Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010 at 9:35 am  |  390 responses

Phil Jackson on Miami Heat: Teamwork Wins, Not Talent

by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

The Zen Master knows a thing or two (or thirteen) about winning titles. Having won them as both a player and coach, his opinion on the matter is rather meaningful.

So, is Phil ready to jump on the revamped Heat’s bandwagon, and crown them as champs? Well, not exactly.

Jackson spoke to ESPN 1000 about LeBron and co., and cautions that accumulating great talent does not always result in championship glory.

The OC Register and LA Times have the quotes:

He apparently isn’t all that impressed that the Heat has three of the league’s best players, and he certainly is ready to crown them NBA champions without a fight. Or at least a season’s worth of games. “They got great talent,” Jackson said in an interview with ESPN 1000 in Chicago. “There’s no question about their talent they have. But, talent doesn’t always win. The team that shows the best teamwork will win it. We think that (the Lakers) have established something. But, if (the Heat) can unite — and build quickly — they might be able to do it.”

Jackson went on to mention a great Lakers triumvirate of the past. “I always refer to when Wilt Chamberlain was traded from Philadelphia to Los Angeles and that put Baylor, West and Chamberlain together and they never won a championship together the four years they were together,” Jackson said. “It’s not always scorers and talent that wins it. But it’s teamwork that does it.”

Jackson, long known for his psychological jabs at foes, didn’t say anything mind-blowing, or entirely revealing about Miami’s new super-team. He basically repeated what every thinking basketball fan has known since Pat Riley pulled off the deal(s) of a lifetime.

Should the Lakers and Heat meet up in the NBA Finals next June, it’ll be interesting to see just how carefully — if at all — Phil Jackson chooses his words then.

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  • MikeC.

    Canadians in the house should tune into cRaptorsTV right now. NBA’s Greatest Games is showcasing 1979 EC playoffs. Philly vs. San Antonio. Iceman vs Doc is the hype, but Darryl Dawkins is ripping it up. These guys look like they spent more time in the gym practicing their moves than pumping iron. Better basketball.

  • the nerve

    everybody is down wit u.
    u dont get it. maybe thats how you keep your edge.
    thinking catz is against u. im out too.
    there will b another time.

  • MikeC.

    @JTaylor – I’m old, grumpy and almost drunk. I’ll throw back and forth with you for awhile. Irritate me with something. You’re fun. You’re dickish, but mostly on-point.

  • hammer

    These r not official top 5. Just my pov. Ther r just so many 2 mention that’s its hard 2 mention all of them. Nuthin wrong w/blackstarr(mos def/talib kweli. Plus they only had 1 album)black sheep or even ugk. Those deserve top 5 consideration as well. But I just cant put camp lo (and they were very good. Luv black connection and coolie high)das efx,fresh prince,kid n play or capone n noreage w/the the other duos I mentioned earlier

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    JTaylor just trollin on here waiting for a chance to say something pointless. – I’ll take a Big L & Jay-Z collabo any day….not saying they the best or anything but most enjoyable isht to me

  • KB2412345

    We should start a kobe lebron debate now so that the comments go to 500. but its pretty simple Kobe is vastly superior to LeBron so i guess there is nothing to talk about….

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    @the nerve: You’re alright with me. Lz too. And I “get it.” Point taken…

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    DAMN I was away for a computer for like 3 hours and expected a few more comments but, DAMN. Anyways, as for top rap duos, anyone mentioned Little Brother? Sure, sure, they were a trio for most of their existence, but when 9th left they were…aight, nevermind, they weren’t sh*t without 9th. As for Bryan Crawford vs. everyone else, Bryan’s been my dude since he first started writing on here. Me and JTaylor have had our battles in the past but we cool now, so I just laugh when them two cats go back and forth. As for them other cats, don’t know much about them, so whatever. I personally think it’s dope Bryan gets into it with us commentators cause most writers never even bother. Sure, a Ryne Nelson sighting here, an Ed. (Ben Osborne) sighting there, but most even if you directly get at them will never interact with you. Bryan (and Myles) for better or worse, will.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    And good to see James the Balla on here. You wanna talk about REAL tough guys, my man right there’s fighting for our freedom. Good ish, dude.

