Phil Jackson may have not masterminded the Knicks’ return to prominence yet, but he’s spitting fire towards what he considers a league that is becoming increasingly less disciplined. A profile of the NBA coaching great by Bleacher Report includes some not-so-flattering things about LeBron James.
Phil Jackson says LeBron James travels ‘every other time he catches the basketball’
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
“I watch LeBron James, for example,” he said. “He might [travel] every other time he catches the basketball if he’s off the ball. He catches the ball, moves both his feet. You see it happen all the time. There’s no structure, there’s no discipline, there’s no ‘How do we play this game’ type of attitude. And it goes all the way through the game. To the point where now guys don’t screen—they push guys off with their hands.”
Travel? LeBron? Well I never...
Okay, so he might travel occasionally -- but saying it’s half the time he touches the ball is a little harsh, Phil.
Jackson also ripped the NBA for becoming less of a team game.
“The game actually has some beauty to it, and we’ve kind of taken some of that out of it to make it individualized,” Jackson said. “It’s a lot of who we are as a country, individualized stuff.” “When I watch some of these playoff games, and I look at what’s being run out there, as what people call an offense, it’s really quite remarkable to see how far our game has fallen from a team game,” Jackson said. “Four guys stand around watching one guy dribble a basketball.”`
We’ll see if the Knicks break that mold.
SB Nation presents: How to construct an NBA champion
