Jackson Tells Media to Cool It

Phil Jackson downgraded his recent, pointed conversation with Shaquille O’Neal from “heated” to “a give and take,” though that doesn’t seem to have mollified O’Neal.

When O’Neal says Jackson “knows everything,” as he did Thursday, it usually means just the opposite, which led Jackson on Friday to place the blame squarely where he often does: on the media.

“It’s all your fault,” Jackson said with a tight smile. “It’s all you guys. You distort stuff and take it out of context.”

He laughed a little.

“I said it was a ‘heated conversation,’” he said. “It became ‘criticism.’ It’s a give and take, is what it is.”

O’Neal did not address reporters after Friday morning’s shoot-around and took treatment on his various hurting parts--arthritic toe, stitched finger, sprained ankle--before Game 3.

It’s Jackson, probably, with whom he is unhappy. In fact, the coach said as much.

Said Jackson: “My question to Shaq is, physically, if you can’t get going, if it’s a drain on you and it takes too much energy, rather than rebound seven in 40 [minutes], I’d rather have a 32-minute game when you’re more active. Just let me know. That’s all I want.

“He has said, ‘I’m as active as I can be.’ And I said, ‘Then we should cut the minutes down.’”

O’Neal, apparently, thought otherwise.

“He’s upset I would question that particular aspect,” Jackson said. “But that’s all right.”

Those around the team said that Jackson and O’Neal have been particularly grumpy, though that could have as much to do with the way the team has played for two weeks as one contentious conversation.

“Tensions? No,” forward Rick Fox said. “A few words said, sure. But, that’s nothing new.”

*

Angry is one thing, Jackson said. Angry on the floor is another.

“I talked a little bit about that to the team today, about playing at a level where you’re in control of all the faculties you have,” Jackson said, “rather than being too amped up.”

O’Neal had bigger worries than Jackson, of course. Tim Duncan had a big Game 2, and David Robinson started Friday night for the first time since Game 1 of the Spurs’ opening-round series.

“I don’t think that’s going to motivate him as much as Tim Duncan getting an MVP on the floor,” Jackson said.

Duncan received his trophy before Game 3, much to the delight of the huge crowd at the Alamodome.