Skiles Doesn’t Understand Zen

Phoenix Sun Coach Scott Skiles went timeout-to-timeout with the Lakers’ Phil Jackson in Game 4, bringing down the curtain on the Mr. Nice Guy phase of this series.

Modern NBA coaches are expected to posture and try to get into each others’ heads in the playoffs. So how does Skiles think Jackson is doing?

‘He might be trying to,” Skiles said before Tuesday night’s game, “but I’ve never known anybody my whole life who was able to get into my head, so why would I think Phil can?”

Subsequently, Jackson said he started the timeout duel to protest a referee’s call. Skiles said he didn’t care.

“I didn’t take it as anything toward me,” Skiles said. “I just took it--I guess at that point I didn’t care what it was. I did the same thing once in Europe. I called a timeout late in the game when my team was way behind. I did it so that my team would have to sit there and suffer through it. So that could have been it [why Jackson did it] too.

“But the reason didn’t make any difference to me.”

Jackson also said Skiles was “hard-headed.”

Said Skiles: “I honestly believe a person like Phil who’s won that many titles deserves the right to say whatever he wants, no matter how silly it is.”

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Luc Longley on playing Shaquille O’Neal: “He’s at least 350, maybe more. I’m not saying what Oliver [Miller] weighs but Shaq weighs more. And he’s relatively strong. . . .

“I see my chiropractor after every game that I see Shaq. When he drives that 360 pounds into my chest, it has an effect on my back.”