Close-out special in Philly

Phil Jackson said something very interesting before the media a few days ago, during the 70-hour break between Games 3 and 4 of the 2001 NBA Finals. With more down time between games, the press corps understandably chose to ask Jackson some big-picture questions. Foremost among them was this: "Phil, why did you choose to coach the Lakers, instead of going the Larry Brown route and trying to build up a listless franchise?"

Among the many things Jackson said in reply, one thing stood out in particular: "I'm a closer."

Jackson said that his niche, his expertise as a coach, lay in his ability to take very talented teams to the next level. Hmmmmm. What a very Zen-like and accurate answer to a question that enters just about any discussion of Jackson's all-time greatness as a coach.

Doug Collins took the Bulls pretty close to the NBA Finals. Jackson took them farther and kept them there, perched at the top.

Del Harris got the Lakers to the West Finals. Jackson took them beyond and has kept them there, perched at the top (for Jackson critics, it should be noted that Kobe hadn't really ripened or matured just yet; however, no one will say that Harris was ever going to get a stronger hold on his team).

Don't call Phil Jackson the best coach ever -- that goes to a man colored Red. Call Jackson the best closer-as-coach in the history of NBA basketball. Call his assemblage of scrutinized role players, then, the best group of closers in the game today.

An issue that pokes and prods those who are critical of the Lakers is the fact that Rick Fox, Robert Horry, Brian Shaw and others had little success in their NBA careers when not paired with legendary centers.

Rick Fox, Boston Celtic. Huh? Who? What?

Horry's career plummeted in the center-less black hole of Phoenix.

Shaw had Shaq (and Penny) to lean on in Orlando, but what about the times before and after the reunion of the Shaw-Shaq Redemption in L.A.?

Well, along with Ron Harper (whose career was good in Cleveland, even before he became Michael Jordan's best pal and an even better defender) and Tyronn Lue, the Laker supporting actors make Tinseltown Titletown because they close the deal.

They know Shaq and Kobe will get theirs and do their part. They know the Laker team has options both inside and outside. They are filled with confidence, partly because of their closer-as-coach, Jackson.

For these and other reasons, the Laker supporting cast treats open threes with confidence, not pressure. It's an opportunity to contribute, not a must-make shot to free up a desperate Allen Iverson -- that's how the Aaron McKies and Raja Bells are approaching THEIR open threes.

It happened against San Antonio, and it's happening again against Philly. The Laker role players are hitting threes, and when that happens, the Lake Show is a runaway championship smash in Hollywood.

While the need to take the ball strong to the hole is significant -- for the Sixers and any NBA team -- the need to hit threes is increasingly important in basketball at all levels today. Three-pointers both build and stop big runs. If made, they improve floor spacing by leaps and bounds while putting defenses in a bind. For the Laker supporting cast, the big role is to hit that one open three at a key point in the game, like Harper's three during a game-breaking second-quarter run in Game 4; or was it Derek Fisher's three that kept the Sixers at bay in the fourth quarter; or was it Robert Horry's three that essentially sealed it?

No, it was actually Brian Shaw's three from the right wing, which extended a nine-point Laker lead back to 12, just moments after Aaron McKie missed a trey that could have brought the Sixers within six points midway through the fourth quarter.

Don't think of the Lakers as a great all-time team; if the Sixers hadn't given away points at the charity stripe in Games 2 and 3, a very different story would be unfolding right now.

As it is, however, the broken and beaten-up war horses from Philadelphia -- especially McKie, whose agony over his injury-induced ineffectiveness must be tearing at him -- are ready for the mercy killing. The cool gunslingers on the Laker bench will make sure to shoot the Sixers to the grave, giving the NBA Finals a decidedly Western flavor for the third straight year. What's more, their closer-as-coach will ride into the sunset with an eighth title achieved from an NBA bench.