Phil Jackson just couldn't resist. The Lakers' head coach had some choice words for the "crying boys" of the Miami Heat during Tuesday night's pregame media session.
"This is the NBA: No Boys Allowed," Jackson said. "Big boys don't cry. But, if you're going to do it, do it in the toilet where no one can see."
Previous to that statement, when Jackson was asked about the Heat's recent battles, more specifically about head coach Erik Spoelstra revealing that his players were crying in the locker room, he gave a milder answer, according to ESPN.com.
"It's just drama," Jackson said after the Lakers' shoot around Tuesday morning.
After that, Jackson referred reporters' Miami-related questions to assistant coach Frank Hamblen. Hamblen scouted the Heat for Thursday's game, while Jackson wanted to focus on Tuesday's game against the Hawks.
The Heat, of course, were brought up again in Tuesday night's pregame media session. Jackson tried to deflect saying, "People cry in locker rooms, yes, [but] I don't want to talk about Miami's situation."
Seconds later, Jackson spewed out the quote above.
Kobe Bryant was a bit kinder when he commented on the Heat while on the Max and Marcellus Show on 710 ESPN in Los Angeles on Monday.
"They have their own issues over there. Every team has issues. At this point of the season, if you don't have issues you're not a team," Bryant said. "Everybody responds to adversity differently. Doesn't make it right, doesn't make it wrong. It's how you come out of it. That's the true mark of a team.
"I gave you an honest answer. Everybody responds differently. If guys are crying in the locker room, guys are crying in the locker room. That doesn't mean they're chumps. That doesn't mean they're soft. It doesn't mean anything."
Jackson also made a public criticism of the Heat last November. The Heat were out to a rough start in their first "new big three" season with an 8-6 record, and Jackson questioned if Spoelstra's job was secure.
"The scenario that sits kind of behind the scene, is that eventually these guys that were recruited — [Chris] Bosh and [LeBron] James — by Pat Riley and Micky Arison, the owner, are going to come in and say, 'We feel you [Riley] can do a better job coaching the team. We came here on the hopes that this would work,' and whatever, I don't know," Jackson said then. "That's kind of my take on it, is that eventually if things don't straighten out here soon, it could be the [Stan] Van Gundy thing all over again."
Jackson later recanted, calling his statement an "off-hand remark."
The Lakers play the Heat on Thursday in Miami. The two teams met last on Christmas Day, with Miami earning a 96-80 victory.
