Dribbling around the Association in an eventful week off the court.
View full sizeHey, Phil Jackson was kidding when asked about the Miami Heat. Sure, he was joshing, joking around ... or maybe not.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Dribbling around the Association in an eventful week off the court...
War of words: Lakers coach Phil Jackson started it during an interview on radio station ESPN 1000 in Chicago last week. Asked about the struggling Miami Heat, Jackson suggested the LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade trio could wind up asking Heat president Pat Riley to take over for coach Erik Spoelstra.
"That's kind of my take on it, is that eventually if things don't straighten out here soon, it could be the Van Gundy thing all over again," Jackson said.
Riley took over for Stan Van Gundy 21 games into the Heat's 2005-06 season. Van Gundy has maintained he left for personal reasons and was not forced out.
"To second-guess another coach and comment on a situation he knows nothing about -- it's inappropriate and it's also ignorant," Van Gundy told reporters this week. "I don't mean that commenting on Phil's intelligence. He's obviously a very smart guy. I mean it as ignorant [in that] he doesn't know what that situation was and he doesn't know what the situation is now."
Van Gundy's not the only one who thinks Jackson went too far.
Said former Cavs coach Mike Fratello, now a TNT broadcaster, "Phil Jackson doesn't know what went on behind the scenes between Van Gundy and Pat Riley nor does he know what's going on between Pat Riley and Spoelstra. It's inappropriate to make a comment like that and the best thing he can do is worry about his own team. He's won more championships than anyone in the history of the NBA and he has done such a nice job, why mess with someone else's program? You don't need to do it."
On Friday, Jackson apologized. Sort of.
"It was an off-handed remark about if things continue to go poorly for Miami, what might happen," Jackson said after his team's morning shootaround at Utah. "But, obviously Stan felt that he had to say something. Unfortunately he got defensive about it. I didn't mean to do that. I should apologize because I do know about his situation.
"Stan was going home to be with his family and that was his reason for leaving. I have no idea about the rest of it; why he came back out [to a head coaching job] after retiring and being with his family. But, that's his decision and fine."
Eat up: Clippers center Chris Kaman is listed at 7-0, 265 pounds, but his weight probably went up a bit after his Thanksgiving feast, which included, basically, one whole pie.
"Half of a pumpkin, a quarter of a banana cream and a quarter of a chocolate cream," he told reporters. "I ate all that in one sitting."
He wasn't done.
"When I get home I'm going to eat some pizza and some more pie," Kaman said after Thursday's game against Sacramento.
He actually missed the game with a sprained left ankle. Probably just as well after a meal like that.
Quick strike: The Dallas Mavericks scored 10 points in 57 seconds of the fourth quarter to break open a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder led, 90-83, with 7:41 left. Dirk Nowitzki hit back to back 3-pointers and was fouled on the second one for a four-point play that quickly tied the game and Jason Terry hit another 3-pointer to give the Mavericks a lead that they never surrendered.
"They got energized with the 3-ball in the fourth quarter," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks.
Rookie watch: While the Clippers' Blake Griffin continues to outshine his team, things aren't going well for all NBA rookies.
Washington's John Wall, the No. 1 pick out of Kentucky, has been hurt, and Cole Aldrich, the No. 11 pick overall out of Kansas, was sent down to the D League by the Oklahoma City Thunder last week.
"Cole is a big part of our future and right now wasn't seeing a lot of playing time," Thunder coach Brooks told reporters. "This just gives him an opportunity to go to Tulsa and play. We'll work with him. We'll still go there as much as we can to help him practice and watch games."
Of course, Aldrich's problems pale in comparison to those of Sacramento rookie DeMarcus Cousins, the fifth pick in the draft and a former teammate of Wall's at Kentucky. A healthy Samuel Dalembert has taken his starting spot, and he was fined for arguing with an assistant coach and trainer.
"We are very, very pleased with DeMarcus," coach Paul Westphal told Sacramento reporters when asked about the fine. "That's all I can say. That's all I will say."
Of Cousins' impatience, Westphal told reporters, "He wants to do something, wants to have an impact. And he can have an impact, but he's impatient. It's as simple as that. He has to learn what the league is all about. What is a foul. How to rotate. How to anticipate a play."
Cousins told reporters, "I've got a lot of learning to do. It's a process. First off, I need to play with a lot more energy, just got to pick it up. [Offensively] I get anxious. I have to slow down a lot. Let the game come to me. I try to force it sometimes, especially when I'm not playing a lot of minutes, not touching the ball."
The last word I: From Charles Barkley, in advance of next week's Heat-Cavaliers: "LeBron, I love you, but don't stand close to me next week in Cleveland."
The last word II: From Barkley, after the Heat loss to the Magic on Wednesday: "Teams are going to start scheduling the Heat for homecoming."