  • MikeC.

    I’m too old for this ish. Goodnight moon.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Shoot, it’s only 8:19 PM on my side of the world…

  • MikeC.

    ^ Get ready for 30 days of night man. I’ve lived in the Canadian North. Nunavut and Alaska ain’t no joke.

  • Ali Saadat

    You tell em Phil!

  • JTaylor21

    Damn @MikeC, I wasn’t talking bout you bra. I think that me and you agree on a lot of things and are cool (I think), I was getting at the granpa that writes for slam. Also shout outs @Enigmatic, one of Chi-town’s finest unlike granny who’s been disgracing the Chi all day long.

  • JTaylor21

    Damn @MikeC, I wasn’t talking bout you bra. I think that me and you agree on a lot of things and are cool (I think), I was getting at the granny writer. Also shout outs @Enigmatic, one of Chi-town’s finest, we may not agree on a few things but I STILL respect dude.

  • JTaylor21

    Bron>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>2 kobes

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    @Mike C – I moved to Palmer, Alaska last June so I’ve experienced it once before. You ain’t lying! Waking up at 6 in the morning and the sun not being out yet, getting to work and the sun Still not being out yet, then getting off and driving home at 5 pm…and the sun being down already sucks. You never see the sun cause it’ll only be out for like, 3 or 4 hours a day!

  • JTaylor21

    Shoutouts @Enigmatic, one of Chi-Town’s finest. Though we may not agree on a few things, I STILL respect dude.

  • Byebye

    We will see this year who’s wrong mj magic Barkley
    Or isiah pat Labron d wade Phil jax or the media is wrong the lakers are gonna win or the heat or the celts we will see who is wrong did Labron damage his brand or Is he a winner like alot of people think or are the lakers too deep to beat in a seven game series or can the celts gm seven with the lakers a marage or can the magic win
    I’m betting on Labron pat and d wade to get it done

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    D@mn Mike, you used to live in Nunavut?! And I thought Saskatchewan was cold… Alaska too. Brrrrr. The Inuit would be pretty cool to meet though, for sure. I’m just saying, no sun and cold 24/7 lol. It’s not as bad as it sounds, is it?

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    @JTaylor21 – the respect is mutual, homie. @Teddy – the upside is during the summer, the sun don’t go down till well past midnight! We can hit up the beach and party all freakin’ night in the sun!

  • http://www.manutd.com t-money

    “sensitive thugs, you all need hugs”

  • Ali

    Deezam…300plus posts. Truth hurts sometimes, no let me correct myself, ALL THE TIME! Hahaha. Phil is starting early placing seeds in all NBA players and fans heads…Don’t feed into it, don’t look into the light, Hahaha…

  • http://www.twitter.com/hurstysyd Hursty

    This was funny. Cheers boys.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Here here!

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    Good to see bryan ‘gets it’, maybe be a lil less hostile. Anyways, TEDDY IS OFFICIALLY A KNOW-NOTHING ABOUT RAP!!!! Two of your favorite duos are jazzy jeff/prince and kid n play?!?!?! Wow! You lose forever with that. And you guys named some nice ny duos, gangstarr, erik b rakim. But! Best duo of all time far and away, above and beyond is UGK!. UGK godammit!! Dont forget 8ball n mjg. Mack 10 n wc. Best rapper of all time is K-RINO. The only one even somewhat remotely close to his galaxy is immortal technique. K-RINO=BEST RAPPER NOW AND EVER

  • http://Www.fiba.com Darksaber

    Been with Slam since #2, on Slamonline since they activated it, but this was one for the archives. BC throwing the body blows right back at cats, finally finding out that i can now shift my wavering dislike of Pau Gasol to his evil twin Paul Gaso, making my hate of the yellow/purple pants boys shine bright yet again, Eboy (’nuff said), Lzchipenfest with an uppercut and THREE HUNDRED & SEVENTY PLUS comments on a PJ post!! I mean this was one hell of a rollercoaster ride, reminiscent of Khalid, Russ, Ryan and Myles vs. Various commenters from a while back. High entertainment value, and a return to high comment numbers that slam regularly had (especially since Top 50′s aren’t getting as much discussion as in years past). As for Zen-Master’s views: tell me something i don’t yet know, Phil.

