hurt? Is he sulking?
Something’s up because Thompson is too talented to be struggling like this. If he regains his form, I don’t see Cleveland having much of a chance.
Warriors acting head coach, Mike Brown, holds the distinction of being the Cavs head coach when LeBron reached his first Finals. He’s also been fired twice by the Cavs.
Brown will serve as head coach in the series while Steve Kerr deals with health issues related to his back. Kerr is expected to travel but not be on the bench. It adds an interesting twist to the series and should enhance Brown’s bid to get ESPN analyst Mark Jackson didn’t mince words in his evaluation of the job Phil Jackson’s done running the Knicks, calling him a “failure.”
“Phil Jackson is one of the greatest coaches in the history of sports, not just basketball, but in sports,” Jackson said. “And I can say that definitively. I can also look at the numbers and say as the guy running the New York Knicks, he’s done a poor job. When you look at the results, he’s been a failure thus far.”
There you have it. The Knicks might be light years from the NBA Finals, but the saddest soap opera in sports was still a talking point during Tuesday’s ABC another head coaching job. Of course, that job could be with the Warriors if Kerr steps down.
Last year’s Finals took a dramatic turn when LeBron suckered Draymond Green into striking him in the groin in the closing stages of Game 4. The NBA retroactively assessed Green with a flagrant-1 foul, resulting in a one-game suspension.
The Warriors likely finish off the Cavs in five games had Green been available. Instead, his absence set the stage for Cleveland’s comeback from a 3-1 series deficit.
Green is the Warriors’ emotional leader and LeBron presents him with the ultimate challenge. That’s why the Warriors need him to play at a high level while walking a fine line emotionally.
Game 7 last year came down to Kyrie Irving making the biggest shot in Cavs history while Stephen Curry struggled to get a shot off while being guarded by Kevin Love.
Curry had a disastrous Game 7, particularly a mindless behindthe-back turnover with five minutes left. Irving was the better point guard but there’s reason to believe Curry will hold his own.
Last year, he never fully recovered from a leg injury he suffered in the first round against Houston. Plus, Curry’s no longer the No. 1 option. Now, he has Durant to bail him and the Warriors out. That’s a pretty good upgrade. NBA Finals conference call with Jackson and cobroadcaster Jeff Van Gundy.
Jackson also backed Carmelo Anthony in the embarrassing beef boiling between Jackson and the Knicks’ best player.
“Carmelo Anthony is an outstanding basketball player who has handled himself remarkably during these last couple of years,” Jackson said. “He negotiated a no-trade clause. I think you’re going about it the wrong way, trying to force him out. He has all the power and he’s taking full advantage of it.”
— Evan Grossman