Philadelphia, PA – Red Auerbach never had to worry about this sort of thing.
Neither did Phil Jackson, although he's not doing much to help in the present.
What are we talking about? Twitter, that's what.
On Sunday, Kobe Bryant, hobbled and in bed after he tore his left Achilles tendon toward the end of the season, live-tweeted throughout the Los Angeles Lakers/San Antonio Spurs game.
Most of Bryant's tweets were about what the Lakers should do differently, or better.
"Gotta get to the block. See wat spurs r gonna do with pau and d12," Bryant tweeted in reference to Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard.
Those two were the subject of most of the viral advice.
"What I would say if I was there right now? "Pau get ur (backside) on the block and don't move till u get it" #realtalk"
"Post. Post. Post."
"Gotta milk pau in the post right now and d12. Will get good looks from it."
There were other tweets about defense ("matador defense on parker") and various other things. It was particularly interesting insight from one of the game's best that a fan or member of the media would never get if not for this social media outlet.
So, of course, Bryant's Twitter activity was brought up in head coach Mike D'Antoni's post-game press conference.
"It's great to have that commentary," D'Antoni said.
He then immediately rolled his eyes.
And offered a little more.
"That's fine. He's a fan right now," D'Antoni said of his player. "He's a fan and you guys put a little more importance on that kind of fan. He gets excited. He wants to be part of it, which I don't blame him, so that's good."
Clearly, D'Antoni wasn't all-in on Bryant's expressions of advice. The eye roll was obvious and as telling as anything that would have come out of his mouth.
It brings up an interesting dilemma - does Bryant's tweeting undermine D'Antoni and the team to the point of doing it becomes a distraction?
The bigger question is who is best served by Bryant's tweeting.
The very fact D'Antoni was asked about his star player's computer habits probably means the aggravation wasn't worth it. That fits under the category of unnecessary distraction.
Bryant didn't totally seem to appreciate his coach's answer, although remember, we can't figure out context in a 140-character message.
"A fan?? Lol #microphonetalk," Bryant tweeted.
Is that LOL genuine? Is Bryant "laughing out loud" because he found his coach's response funny, or is he "laughing out loud" because his coach's statement was a joke to him?
Let's keep this in mind, nothing Bryant wrote, in any way or form, was disrespectful toward D'Antoni or the Lakers. From what we've observed of Bryant over the years, the tweets seem like a much tamer version of what he'd have said to his teammates had he been in San Antonio.
And this kind of access into the mind of an elite player, while his team is playing, is unprecedented. Bryant takes the medium seriously and is a must- follow. There's no schilling a special, or new shoes, or anything. Bryant's Twitter feed is honest thought and fans love that kind of inside peek.
Bryant being the man behind the keyboard adds to this somewhat-messier-than- needed situation. Zaza Pachulia, the injured backup big man for the Atlanta Hawks, live-tweeted the Hawks/Indiana Pacers game Sunday afternoon, and no one cared.
It makes sense for Bryant to pass on the Twitter app for Wednesday night. Any question about his tweeting is one too many. Bryant understood Sunday evening.
"I see my tweeting during the game is being talked about as much as the game itself. Not my intention , just bored as I guess #notagain," Bryant tweeted.
Wise, but that kind of insight doesn't come when a player wears a mic or talks to the media afterward. I'll miss it on Wednesday.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
- The Cleveland Cavaliers can call Phil Jackson eight times a day for the next month, but he's not taking the head coaching job.
- Reports indicate Jackson wants to come back, but to run a team, not coach one. "Itch? Where did they get that?" Jackson tweeted in response to the ESPN report. I don't see Jackson taking a team over, unless, as is the case with Jackson, it's the right circumstance. Jackson has never taken over a dismal situation with the intent of resurrecting it. Would he do that in a team president role? Honestly, it's hard to see, but those are the only jobs open in that field.
- How anticlimactic was the first weekend of playoffs? The average margin of victory was 16 ppg. All eight home teams won and the only game that came down to the wire was the Denver Nuggets-Golden State Warriors game.
- Scheduling is bad for these games with so much time in between, but complaining about the length of the series now supercedes the actual scheduling in annoyance.
- Movie moment - Michael Bay apologized on Monday for "Armageddon." I hate when directors do that. Kevin Smith apologized for "Mallrats," and it infuriated me. I liked the movie. I did not like "Armageddon." My old roommate loved it and if you would've told me that Ben Affleck would go on to become a world-class filmmaker, I'd have spit on you.
- TV moment - What's everyone think of Khloe Kardashian not returning as co- host of "X Factor?" It's one of those things you'll always remember where you were at the time you found out, right?
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