Lackers vs Spurs series

phil jackson's coached team hasnt never lost 3 in a row.

When it comes to the Spurs, I'm still pessimistic. This just means Lakers in 6. (Well, I've jinxed teams before... )

and also a phil jackson coached team hasn't been this injury depleted or had this much lack of depth.

keep in mind the last phil jackson coached team that started off 0-2 in a series went on to lose the series (to the knicks)

phil jackson's coached team hasnt never lost 3 in a row.

we'll see in gm 3 shall we? these r the spurs..not the spurs of old..these r a more athletic team..a more defensive minded team..a more unstoppable team..lackers dont have a chance w/out fox and george out..now lets get down to the facts phil 'jackass'..dis game was not determined by the fouls or the ft attempts was it?..ur lackers were out of the game start of the 4th quarter..the ft attempts was very close dis time..as a matter of fact it was 27 to 24 in favor of san antonio..but the lackers had way more ft attempts then the spurs before the 4th..san antonio caught up w/ them in the fourth frm all the garbage time and scrubs..i will also say omg did the lackers get the ass whoop by the spurs scrubs?? muhahahaha..lackers have nothing other then shaq and kobster..they have no bench..they shouldnt be crying and whining bout ft descrepencies..their fans should shut up for a change..the lackers should also start making plans for the summer..maybe 'go fishin'?

Spurs won... I win... Heh.

I hope the Lakers get swept... Yeah.

hey do not count out the lakers. the series is not yet over. the only reason why they're losing is because the players of the spurs are stepping up. plus bruce bowen is getting in to the mind of kobe bryant forcing him to take over and take bad shots. kobe is great but sometimes he's forgetting that he has a teammate that is unstoppable.

Wow you ppl really need to chill........

muhahahaha..lackers have nothing other then shaq and kobster..they have no bench..they shouldnt be crying and whining bout ft descrepencies..their fans should shut up for a change..the lackers should also start making plans for the summer..maybe 'go fishin'?

It's common knowledge the Lakers' bench is garbage this year. So you really don't sound very witty regurgitating the obvious. And about free throw discrepancies: It WAS a legitimate complaint in game 1. Of course when one team shoots way more than the other it stands out. It's a common complaint in the NBA! There's nothing wrong with pointing that out.
Game 2 was fine however. The Lakers just got outplayed and killed in every aspect of the game. I don't have a problem saying that even though I'm a Lakers fan. So maybe YOU should shut the hell up for a change. Not all Laker fans are loud and obnoxious..unlike most Laker haters.

unless your a laker fan, it's pretty much common knowledge horry is dirty player

He's not the player he used to be, that's fine. But explain how he's "known" to be a dirty player. Last game he got frustrated that's for sure. But that's only one game. He doesn't go around hitting and smacking ppl every game Ron Artest style on defence. I still think he's an above average post defender considering he's playing out of position for his size. When you play out of position you have to be a more clever defender. If he's guilty of that then so be it. But if you're telling me he takes cheap shots often..I think you're wrong.

It's common knowledge the Lakers' bench is garbage this year. So you really don't sound very witty regurgitating the obvious.

the lackers bench has alwayz been garbage the last 3 yrs wasnt it?

And about free throw discrepancies: It WAS a legitimate complaint in game 1.

juss like all lacker fans..i said on top..

20 to 24..a differential of 4 fouls call on the 'lackers' and u call dat 'a large discrepancy in the number of fouls'???
http://www.nba.com/games/20030505/LALSAS/boxscore.html

20 to 24 total fouls called on each team is not a big descrepency..u cant blame the ref for kobe shooting 33 or his 38 fg attempt on jumpshots and expect to get to the line could u?? i want lacker fans to look at dis boxscore as well http://www.nba.com/games/20021029/SASLAL/boxscore.html dis is their very first meeting of the yr..spurs took 46 ft attempts..lackers 30..a differential of 16 attempts..why didnt they whin and complain then??

Game 2 was fine however. The Lakers just got outplayed and killed in every aspect of the game.

ya because u got nothing else to complain bout..the ft attempts were more 'realistic' on both teams dis time..so lacker fans will make an excuse of the other team outplayed them..

