Don’t look so blundered should that revelation surprise you, Jackson is no stranger to the media nor is he afraid to speak his mind in the subtle and not-so-subtlest of ways when it comes to officiating. Remember that comment he made during the Western Conference Finals against Denver in 09’ when Dahntay Jones tripped up Kobe Bryant? He called Jones’ action “unsportsmanlike basketball,” and basically called out the referees for taking it lightly. If you’re wondering, the following game the Nuggets got called for 11 fouls in the fourth quarter alone.
I know what you’re thinking. Who’s Dahntay Jones? Fair point, but the fact of the matter is, Jackson made a statement and it may or may not have been a coincidence that the Lakers got a few calls out of it. (For the record, I believe Jones plays for the Indiana Pacers.)
Then there was the incident during the 2009 Finals against Orlando when Jackson was fined $25,000 after referring to calls made against Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum as “bogus” during a sideline interview. A win for the NBA cares program was also a win for the Lakers because the game that followed was the championship-clinching game 5, on the road no less, Gasol and Odom called for a combined six personal fouls.
I’d take you further down the Jackson-to-Refs memory lane montage, but you get the gist. Jackson talks, the referees listen. You be the judge of whether it’s a conscious effort by the officials or not.
