Phil Jackson Is Even With Auerbach

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to defeat the Utah Jazz 123-109. Lakers head coach Phil Jackson is tied with former Boston Celtics head coach Red Auerbach with regular season victories.

Jackson said he never paid much attention to his accomplishment, but the longer you stay in the NBA, the more wins a coach gets according to Jackson.

"The longer you stay here, the more wins you're going to accumulate," Jackson said. "But I've never really followed that stuff, you know? I think the night that made the most sense to me, in terms of numbers of wins, was when I got my 500th and Bill Fitch was coaching on the other side. He was my college coach, and he came over and shook my hand after the game."

Jackson has won nine NBA Championships, and twelve including as a player. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on September 7, and only coached two teams in his NBA coaching career.

"Fortunately, I've had really good teams and they've accumulated a lot more wins in a short period of time. But still and all, it's really just longevity and it speaks for hanging in there," Jackson said.

Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan believes it's hard to compare Jackson to Auerbach, because they coached different players. "They didn't have the same people. If they coached all the same guys, maybe you could compare them. But they've both been blessed with great players, and that gives you a chance every night," said Sloan. "Phil's always done a great job coaching his teams. It's one thing to have great players, but it's another to be able to coach them and win with them." Sloan has 1,051 career victories in his NBA coaching career, and that fourth on the list.

Former NBA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, agrees with Sloan, because Jackson and Auerbach are two different coaches and they both coached in different era's."Their eras are so different, it's difficult to make a comparison," Abdul-Jabbar said. "Phil coached in an entirely different era, and I really don't think it translates. It's kind of like comparing somebody like Joe Torre to Connie Mack. "

Abdul-Jabbar said Jackson was lucky to get the great players he had, and believes lots of other coaches wouldn't be able to succeed like Jackson.

"Phil always seems to get good mileage out of good players," Abdul-Jabbbar said. "It involves a lot of patience, and you've got to be lucky enough to find players with the right chemistry. I think a lot of coaches who could have that kind of talent might not have done as well. You'll never know, but I think that has a lot to do with it."

Kobe Bryant had 31 points against the Jazz, with 7 rebounds, and lead with 5 turnovers. Bryant said the Lakers are getting better, and their improving each day. "We're getting better. It's just about getting better each day," said Bryant. "It's good to have games like this. We have a solid foundation, we really do."

Derek Fisher and Andrew Bynum had 10 points each, but Fisher had 8 assist and Bynum had 9 rebounds. Bryant said he's seeing results from Bynum, and the hard work in the summer is helping.

"The best thing about it is he's put in so much work over the summer and now," Bryant said. "The biggest thing for him is he's seeing results. The sky's the limit for him."

Lamar Odom had 17 points with 7 assist; Trevor Ariza had 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assist. Jordan Farmar added with 14 points and 3 rebounds.

Sloan said the Lakers destroyed them in the first half, and believes the Lakers are good defensively. "They beat us about every way you can," Sloan said. "They came out and destroyed us that first half. They were so good defensively, we couldn't get anything. We started to think we could beat them one-on-one, and we just didn't have much of a chance to do that, either."

Carlos Boozer lead with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and only played 29 minutes. Boozer said it was a big game, and they needed to finish strong. "It's a big win for us," Boozer said. "It feels good to be on the other side. We beat a very good team and held our composure at the end for a change. We executed our plays and finished strong."

Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Miles had 18 points each. Deron Williams suffered with 6 points, and lead with 4 turnovers. Williams said the Jazz aren't playing like their the best team in the Western Conference.

"We closed out a ballgame for a change," said Williams. "We have always felt like we are one of the better teams in the Western Conference, but we haven't been playing that way. Tonight is a move in the right direction."