So maybe YOU should shut the hell up for a change. Not all Laker fans are loud and obnoxious..unlike most Laker haters.

there is no reason for me to 'shut the hell up' when i point out wuts true and facts..maybe not all lacker fans but hell yeah itz most..ur team is nothing..u need the refs to help u win the past 3 ships..i mean comon, look at the reality of it..a two man team w/ a crap load of the so called 'bench' of the lackers could get them 3 straight titles? load of crap..look at game 3 of the minny series..gm was over till the zebras started to call everything against t-wolves..so wut happens?..gm goes to OT..they again want to screw minny by fouling out kg..the gm was handed to the lackers on a silver platter and u knw it! but it didnt work did it? phil 'jackass' points out the 'obvious' in ft attempts, well i knew it was going to go his way tonite but the gm was over at the start of 4th so the refs cant help them no more..i guarantee u gm 3 at staples u will see the refs screw the spurs off the court..

the lackers bench has alwayz been garbage the last 3 yrs wasnt it?

Actually not true..what's true is that their bench has been decreasing in productivity the past 3 years. In 2000 they had a decent bench that was productive and much better than this year.

And about free throw discrepancies: It WAS a legitimate complaint in game 1.

juss like all lacker fans..i said on top..

the fact remains that fouls were a concern like it or not..Lakers fan or not a Lakers fan. If it had been the other way around..you Laker haters would have said the exact same thing about the Lakers needing the ref's help to win games. So why are you allowed to complain about that but I am not?

i want lacker fans to look at dis boxscore as well http://www.nba.com/games/20021029/SASLAL/boxscore.html dis is their very first meeting of the yr..spurs took 46 ft attempts..lackers 30..a differential of 16 attempts..why didnt they whin and complain then??

Have you been paying attention all season long? Those games mean nothing to the Lakers at all because for some reason they only care a/b the playoffs. So of course they didn't make as big a deal about it as a playoff game when there's actually soemthing on the line.

Game 2 was fine however. The Lakers just got outplayed and killed in every aspect of the game.

ya because u got nothing else to complain bout..the ft attempts were more 'realistic' on both teams dis time..so lacker fans will make an excuse of the other team outplayed them..

err..that's not an excuse. That's the truth. You're quite hard to please. Even when i commend the Spurs you still think i'm defending the Lakers. What did you expect me to say? What I said was the truth..the Lakers got killed and outplayed. The Spurs played with more energy and overall just better tonight. I don't know what kind of answer you're expecting. Oh of course..you want me to say the Lakers suck. How typical.

So maybe YOU should shut the hell up for a change. Not all Laker fans are loud and obnoxious..unlike most Laker haters.

there is no reason for me to 'shut the hell up' when i point out wuts true and facts..maybe not all lacker fans but hell yeah itz most..ur team is nothing..

Ahahahahahaha...i love your last line. You make it sound so personal as if by saying that, you're gonna make me crawl into a corner and cry or something. But it's true that there's no reason you should shut the hell up..just like there's no reason you should have told Laker fans to shut up either. And if you want to stay repetitive then i'll remind you of those free throw discrepancies yet again from game 1. That was a fact as well despite the fact you don't like it.

u need the refs to help u win the past 3 ships..i mean comon, look at the reality of it..a two man team w/ a crap load of the so called 'bench' of the lackers could get them 3 straight titles? load of crap..look at game 3 of the minny series..gm was over till the zebras started to call everything against t-wolves..so wut happens?..gm goes to OT..they again want to screw minny by fouling out kg..the gm was handed to the lackers on a silver platter and u knw it! but it didnt work did it? phil 'jackass' points out the 'obvious' in ft attempts, well i knew it was going to go his way tonite but the gm was over at the start of 4th so the refs cant help them no more..i guarantee u gm 3 at staples u will see the refs screw the spurs off the court..

You make it sound like the Lakers are the only championship team that's gotten the favorable treatment in the history of the NBA. Did you ever even watch the Bulls play? You don't think MJ and Pip got preferential treatment either? You had to be blind not to see the phantom calls they that got and the kind of plays they got away with on D as well. And as far as your comment about 2 great players being able to win 3 straight titles..why not? When you talk about their bench i hope you're not referring to some of their starters as well. Fish..Horry and Fox all play decent defense and were able to hit timely shots the past 3 years and play excellent D in crunch time. Same with Shaw and George. That's how they mostly won their games. They got favorable calls along the way yes. But as I said before, the 90's Bulls did as well. Why don't you go bitch about that team while you're at it? Why not bitch about the game winner MJ shot over Russell when he shoved him in game 6?? Is that what ppl really remember about that shot? That an offensive foul should have been called? Nope......

