Golden State Warriors Mark Jackson Hot Seat Update Post-Game 6: Lacob Speaks, Plus Three Local Beatwriters Show Support (Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle)
It seems that Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson remains under close scrutiny (by media) on a daily basis, so here’s our update as far as post-Game 6 reactions. Franchise majority owner Joe Lacob offers his comments from Oracle Arena last night, and as many as three local beatwriters went to bat for Jackson…
Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports:
Donning a black-checkered suit coat, an excited Golden State Warriors CEO Joe Lacob enthusiastically went up to coach Mark Jackson just outside the locker room to offer congratulations for the Warriors’ 100-99 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 6 of their first-round playoffs series. Before Lacob could say another word, a superstitious Jackson responded: “Make sure you wear that jacket in Game 7.”
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Lacob and Jackson chatted for about five minutes about the Warriors’ big win. And it was all about that and not Jackson’s future with Golden State, which has been a big topic of discussion nationally.
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“Honest to God, that’s the media that is doing all this,” Lacob told Yahoo Sports. “There is nothing going on until after the season. I refuse to let anyone talk about that. We don’t talk about it. We haven’t had that discussion. Everybody in the entire organization is reviewed after the season and we make decisions.”
Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle:
What a shame, then, that one of the really ludicrous debates of our time – “Will Mark Jackson be fired?” – will be a part of that.
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Doesn’t this strike you as complete nonsense? Basic NBA truths are told on the floor and in the locker room. If the players love their coach, play with intensity and speak passionately in his defense – while winning 51 games in the regular season – that’s pretty much the end of the argument.
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By all rights, the Warriors had no business winning Game 6. They played without the bullish Andrew Bogut and lost their other center, Jermaine O’Neal, to a knee injury late in the second quarter. They should have been powerless up front against that shot-blocking wonder, DeAndre Jordan, and All-Everything forward Blake Griffin. But there are certain things that can’t be measured by matchups or statistics. These are things with which the Warriors are intimately familiar – and Jackson wields the baton.
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You think it’s easy maintaining success in this league? Consider the chaos festering among the rich and powerful: Indiana, torn apart by dissension; Oklahoma City, under fire for its coaching and an awkward superstar dynamic; Brooklyn, on the brink of disaster after a wild spending spree, and Houston, no closer to an identity than it was in November.
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The Warriors haven’t revealed a hint of discord between Jackson and his players. They have one of the best “character” groups in any sport, and Jackson has a way of connecting deeply with each of them.
Sam Amick of USA Today:
“The way that this team conducts itself, in spite of everything that we’ve gone through, all the lies, all the adversity, all the sources, I could not be prouder, because what we are doing collectively speaks against it,” Jackson said. “Somebody’s lying.”
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And therein lies the most fascinating part of this Warriors’ saga.
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Coaches who lie about whatever political battle they’re currently involved in aren’t usually able to pull the wool over their players’ eyes. Yet as was evidenced yet again in Game 6, Jackson – whose personality and style have rubbed so many within the organization the wrong way at different times – has the full backing of these players who are now on the verge of pulling off the unexpected.
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That’s the unique part of this whole situation, the thing that makes it different than the many situations last postseason when coaching lives were on the line. These professional players – from Stephen Curry to David Lee on down – are taking the court with their coach and his uncertain fate in mind.
At practice on Wednesday, the day before Game 6, LetsGoWarriors.com attended Warriors practice and captured this quote from Klay Thompson: “Not only can he coach, but he’s a great friend, so we’re playing to win, we’re playing to win for him, we’re playing to win for the fans and for us. I don’t really want to think about that because we don’t want to add any pressure to ourselves.”
Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area:
Thompson’s comments came a couple hours after former Warriors guard Jarrett Jack, who has attended at least two games during the Warriors-Clippers series, said the speculation is “very, very discouraging” and “very confusing,” in a radio interview with 95.7 The Game.
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“He’s definitely the best coach I’ve ever played for,” Jack said.
J.A. Adande of ESPN.com:
“I know there are people that want to speed up the process,” Jackson said. “This is who we are. Part of the process is going through things, learning how to be consistent. I’m proud of my guys. It’s been an incredible, incredible ride. Now against a three seed with two of the top 10 players in the world and a future Hall of Fame coach, we are going to Game 7 in spite of all the sideline music, and I like my chances because I’ve got a group of guys that want to do whatever it takes to win.”
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That sideline music is a house mix of rumblings throughout the coaching community that Jackson’s job is almost up save anything less than a championship, that the two assistant coaches tossed overboard late in the season represent him bailing out water on a sinking ship. The music comes despite a 51-win season and now a 3-3 playoff series, despite a harmonious chorus of support coming from the locker room.
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Jackson said what he did at the podium because none of the people in the hallways ever say it for him. By people in the hallways, that would be owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, general manager Bob Myers and executive board member Jerry West, who can be seen in the crowded corridors between the Warriors’ locker room and the court, but aren’t heard from whenever there are chances to pause and reflect on the team’s accomplishments under Jackson.
Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group gave Coach Jackson his vote of confidence:
But with co-owner Joe Lacob, who will decide Jackson’s fate, watching closely from his courtside seat, the best of what the Warriors coach brings was on display. All of the clichés he’s been spouting came true.
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The Warriors put together a performance defined by their will more than their talent, by their chemistry more than their production. A tangible display of the kind of intangibles they’d be walking away from should they depart from Jackson.
Even Doc Rivers is going through the trials and tribulations of “The Process”, although his fate being retained as head coach isn’t being dangled around by the media as Jackson’s is.
Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com:
As much as the Clippers want to consistently trust each other and the system, that level of trust doesn’t come easily or quickly. It comes over time — and in moments like they will experience during Game 7 on Saturday.
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“Experience is one of the main factors of understanding consistency,” Davis said. “Situations like this can build character, and hopefully we can get it now without having to sit out and wait for next year.”
Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle:
If Jackson is blamed when Curry doesn’t get free to shoot, you have to give him at least some credit when Curry does get loose. While we’re at it, how about credit to Jackson for changing the series by putting Draymond Green in the starting lineup, and going small-small-run-the-ball in the third quarter, when everyone knows you can’t run in the playoffs.
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Wouldn’t you love to have a secret mike on Jackson as he gave instructions to Curry? Wouldn’t that have been the perfect touch for this series – another secret spy taping?
Ray Ratto of CSN Bay Area:
• On the up side, 51 wins. On the down, could have been 56. On the side, the better record isn’t as comforting as it used to be.
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• On the up side, they play attractive basketball. On the down, they aren’t consistent at it. On the side, who is these days?
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• On the up side, the players like Jackson. On the down, 40 percent of the coaches have been reassigned, the front office isn’t sure what Jackson provides tactically, and nobody can fully comprehend the offense. On the side, they always defend — well, except for Game 2.
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• On the up side, Lacob sits in the first row and looks half the time like he is trying to pass a kidney stone the size of a baby’s head. On the down, he celebrates wins like he hit on 19 and won.
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So how does this make sense, with Game 7 in the offing? Easy. It doesn’t. Understanding this team will take days, maybe even weeks. Understanding what Jackson’s new contract parameters (in years more than money) will be a hard bit of math, and his attitude toward losing full autonomy over his assistants is hard to gauge.
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