NBA Playoffs 2011: Is Phil Jackson Out of Ideas After Lakers Get Swept?

Eleven rings...enough said, right? Not in my opinion. Yes, Phil Jackson will go down as one of the greatest coaches of all time and if he decides to return to the game after his anticipated retirement he would still be capable of helping some team somewhere.

OK, that’s enough nice stuff. Somewhere during the Los Angeles Lakers’ run for their third straight title and Jackson’s quest for the unheard of fourth three-peat the “Zen Master” seemed to run out of ideas.

The Lakers stumbled in Game 1 at home against the New Orleans Hornets in Round 1 of the Western Conference playoffs. They seemed to have no answer for Chris Paul. I know that few teams have the answer for the star point guard but the defending champs seemed at a loss on how to deal with him, especially in Game 4.

After being pushed to a 2-2 tie in the series Jackson and the Lakers won two in a row and advanced to the second round, poised to get back to the NBA Finals for the fourth straight year.

Even with a tad bit of a scare in the first round, Lakers fans kept up their "We’re just toying with our opponents—just wait until we get to the Finals" attitude.

As we all know by now the Lakers hit a brick wall in the second round in the Dallas Mavericks. I’m not bringing this up to reopen the wounds. This is the part where I dare to question Phil Jackson and his ability to still motivate his players and get them to play at the level they are capable of.

It seems to me that the Phil Jackson of old would have seen this brick wall coming from miles away and driven a bulldozer right through it, clearing a path for his team to the Finals.

That did not happen and the question looms like a dark cloud—what the heck was the problem?

Other than the hiccup against the Hornets, which is normal for the Lakers, there seemed to be nothing in their way. There were no major injuries, unless you count Kobe Bryant and the ankle saga. After letting Game 1 get away and then falling behind 2-0 to Dallas, Jackson seemed at a loss. His only answer seemed to be to give Pau Gasol a tongue-lashing during Game 3.

In Game 2 fans had to be able to see that Ron Artest was on the verge of one of his meltdowns. Jackson didn’t seem to notice and Artest clobbered J.J. Barea in the closing seconds that cost Artest a suspension for Game 3. The game was out of hand and Jackson should have pulled Artest way before that happened. 

Are the Mavericks a better team than the Lakers? Probably not, but they definitely were the better team in this series and that includes coaches. The question is did the great Phil Jackson, who usually has an answer or a philosophy for everything, simply get out-coached by Rick Carlisle?

I know what you're thinking: The coach doesn’t miss shots or commit stupid fouls. Jackson has no control over Pau Gasol being softer than Charmin. 

You’re right, but he has control over making the proper adjustments and motivating his team, including Gasol. He is definitely capable because he has done it time and time again.

I’m not going to put the entire blame of this monumental collapse on the shoulders of Phil Jackson, but those big, broad shoulders of his certainly have the room.

Most likely Jackson is going to retire, head back to Montana and do what Phil does, but I don’t think there is enough mouthwash in the world to get rid of the bad taste of that final series against the Mavericks. If that is the case, I think the competitive spirit that burns inside Jackson will eventually bring him back to the game.