just a question about game 2

Why werent the Lakers allowed to play Defence??
i mean spurs were
everytime lakers would start to play some solid defence, they'd get called for a little bump or a little fairy tap, man i guess its more than just upset fans who wanna see lakers lose

and dont make some bullshit up you haters, bowen was doing the exact same thing thing.....hang on the whole spurs team were allowed to play defence

ridiculous

Actually not true..what's true is that their bench has been decreasing in productivity the past 3 years. In 2000 they had a decent bench that was productive and much better than this year.

but they still had one of the worst benches in the nba..

the fact remains that fouls were a concern like it or not..Lakers fan or not a Lakers fan. If it had been the other way around..you Laker haters would have said the exact same thing about the Lakers needing the ref's help to win games. So why are you allowed to complain about that but I am not?

phil 'jackass' complains bout the fouls..well gm 2 was much 'better' but u knw wut? his team still got their ass whoop foul decrepency or not..muahahahaha.. but u said if it was the other way around..'laker haters' would say the same exact thing..guess wut buddy boy?..for the past 3 yrs it has been dat way..dont see how dis yr will be different.. just ask the majority of the pple on dis and other boards..see how many pple agree w/ me dat they dont like the lackers..and they alwayz have an 8 on 5 advantage on the court at all timez..unless they have their scrubs in..

Have you been paying attention all season long? Those games mean nothing to the Lakers at all because for some reason they only care a/b the playoffs. So of course they didn't make as big a deal about it as a playoff game when there's actually soemthing on the line.

if those gms dont mean nothing to the lackers..then y win them? if they mean nothing they should be losing all of them and play w/ their scrubs the whole season..playoff gm or not..all gms mean something dude..dont give me crap like its only another gm and dont mean anything becos u knw full well it does..if it didnt the lackers wouldnt have made the playoffs if they didnt start playing every gm like a playoff gm.. i want to also say dat there is sumthin on the line in reg. season gms..1 gm could mean making the playoffs or not so shut dat hole of urs..

err..that's not an excuse. That's the truth.

well if dats not tru..did u listen to phil 'jackass's comments in ppost gm? he cant whin or cry bout the ft descrepancy tonite so wut did he came up as an excuse? 'oh kobe was fouled on most of his attempt at the basket..calls werent made..' i said before..stop crying and bitching and accept the lost like a mature 60 yr old man..ur not a kid no more so act like one 'jackass' i cant wait for gm 3 for him to come up w/ another excuse for how the lackers lost..i also cant wait for the lackers to be swept or eliminated frm the playoffs for once and for all..so lacker fans would moan and cry all yr long..and the lackers would finally admit defeat and stop being so overconfident like thy can beat any team..

You make it sound like the Lakers are the only championship team that's gotten the favorable treatment in the history of the NBA. Did you ever even watch the Bulls play? You don't think MJ and Pip got preferential treatment either?

well wut can the nba do to stop pissing other fans off? make the right calls and stop favoring 'marketing teams'..comon..it cant be dat hard to figure out..

When you talk about their bench i hope you're not referring to some of their starters as well. Fish..Horry and Fox all play decent defense and were able to hit timely shots the past 3 years and play excellent D in crunch time. Same with Shaw and George. That's how they mostly won their games. They got favorable calls along the way yes.

all those guys get no respect frm me or other fans around the league for the things they do on the court..fish..the biggest flopper in the gm..he falls down on every little bump and when he dont get the call..he complains horry cant hit for shit dis playoff series..so wut does he do? be an ass and play dirty (play on robinson..)..last series gainst minny, shoving the camera man..comon how stupid is dat? i knw he is frustrated frm losing..but dont have to take it out on the camera man.. fox..well everyone knws how dirty he plays..he cant shoot either..he cant shoot w/ a good defender in his face..most of all his shots he has to shoot under the screen.. and pushing/punching doug christie in the preseason gm..real mature fox..real mature lacker fans..they also hav to start playing 'defense' now or else their ass will be going fishin' soon..muahahahahahahaha

Why don't you go bitch about that team while you're at it? Why not bitch about the game winner MJ shot over Russell when he shoved him in game 6??

i dont like the bulls either..but r they defending champs? no..y tlk about a team dat won it a long time ago and not the present time? yes they got the calls then and u knw there were pple dat didnt like it..but at least u knw wut also? bulls fans werent cocky, arrogant, and gay as lacker fans are..

