Last night they mentioned PJax has coached in the NBA Finals 13 out of the past 20 years. Really makes you wonder why no one else has tried running the Triangle offense and where is PJax coaching lineage? None of his assistances have gone on to have successful careers. Kurt Rambis is just starting out and is trying to teach the Triangle offense with Minnesota, but will they be patient enough with him to carry it through? Jim Cleamons had a short stint with the Mavs, but is back to being an assistant with the Lakers. He designed the game plan to take out the Thunder. In contrast you have Larry Brown who spawned Popovich and then you have guys like Mike Brown, Avery Johnson emerging under Popovich.
It really is an incredible statistic. A lot of people will look @ Pjax and say its because of the talent he has coached, but his role in it can't be ignored. Of course teams who win the championship are going to be talented. His ability to mesh ego's such as Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman, Kobe and Shaq, Kobe and Gasol, and now Kobe, Gasol, and Artest is just amazing.
I used to be one of the Phil detractors that said "yeah, but what's he won w/o Jordan/Pippen or Shaq/K*be?" I still don't like the dude, but I have to admit that if you took almost any of the playoff teams and installed Phil as coach, they'd be at least in the hunt. Portland with Phil? OKC? CLE?
