If the Lakers lose to the Knicks on Tuesday will Phil Jackson be fired?

December 15, 2:32 PMSports ExaminerPaula Duffy

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Reggie Theus fired as coach of Sacramento Kings

Now that I have your attention, I want to tell you the tale of NBA fired coach #6, Reggie Theus (sources close to the team leaked the news). As the "sixth man" so to speak in the ranks of NBA coaches to buy the farm prior to Christmas (we may not be done), Theus was taken down with an assistant coach, too. That's a first for the blood-letting binge that GM's and club presidents are on.

As one analyst asked after Maurice Cheeks was shown the door this weekend: Didn't the execs know the coach was that poor in training camp? What can you learn in the first quarter of the season that you didn't already know?

But on to Theus. Joe Maloof was on Los Angeles sports talk radio last week after the Kings beat the Lakers' butt and spoke the usual positive words about his coach that owners do just prior to a head rolling. Frankly with the job the team did in its rematch with the Lakers at Staples on Friday night, I think Theus should have gotten a raise. The Lakers' victory was only solid after a monster dunk by Kobe with less than two minutes left in the game.

But it was the Knicks that did in Theus. The Kings lost by 24 to New York Saturday night. So? The Knicks are a better team than the Kings, even in this stage of their redevelopment. There must have been a recent conference call among GM's that determined that a losing team with a coach hanging by a thread MUST go down if his team loses to the Knicks. Eddie Jordan lost his job with the Wizards after the Knicks took them out.

Thus the question posed in the title of this column. Will Phil be next if the Lakers stumble? Of course not but questions will get louder about his defensive coaching prowess and the team's lack of fire on the court as the game with the Celts looms in 10 days. Will Phil care? Now that's a better question, isn't it?

Also check out NBA Examiner Sherron Shabazz.