Zen the Master
June 10, 2008
38-10. That was the free throw disparity last night. 38-10 in the Celtics favor. Now, Kobe, if you ignore sarcasm, “didn’t notice it,” but Phil Jackson was less politically correct talking about how his team will have to do a better job creating “illusions” for Game 3. Illusions, after all, are what the referees make calls based on, argues Jackson. You’ve gotta love the Zen Master. Every post-season, especially in the Finals, he creates the best in-between-game story lines. The best thing about his quotes is that they aren’t just vociferous rants, but they actually hold quite a bit of substance and truth to them (Yes, Sacramento is basically a cow town, get over it, Kings fans).
Let’s break down the genius of the Zen Master here. First off, instead on a Mike Ditka-esque tirade, he brings up the idea of how referees are influenced by the crowd noise, intensity of the teams, and other intangible factors. He is right. Referees are refereeing an illusion, but nobody ever brings it up that way. Coaches might rant about how the fans get in the ref’s head and other cliches ad nauseam, but to label it an illusion somehow adds some sort of intrigue to the criticism. Subconsciously, the Zen Master has just created his own illusion that the referees are too weak-minded to objectively call the game. He’s called into question their ability to block out distractions and do their job. It’s almost a subtle challenge. Whether or not it’s the right time to bring up the point with 3 straight home games coming up, though, is up for debate. Regardless, maybe the Lakers ought to show up for the first 40 minutes of the game.
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