Doug Collins was fired as coach of the Chicago Bulls in 1989 and replaced by assistant Phil Jackson. But if there were ever any hard feelings, as some thought at the time, you'd never know it from Collins' current-day TNT commentary.
Although Kobe Bryant deservedly is getting a lot of credit for the Lakers' comeback victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, Collins, who is working the series with Marv Albert, also had high praise for Jackson on the air Wednesday night.
And during an interview Thursday, Collins elaborated on a couple of key moves the Lakers' coach made.
"In the third quarter, the Lakers were standing around looking at the referees for help when Phil did a smart thing," Collins said, referring to Jackson's bringing in Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic and moving Bryant to small forward. "It gave the Lakers new life.
"The other thing Phil did was leave Kobe in for the entire second half. He usually rests him for four minutes at the start of the fourth quarter, but he knew he hadn't expended much energy in the first half and knew the Lakers needed him to be out there."
Collins says he sees the Spurs in quite a fix headed into Game 2 tonight at 6.
"I'm a firm believer that your stars have to come through for you to win on the road," he said. "The bench feeds off the energy at home. For the Spurs, it's now up to Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan, particularly Ginobili.
"I think he was fatigued in Game 1," Collins said. "He averages 31 minutes a game but played 41 in Game 7 against New Orleans."
But maybe the Lakers are just too good for the Spurs, as TNT's Charles Barkley believes.
"I'm picking the Lakers to win it all, and when they get Andrew Bynum back, they're going to be scary good for the next five years," he said Thursday via cellphone. "Kobe is in his prime and everyone else is young except for Derek Fisher."
Asked about his gambling, which made news when it was revealed he owed a Las Vegas casino $400,000, Barkley said: "I'm going to quit for at least four years. I just signed a four-year contract with TNT and I don't want to do anything to embarrass them."
That might be easier said than done.
"I'm a very goal-oriented person," Barkley said. "I have achieved many goals in my life, exceeded many goals. When I put my mind to something, I do it."
All of the remaining Western Conference finals will be on TNT, with FSN West offering postgame shows.