Why werent the Lakers allowed to play Defence??

wut the hell u talkin about??

everytime lakers would start to play some solid defence, they'd get called for a little bump or a little fairy tap

my ass..last nite whenever there is an offensive call on the lackers (shaq elbowing rose in the face..) they come over the offensive end and got one back (parker driving and fish flops..AGAIN..)..i see dat happen a few times last nite..n u say little fairy taps..did u see horry tripping duncan? he got called for traveling.. did u see in gm 1 duncan try to slap the ball out of kobes hand and got hand/ball and he was call for his 3rd foul? bs isnt it..?

and dont make some bullshit up you haters, bowen was doing the exact same thing thing

bet u didnt knw the spurs were rank 1st or 2nd in defense in the league AGAIN dis yr? bet u didnt knw bruce bowen has alwayz been known as a very good defender? bet u didnt knw he and the spurs played the same tough defense against penny and the suns last series? bet u didnt knw the suns did not whin and complain about rough play or good defense by bowen? i want to also throw in the suns did a much better job than the lackers..at least they won in sbc and won 2 gms..they also did not get blow out in any of the 6 gms..

but they still had one of the worst benches in the nba..

You missed my point...which was that their bench was still productive the past 3 years (unlike this year)...regardless if they were the worst or not..

phil 'jackass' complains bout the fouls..well gm 2 was much 'better' but u knw wut? his team still got their ass whoop foul decrepency or not..muahahahaha..

yes they did, because as I said earlier the Spurs played a much better game.

but u said if it was the other way around..'laker haters' would say the same exact thing..guess wut buddy boy?..for the past 3 yrs it has been dat way..dont see how dis yr will be different.. just ask the majority of the pple on dis and other boards..see how many pple agree w/ me dat they dont like the lackers..and they alwayz have an 8 on 5 advantage on the court at all timez..unless they have their scrubs in..

I don't doubt that many ppl on this board hate the Lakers. But many hate them for different reasons..some don't like Kobe, some hate Shaq and his style of play..so don't generalize. When there is a team to shoot for every year, they are never "loved" and are always criticized...and as you so demonstrate they have plenty of haters..which is perfectly normal.

if those gms dont mean nothing to the lackers..then y win them? if they mean nothing they should be losing all of them and play w/ their scrubs the whole season..playoff gm or not..all gms mean something dude..dont give me crap like its only another gm and dont mean anything becos u knw full well it does..if it didnt the lackers wouldnt have made the playoffs if they didnt start playing every gm like a playoff gm.. i want to also say dat there is sumthin on the line in reg. season gms..1 gm could mean making the playoffs or not so shut dat hole of urs..

Will you calm down? Can't you have a mature discussion w/o resorting to insulting the other person? I wasn't disagreeing with you that they shouldn't have taken games seriously during the regular season. It's just playoff games mean so much more. Phil Jackson always complains about the officiating against Shaq so that refs try to see it his way the next game. Cheap?..Yes. Effective?..Usually. If I were him I'd do the same thing and I'm sure if you were him you would too. Why not TRY to get an upper hand the rest of the series? The NBA is not a popularity contest for coaches.

well if dats not tru..did u listen to phil 'jackass's comments in ppost gm? he cant whin or cry bout the ft descrepancy tonite so wut did he came up as an excuse? 'oh kobe was fouled on most of his attempt at the basket..calls werent made..' i said before..stop crying and bitching and accept the lost like a mature 60 yr old man..ur not a kid no more so act like one 'jackass' i cant wait for gm 3 for him to come up w/ another excuse for how the lackers lost..i also cant wait for the lackers to be swept or eliminated frm the playoffs for once and for all..so lacker fans would moan and cry all yr long..and the lackers would finally admit defeat and stop being so overconfident like thy can beat any team..

I don't care what Phil says. Don't mistake his comments or feelings about the game with what I think. Regardless, so you don't like Phil's style in post game interviews. You should know that he never tries to give credit to the other team. Is he a jackass? Possibly. Does he HAVE to say: "oh we got the crap kicked out of us tonight." Nope. So why don't you just ignore his comments? Do you lose sleep over it or something? Get over it. He's the type of person that doesn't like to give credit where it's normally do. Besides, if you had been watching the previous years, he has been interviewed where he has specifically said what a sore loser he is. He admits it. Who cares? Live with it. Most of the Lakers' opponents don't even care what he says. Why should you?

well wut can the nba do to stop pissing other fans off? make the right calls and stop favoring 'marketing teams'..comon..it cant be dat hard to figure out..