  • http://Www.fiba.com Darksaber

    I also get a distinct feeling that Slam fans can NOT wait for the ’10/11 season to commence. Some nervous energy up in here since the WBC’s finished.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    So….. did we work out who ‘the nerve’ is in the end after all that? I’m thinking it’s either JTaylor21 or Steph Marbury…

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    …or that wottywo guy from the start of this thread.
    I have to say, reading back over the posts here….. this place became a warzone – can we please get Ben Osborne checking this ish out? I’m up for registered commenting now.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    Just to clarify (and a bit of a history lesson for the SLAMOnline newbies) a couple of years ago, there were posts that garnered over 1000 comments. If my memory serves me correctly, the Gold Medal game blog of the 2008 Olympics was one of them.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    Then back in the day, The Post Up used to routinely have 500 comment counts daily, so this is minor in comparison…..but funny all the same.

  • MikeC.

    @EBoy – Are you sure they didn’t garnish over 1000 comments? Shout out to Reggie Miller!

  • Mike from Spain

    everybody knows that Spain should have won if referees had applied FIBA rules to the US team :) (I am starting to slip into my fireproof suit)

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    I’d take:
    Outkast
    UGK
    Eight Ball & MJG

    over the world. Deal with it.

  • JTaylor21

    Give me TIP, Lilweezyana, and The Hot Boyz over anyone of those guys.

  • heh8meN1

    Not quite sure how we digressed from topic; but how in the hell can RUN-DMC not be the top rap duo EVER? Seriously. Goes to show the historical perspective and knowledge or LACK there of most “commenters” possess or DON’T possess.

    Second- Dre & Snoop.
    Third- Meth & Redman.
    PERIOD.

    The greatest MC of all time:

    KRS1.
    PERIOD.

    On topic, the Zen Master hasn’t even ZINGED the heat, yet.

    The heat won’t even make to the ECF. The only pre-season eastern conference favorite to make it to the ECF- let alone the finals in the last 10 years was the PISTONS.

    ATLANTA will represent the east in the 2011 Finals; only to get swept by the Lakeshow for Philip’s last hurrah.

    On To The NEXT WON.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Oz0_0-Pw-g

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    Allenp MY MAIN MAN! I knew you were trill!. Jtaylor, hahhhahahahhahahha ti and wayne? Smh kids these days. You dont have a critical ear do you? You just go with whatevers popular huh? although, late 90s hot boys was cool, bg, turk, juve, wayne was ok then. UGK! Ftw! Yo allen, u like k-rino? How bout dj screw? It seems like u would. …… Its sad how quick it went from free to rest in peace pimp c.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Never listended to K-Rino. Screw was cool, for what it was, kind of like New Orleans bounce was cool for what it was.
    UGK damn near birthed Cash Money. If you go back to all the old tapes, that who Baby and them looked up to, and who they went to grab when they wanted a tight feature on their CDs.
    Outkast birthed TI and them.
    I’ll take the old school over the new school, even though I like T.I.

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    Allen, u slippn. Get some k-rino, start with his latest, solitary confinement. U gotta have dj screw, not fake swishahouse or all them other fakers. Im jammn a screwtape now, current track is 8ball n mjgs that girl. THAT GIRL! And yea kids dont recognize the real and where alot of it originated. Run dmc? Theyre ok, but couldnt be more corny goofball corporate ish. Kids just repeat what they heard, like teddy for instance, hes takn others words as gospel.

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