The game isn't what it used to be, or at least that's what I'm told. I enjoy the current NBA, but David Stern and crew are making a concerted effort to convince me and all of the diehard hoop fans out there that the game is suffering and the quality of play is down. According to these guys, the drop in quality is from a variety of reasons, but at the moment, it's due to kids coming in too early. I personally think that's crap. There's a reason the league's quality is suffering: greed. But not from the players, from Stern himself. You see, the league has created a huge problem for itself due to its desire to expand and make more money. Now they've got a lot of teams and not enough big-time talent to go around. These days, instead of getting teams where everyone in the starting line-up could play ball and was probably one of the best at their position, we get one or two superstars and a bunch of other guys who can produce in the right situation (Lakers) or collapse in the wrong one (take your pick). 

Is Phil Jackson a good coach? I think the better question is, why this is such a big debate. I'm more of a Riley guy myself, but it's quite obvious that Phil has nothing to prove. Some say Phil just jumps into the right situation and then takes all the credit for its success, but come on, the man has to be doing something right. Look at all the times that teams had similar two-superstar situations and solid role-players that came up short over the years, and usually to his Bulls: Indiana (Smits and Miller), New York (Ewing), Seattle (Kemp and Payton), Phoenix (Barkley and KJ), Utah (Stockton and Malone), LA (Magic and Worthy), etc., etc. Phil Jackson is a good coach because he gets his superstars to work well with each other - Mike and Scottie, Kobe and Shaq. He's a GREAT coach because he gets his reserves to the next level and shows them how to overachieve - Fisher, Fox, Kerr, etc., etc. There's never been an NBA champion that didn't boast a team that looked like it could have won it all with any armchair coach at its helm. Give the man his due.
 

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