In an interview with The New York Times' Scott Cacciola, Phil Jackson tried to explain a heavily criticized tweet he sent during the NBA playoffs.
During the second round of the playoffs, Jackson, whose Twitter feed is an adventure unto itself, sent out this tweet:
NBA analysts give me some diagnostics on how 3pt oriented teams are faring this playoffs...seriously, how's it goink?
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) May 10, 2015Jackson appeared to be criticizing teams like the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, and Houston Rockets, all of whom took a high volume of three-pointers in the regular season and were trailing their opponents in their respective series.
When Cacciola asked him about the tweet, Jackson explained his thinking, resulting in a puzzling, rambling answer:
Q.In the middle of the playoffs, you took to Twitter to ask N.B.A. analysts to give you “some diagnostics” on how 3-point-oriented teams were faring. It struck most as a criticism of teams like the Warriors who take a lot of 3-point shots. You asked, “How’s it goink?” What was that about?
JACKSON: They have all these analysts. I just wanted to see someone come back to me with statistics: Is 3-point shooting in the playoffs as consistent as it is in the regular season? Does your 3-point-shooting percentage change because you’re in the playoffs? No one figured that one out. And that’s probably me being obtuse to leave it open at the end. But “goink” is one of those New York expressions that we use, and I will tell you this: I learned something. Someone sent me the fact that if you look it up on Urban Dictionary, you’ll find out what it means in today’s society.
Cacciola continued and Jackson gave a brief explanation of the slang definition of "goink":
Q.So it wasn’t just a typo?
JACKSON: “Goink” is a castoff expression, right? Instead of, “How’s it going?,” it’s, “How’s it goink?” It turned out to be either a combination of a mixed ethnic group: part Korean, part Chinese. Or it’s a vernacular term for how do you deal with a sexual partner.
Q.That was not your intention though?
JACKSON: No, I had no idea.
When Jackson sent the tweet, the NBA world immediately criticized him:
@PhilJackson11 how are triangle oriented teams that take an inordinate amount of midrange jumpers doing?
— Amin Elhassan (@AminESPN) May 10, 2015 .@PhilJackson11 Only if u tell us how its goink for teams running an antiquated offensive scheme that finished last in nearly every category
— Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) May 10, 2015 .@PhilJackson11 To answer your question Coach, 5 of top 8 3FGA teams are still alive (HOU CLE GSW LAC ATL). Subpar 3FGA teams (MEM WAS CHI).
— darryl howerton (@darrylhowerton) May 10, 2015Of course, the Cavs, Hawks, and Warriors all won those series, and the Warriors won the championship.
Later in May, after all of the criticism, Jackson sent out a few more thoughts on Twitter in an attempt to better explain himself:
Some corrected thoughts:1)like 3pt shooters, check it out, but to play for 3pt shot is an error. Penetration, first principal of offense.
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) May 24, 2015 3)the 3pt shot is not the be all end all of basketball. WNBA is taking their exhibition game to extremes-do not disvalue the 2pt shot.
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) May 24, 2015Jackson is already criticized for pushing what many people feel is an outdated offensive system in the Triangle offense on the Knicks. Though Jackson, a more traditional basketball philosopher, is entitled to his opinion about the best methods of scoring, his explanation, particularly to what seems like a simple typo, has really only made him an easier target.
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