So will you be annoyed if the Spurs win this year and get the same kind of favorable treatment as well? You know it won't stop.

all those guys get no respect frm me or other fans around the league for the things they do on the court..fish..the biggest flopper in the gm..he falls down on every little bump and when he dont get the call..he complains horry cant hit for shit dis playoff series..so wut does he do? be an ass and play dirty (play on robinson..)..last series gainst minny, shoving the camera man..comon how stupid is dat? i knw he is frustrated frm losing..but dont have to take it out on the camera man.. fox..well everyone knws how dirty he plays..he cant shoot either..he cant shoot w/ a good defender in his face..most of all his shots he has to shoot under the screen.. and pushing/punching doug christie in the preseason gm..real mature fox..real mature lacker fans..they also hav to start playing 'defense' now or else their ass will be going fishin' soon..muahahahahahahaha

If that's what it takes to win then so be it. I don't really think Fish, Horry, Fox, etc. really care what their peers think of them. Bottom line is, they held the trophy the last 3 years and TD, C-Web etc. did not. And I don't know if this is shocking to you, but many players have trouble shooting with hands in their faces. THAT is why teams set screens. Only the above average offensive players hit shots with hands in their faces regularly. Fox, Fish, Horry, etc. are NOT above average shooters.

i dont like the bulls either..but r they defending champs? no..y tlk about a team dat won it a long time ago and not the present time?

I was making a point that a LOT of championship teams got favorable treatment.

i want to also throw in the suns did a much better job than the lackers..at least they won in sbc and won 2 gms..they also did not get blow out in any of the 6 gms..

It's still possible for the Lakers to win at the SBC center and it's still possible they can win two games. There's still (possibly) 6 more games to play. You make it sound like it's already all over. It's a possibility, but let's just wait and see how the games are played out.

There's still (possibly) 6 more games to play.

5 dude..5..they already played 2..last time i checked, it was a best out of 7..?

phil jackson is a genius

well....me happy that Spurs win

just 2 more and the Lackers are out...yay

phil jackson is a genius

no.........Dostoyevski's a genius....Jackson is just an NBA coach...

phil jackson is a genius

Is this supposed to be sincere or sarcastic? I'll assume it's sincere given the screen name of the person that wrote it.
Let me offer my opinion of Phil Jackson: he is widely overrated as a coach. He's a good coach, yes, possibly a very good coach, but he is not a "genius" or the greatest coach that ever lived.
He has 9 rings with 2 different teams, and an excellent play-off record, but look at the talent he has had to work with. MJ, the greatest player ever, along with Pippen, who was considered one of the best as well, combined for the Bulls championships. With the Lakers, he has two superstars who are on the All-NBA first team and also already considered two of the greatest players of all time. He had/has these players in their prime. Both teams filled in the rest of their roster with role-players of varying skill. Jackson runs the triangle offense exclusively, which is about the only decision he makes as a coach that has any affect on how their games are played, other than line-ups & substitutions (which just means that you'd have to be an idiot to underplay or overplay these superstars).
I would suggest that just about any coach on the NBA level would have as many championships with the talent that these four players had to offer. I have more respect for guys like Larry Brown that are better able to utilize their players' strengths (I'm refering to Larry Brown's whole coaching career, not just his tenure with the 76ers).
Also, anyone else sick of hearing him refered to as "the zen master?" 'Cause I sure am.

BTW, I love watching Mark Madsen try to shoot. Whether it's a wide-open look brick or an attempted dunk that gets easily blocked at the rim!

