It would be reasonable to conclude that Phil Jackson has already done his best coaching this season. On Christmas Day his Los Angeles Lakers stood eight games below .500 and were quarreling among themselves like hormone-crazed teens at the school dance. But with typical aplomb, Jackson steadied his purple-and-gold ship, and the three-time defending champs, winners of 10 of their last 12 games through Sunday, steam into the playoffs this weekend as—what else?—the team to beat. The postseason presents uncommon challenges, and Jackson, in 12 seasons with the Chicago Bulls and the Lakers, has responded to them uncommonly. He is seeking a record 10th championship ring, one more than Red Auerbach earned as coach of the Boston Celtics. Jackson has never missed the playoffs; in fact, only twice has he failed to win the championship. Of the NBA's 29 coaches, he is one of only four in this postseason to have a better career winning percentage in the playoffs than in the regular season (chart, page 58), even though his regular-season mark of .731 sets the bar so high. "The man has had such great players that one year I'd like him to go into the playoffs with a team that has to scramble," says a rival coach. "On the other hand, there's nobody I'd less like to see on the other bench. His teams are always prepared and always peaking at the right time. And when I look over at Phil, he's so in control. That's what sets him apart." If, two months from now, Shaquille O'Neal is again bellowing CAN...YOU...DIG...IT! from the steps of the L.A. City Hall, this question will hang in the smog: How much credit for his team's postseason success does Jackson—or, for that matter, any coach—deserve? Obviously, he's dependent on his personnel. In 19 seasons with three teams (the Lakers, the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat), Pat Riley never failed to make the playoffs and almost always made a strong postseason statement, but he's missed the last two postseasons because his Heat is talent-thin. "A lot of coaches don't have the luxury of knowing they're going to be in the playoffs," says Jackson. "They end up coaching every regular-season game like it's a playoff, and you can't drag your team through that kind of intensity for 82 ball games." So what does it take to drag your team through 16 postseason victories, the requisite number for a title? Which coaches are best equipped to make that run? And how much of an edge—Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal aside—does Jackson really have? Consider the challenges for the postseason coach: The pressure is on, and your team better be ready. "There are technical things to adjust to in the playoffs," says Detroit Pistons coach Rick Carlisle, "but the biggest adjustments involve intensity and urgency. When the playoffs begin, it's like a switch is thrown." Jackson knows what to do at that point. Los Angeles was a dominant 67-win team in the first of its three straight championship seasons, but last season (58 wins) and this season (48 wins through Sunday with two games remaining) the Lakers were known more for their somnolent stretches. "Phil makes players understand how different the postseason is," says Lakers assistant Frank Hamblen, who has worked alongside Jackson for seven years. "We make sure there are people to take care of the players' family and friends so the players don't have to do it. We cut off outside distractions. We limit press access. We keep a practice schedule that is consistent. All this sends a message: It's all about basketball now. It's all about intensity." One advantage Jackson has in this area is that his coaching style during the season tends to be anything but intense. When the Lakers get into a funk during a regular-season game, he normally eschews a timeout and lets them play out of it. "But during the playoffs he'll call that quick timeout," says Hamblen. The Sacramento Kings' Rick Adelman, one of eight active coaches with a winning record in the playoffs, is another guy who low-keys it during the regular season but raises his voice here and there when the stakes go up. While Gregg Popovich won the 1998-99 tide by jumping off the bench and getting in the Spurs' faces from time to time, the intensity of other coaches has hurt them in the playoffs—master tacticians Doug Collins (.395 lifetime playoff mark) and George Karl (.475) come to mind. Familiarity breeds contempt...and stagnant offenses. In the postseason video nerds inherit the earth. Coaches ask for breakdowns of not only every game against the current opponent from that season but also games from past seasons. "You hear guys on the foul line screaming variations of their opponents' sets before teams even get into them," says Bulls swingman Jalen Rose, who has appeared in 58 playoff games. The Lakers' set offense, the triangle, is rarely well-executed by imitators, but it is well-known, especially by its alumni. One of Jackson's biggest playoff challenges was the seven-game Western finals in 2000, partly because Scottie Pippen was able to share his expertise on triangulation with his fellow Portland Trail Blazers. But Jackson has always been able to make subtle adjustments. Teams overplay to cut off the pass from the wing back to the top of the key—Jackson substitutes a dribble exchange. Teams overplay to stop the weak-side guard from jetting backdoor to the basket—Jackson sends a man over to screen for the guard. Obviously the triangle wouldn't be half as successful without the creativity of Bryant (for whom Jackson has added several wrinkles this season) or the post-up presence of O'Neal, but it is an offense in which five people touch the ball. There is movement and misdirection, not stasis. Philadelphia's Larry Brown has forgotten more hoops than most coaches ever knew, but the 76ers' offense will be limited in the playoffs because it's so dominated by one player, Allen Iverson. That was one of the problems the Spurs had last season in a 4-1 Western semis loss to L.A. As the series progressed, Tim Duncan became their only reliable scorer, and they had a limited number of spots in which they could get him the ball.  
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