Mark Jackson coaches a Warriors team that has lost 17 of its last 21 games. He saw the man who hired him on a platform of bold promise, co-owner Joe Lacob, get lacerated by fans.
Jackson now confronts his own internal conflict, his heart feeling one urge as his mind embraces another.
The final days of Jackson’s rookie season as an NBA head coach are playing out in a way he hates, with losing as the most appealing option for him and his team.
Competing, after all, is the defining characteristic of Jackson, who spent 17 seasons in the league. With the rare formula of one part talent, two parts intellect and three parts resolve, he became a star. Inner drive was a major factor in Jackson accepting as his first coaching job the massive task of rebranding a franchise with a rich and prolonged tradition of failure.
Jackson rolls out of bed looking for ways to win.
But the Warriors are better off losing every game because losing puts them that much closer to being a better team next season and beyond.
Jackson is acutely aware that the more discerning members of the serially abused fan base are pleading for the Warriors, who have lost five straight, to lose their final six. At 22-44, they would have a reasonably good chance at finishing among the league’s seven worst teams, saving their seat at the lottery table.
If they don’t fall into the bottom seven, that seat goes to the Utah Jazz.
Thus, the phrase inside the mind of every Warriors fan is “lose, baby, lose.”
“As a fan, or a follower, I totally understand,” Jackson said Tuesday.
“But as a head coach, that’s not in my DNA. And it’s not in a player’s DNA. And if I was a fan or a follower of the team or the coach, (playing to win) wouldn’t frustrate me. That would make me feel better for when we get to where we want to be.”
Jackson believes a Warriors victory, no matter how insignificant it might seem, need not be accompanied by despair. His assertion comes with a modicum of logic.
For one, winning is a mentality best acquired by deciphering the requirements. For two, the process of evaluation is ongoing and provides information needed to make intelligent decisions about the future. For three, the next lottery pick might not lift the club any higher than the last 15.
For four, Jackson surely realizes the Warriors are more than a 20-year-old away from the top — unless the new kid is Kentucky star Anthony Davis, the next No. 1 overall pick.
For teams with no place in the playoffs, April is for discovering the merits of the roster you have rather than fantasizing about the roster you might have, contingent on ping-pong balls and the judgment of scouts.
“One thing you learn watching guys during tough times, you see what they’re made of,” Jackson said. “You see their approach, their mentality. Do they let go of the rope? Do they hold on to the rope? Do they finish the right way?
“It shows you who can be part of a winning situation, and who just does not have the makeup.”
The Warriors have gotten a long look at rookie shooting guard Klay Thompson and realize he is developmental in most phases — particularly defense — except shooting from distance. They know rookie big man Jeremy Tyler is several years away, if at all, and that rookie guard Charles Jenkins can evolve into a rotation player.
They know they like wings Dominic McGuire and Brandon Rush, probably in that order, and would prefer either over Dorell Wright, who entered the season as the starting small forward.
With starting point guard Stephen Curry in street clothes (as he should be), starting power forward David Lee in street clothes (as he should be) and projected starting center Andrew Bogut in street clothes (as he must be), the Warriors are losing masterfully.
Wins and losses no longer matter. The Warriors are 22-38, making a late push. They can’t “catch” Charlotte and Washington, and it would be tough to track down New Orleans, Sacramento and Cleveland.
That leaves four teams _ Warriors, Raptors, Nets, Pistons — all very close, vying for the top seven spots. Each entered Tuesday night with 22 wins.
Detroit defeated Cleveland on Tuesday and faces Toronto on Sunday. And there will be a winner when Toronto goes to New Jersey for the April 26 season finale.
The opportunity is there for the Warriors, Jackson’s conflict notwithstanding. An 11-game losing streak could be an ugly end and a beautiful beginning.
