Paul Jones

Paul Jones is the voice of the Raptors on the FAN 590 and writes regularly for Sportsnet.ca.

Phil Jackson.

When it comes gaining an edge with the officials, there are few better than the Zen Master.

There is always discussion about adjustments that need to be made in the playoffs and particularly the final in the wake of losses.

Most of those pertain to personnel moves on the court with player matchups but Phil Jackson set the precedent years ago by using the media to make comments about other players knowing that game officials are also human.

Who can forget former New York Knicks head coach and now ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy’s line when the Knicks and Bulls were locked up in one of their epic battles in the mid ‘90s.

Van Gundy jabbed at Jackson’s propensity for working the officials not just through the media, but on the sidelines by saying something along the lines of "somewhere in a Manhattan hotel room, Phil Jackson is standing in front of the mirror, practicing his poses."

Those words for me as a one-time Knicks and Patrick Ewing fan were the inspiration for my impersonation of "Big Chief Triangle" as Van Gundy referred to him later in the series. For those of you that have seen it, and my broadcast partner, Eric Smith, keeps trying to get me to do it in public, it’s my own physical rendition of a younger more mobile Jackson working the refs and the sidelines like only he can.

He now does it either on off days via the media or in a higher chair from the bench since hip surgery.

The long and the short of it is for this years final, Boston head coach Doc Rivers has subscribed to if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.. It says here that Los Angeles has had the better whistle in the series but it may be because they have been more aggressive.

I can just hear the Celtics fans now saying, if Boston players weren’t in foul trouble the Lakers wouldn’t have the advantage.

We know that "Daddy" David Stern does not take kindly to coaches trying to influence the officials with public comments so if the league office, that received a few tapes from Rivers yesterday to try and corroborate his statements, slaps the good Doctor with a fine for malpractice against the officials, you’ll know why.

Rivers singled out Lakers veteran Derek Fisher. But it goes along with reputations as Fisher is a tough veteran player that is always amongst the team, and maybe league leaders, in giving up his body and taking charging fouls on opponents.

It figures he would garner those calls and do you blame him for trying to get a little more when he can? Can’t say I do, especially after Ray Allen lit him up like a Christmas tree in game two in his own kitchen.

The psychological edge is another one that goes to Los Angeles right now. When talking to the media about the team’s video session, Rivers pointed out to Pierce that there was a driving lane at which point Pierce responded that he didn’t take it because he was already in foul trouble and was being careful not to pick up another.

The edge there goes to Ron Artest who has hounded Pierce, along with, yes Boston fans, foul trouble, into shooting 40% from the floor over the series’ first three games, limiting his effectiveness.

"I’ll give Artest credit when he deserves it," said Rivers in the Game 3, post-game news conference.

The implication being that it is more about Pierce’s foul trouble than it is Ron-Ron’s defense. Way to go Doc, don’t give in psychologically to a players’ strength that would feed the fire even more.

But make no mistake folks, as stated in one of these earlier musings, this series will be about defense.

Boston’s was great to get them to the final and it has been good, not great so far. Hey it took Kobe Bryant 29 shots to score his 29 points last game and he actually missed more shots than Allen. The problem for Boston was Sugar Ray left a sour taste in the Celtics’ fans mouths with a 0-for-13 performance. The point here is that people have slept on Los Angeles’ defense and it is a huge factor. Yes Boston fans, maybe more than the Celtics foul trouble as to why the series stand as it does. Let’s see if the Celtics can get more ball and player movement and to even the series tonight. If not, this thing is done.