Jackson can just stop now

Lost in the excitement of the NBA playoffs has been the childlike war of words between Lakers head coach Phil Jackson and NBA commissioner David Stern.What started out as a typical Jackson jab towards the officials has turned into a debate that is far from over.It is no secret that NBA games are not always officiated perfectly. It is simply the nature of the game. Today’s NBA game is played at a feverish pace, with the world’s greatest athletes.It is only human nature for an official to miss a call or two. The fact is, human nature is a large part of officiating, and outside of computer aided officiating the human element is not going anywhere. The fact is NBA teams fight through a rigorous 82 game schedule in an effort to earn the home court advantage in the playoffs.A large part of that advantage is the possibility of getting a call or two that you may not get in your opponents arena.”It’s about the energy that’s in the building, let’s face it,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. “There’s 20,000 people here that are really intense. It’s not an objective thing, it’s subjective. We try to make it objective, but it’s subjective. People definitely lean a certain way.”The problem is a fundamental one, and frankly one that has no perfect solution.Watching the constant dialogue between coaches and the officials can be exhausting, and David Stern, whose league is still reeling from the Tim Donaghy gambling scandal, worries that the dialogue could potentially further undermine fans’ confidence in the NBA.Stern went as far to threaten NBA coach’s jobs by saying, “our coaches should be quiet because this is a good business that makes them good livings. And if they don’t like it, they should go get a job someplace else. I don’t mean to be too subtle.”Of course the irony of all of this is that it was Jackson who brought all of this on by complaining about the amount of favorable calls given to Oklahoma City’s young star Kevin Durant.Of course this is the same Phil Jackson who has coached the likes of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O’Neal, and, of course, Kobe Bryant.There is no doubt something should be done about the amount of chatter between the officials and the sidelines, but Jackson is probably not the best guy to lead the revolution.Not unless he is ready to give back a couple of championship rings.