He's not the player he used to be, that's fine. But explain how he's "known" to be a dirty player. Last game he got frustrated that's for sure. But that's only one game. He doesn't go around hitting and smacking ppl every game Ron Artest style on defence. I still think he's an above average post defender considering he's playing out of position for his size. When you play out of position you have to be a more clever defender. If he's guilty of that then so be it. But if you're telling me he takes cheap shots often..I think you're wrong.

it is not a fact that horry is a dirty player but many people share the opinion that he is. by being dirty i don't mean 'hitting and smacking' other players. i'm referring to the jersey grabbing, the holding, sticking out his hip/elbow on picks, the unnecessary contact after fouls, etc... you may call that being 'clever'. i disagree. but im not going to try and convince a laker fan otherwise

phil jackson is a genius

Is this supposed to be sincere or sarcastic? I'll assume it's sincere given the screen name of the person that wrote it.
Let me offer my opinion of Phil Jackson: he is widely overrated as a coach. He's a good coach, yes, possibly a very good coach, but he is not a "genius" or the greatest coach that ever lived.
He has 9 rings with 2 different teams, and an excellent play-off record, but look at the talent he has had to work with. MJ, the greatest player ever, along with Pippen, who was considered one of the best as well, combined for the Bulls championships. With the Lakers, he has two superstars who are on the All-NBA first team and also already considered two of the greatest players of all time. He had/has these players in their prime. Both teams filled in the rest of their roster with role-players of varying skill. Jackson runs the triangle offense exclusively, which is about the only decision he makes as a coach that has any affect on how their games are played, other than line-ups & substitutions (which just means that you'd have to be an idiot to underplay or overplay these superstars).
I would suggest that just about any coach on the NBA level would have as many championships with the talent that these four players had to offer. I have more respect for guys like Larry Brown that are better able to utilize their players' strengths (I'm refering to Larry Brown's whole coaching career, not just his tenure with the 76ers).
Also, anyone else sick of hearing him refered to as "the zen master?" 'Cause I sure am.

BTW, I love watching Mark Madsen try to shoot. Whether it's a wide-open look brick or an attempted dunk that gets easily blocked at the rim!

Any coach on the NBA Level did not win with Kobe & Shaq, they got swept by the spurs in 99' before Phil Jackson got there. and I do not see what is wrong with picking and choosing your jobs, are you going to suggest to me that any other coach could have won with the loaded Celtic's teams, and that any other coach could have won with the Lakers showtime teams with Magic and Kareem? two stars in their primes with even better role players around them yet they did not win 3 straight.

i wouldn't say he is a genius in terms of coaching but he deserves some credit for the chamionships he's been invlolved in. true he has coached teams that had great talent and it's easy to say any joe shmoe could have done what he has. but i disagree. these current lakers didn't win titles until jackson's arrival. same with the bulls. i'm not saying he's the sole reason but he was a factor in those teams succeeding

its easy to coach the best team with good players

That statement shows your ignorance

Indiana,Sacramento,all considered some of the best talent in thier conference, portland only in 2 years before, and guess what? no title. Doug Collins had Pippen and Jordan, no title,It can be argued that Orlando was more talented then Houston in 95, no title.

its easy to coach the best team with good players

That is so far from the truth.

Phil Jackson is not a genius in terms of Xs and Os, after all it was Tex Winter, not Jackson that devised the triangle. But Jax is an excellent motivator who has succeeded at getting the most out of every player on the roster. It's his ability to motivate, utilise talent and manage egos that makes him a great coach, rather than his ability to diagram unstoppable plays.

There's still (possibly) 6 more games to play.

5 dude..5..they already played 2..last time i checked, it was a best out of 7..?

whoops..braindead in the morning.

it is not a fact that horry is a dirty player but many people share the opinion that he is. by being dirty i don't mean 'hitting and smacking' other players. i'm referring to the jersey grabbing, the holding, sticking out his hip/elbow on picks, the unnecessary contact after fouls, etc... you may call that being 'clever'. i disagree. but im not going to try and convince a laker fan otherwise

just cuz i'm a Lakers fan..it doesn't mean I'm ignorant. Anyways, maybe you are right a/b some of his illegal defensive moves. But still, just because he plays that way it doesn't mean he's totally disrespected in the league. Stockton is a typical example. He flops, holds, grabs and all that stuff..yet he's still respected as a player. Horry is still dangerous in crunch time (maybe not this year though so far) and at least deserves respect when the game is on the line.

As for Phil Jackson, the thing that impresses me about him is probably his calm demeanor during the game and his ability to get the most out of marginal players. I don't agree with his condescending attitude towards other teams, but overall, I think he was a perfect fit for the Lakers and his record speaks for itself. As someone said above, talented players alone does not equate 9 championships. He's good at taking good teams and making them champions.

its easy to coach the best team with good players

That is so far from the truth.

Coaching the best team is the easiest coaching job there is to in that way, he's right. Coaching your team to being the best team is a whole different story.