OAKLAND, Calif. - The Golden State Warriors hired Mark Jackson to replace Keith Smart on Monday, giving the former point guard and television analyst his first chance to be a head coach on the game's biggest stage.
"He epitomized leadership as a player in this league for 17 seasons and we think that characteristic ... will translate very well ... with our young team," owner Joe Lacob said in a statement.
Jackson played 17 years as a point guard in the NBA, for New York, the Clippers, Indiana, Denver, Toronto, Utah and Houston. Named the top rookie in 1988, he made the playoffs 14 times and ranks third on the NBA's all-time assists list. But he has never coached, spending the past few seasons as the lead analyst for ESPN and ABC for their NBA coverage. He won't start his new job until after he's finished calling the NBA finals.
Golden State has made the playoffs just once since 1994.
"I'm looking forward to the challenge of building the Warriors into a perennial contender," Jackson said.
Bosh ready for Game 4
DALLAS - Miami's Chris Bosh isn't sure if he could see out of his left eye after getting inadvertently poked.
"I wasn't thinking about my vision or anything. I was trying to play the best basketball possible," said Bosh, whose team leads Dallas 2-1 after Bosh made the winning jumper late in Sunday's 88-86 win. Game 4 is tonight.
Before the Heat practiced Monday, Bosh said his eye "feels a lot better" though it appeared his left eye wasn't open as wide as the right one. "We just have to stay on top of it and make sure it's not an issue" tonight, he said.
Haywood still on 'one leg'
Injured Dallas backup center Brendan Haywood was taking part in a shooting game at the end of practice Monday when he told a teammate to give him a break since he was "on one leg." Haywood, who missed Game 3 of the NBA finals because of a strained right hip flexor, said he was joking with starting center Tyson Chandler. Still, Haywood is a game-time decision for Game 4.
Rim shots
• Miami won consecutive NBA finals games in Dallas, its title-clinching Game 6 victory in 2006 and Game 3 of this year's series Sunday night. But in regular-season games at Dallas, Miami has lost nine straight since 2002.
• Mavs guard Jason Kidd has 50 double-digit assist playoff games after dishing out 10 in Game 3. In 138 career postseason games, Kidd had 1,198 assists, trailing only Magic Johnson (2,346) and John Stockton (1,839).
• Through three finals games, broadcasts on ABC are being seen by an average of 15.31 million viewers - up 15 percent over the last Miami-Dallas series in 2006 and slightly over last year's Celtics-Lakers series.
Today
• What: Game 4
• Who: Heat at Mavericks
• When: 6 p.m.
• TV: Ch 9
"He epitomized leadership as a player in this league for 17 seasons and we think that characteristic ... will translate very well ... with our young team," owner Joe Lacob said in a statement.
Jackson played 17 years as a point guard in the NBA, for New York, the Clippers, Indiana, Denver, Toronto, Utah and Houston. Named the top rookie in 1988, he made the playoffs 14 times and ranks third on the NBA's all-time assists list. But he has never coached, spending the past few seasons as the lead analyst for ESPN and ABC for their NBA coverage. He won't start his new job until after he's finished calling the NBA finals.
Golden State has made the playoffs just once since 1994.
"I'm looking forward to the challenge of building the Warriors into a perennial contender," Jackson said.
Bosh ready for Game 4
DALLAS - Miami's Chris Bosh isn't sure if he could see out of his left eye after getting inadvertently poked.
"I wasn't thinking about my vision or anything. I was trying to play the best basketball possible," said Bosh, whose team leads Dallas 2-1 after Bosh made the winning jumper late in Sunday's 88-86 win. Game 4 is tonight.
Before the Heat practiced Monday, Bosh said his eye "feels a lot better" though it appeared his left eye wasn't open as wide as the right one. "We just have to stay on top of it and make sure it's not an issue" tonight, he said.
Haywood still on 'one leg'
Injured Dallas backup center Brendan Haywood was taking part in a shooting game at the end of practice Monday when he told a teammate to give him a break since he was "on one leg." Haywood, who missed Game 3 of the NBA finals because of a strained right hip flexor, said he was joking with starting center Tyson Chandler. Still, Haywood is a game-time decision for Game 4.
Rim shots
• Miami won consecutive NBA finals games in Dallas, its title-clinching Game 6 victory in 2006 and Game 3 of this year's series Sunday night. But in regular-season games at Dallas, Miami has lost nine straight since 2002.
• Mavs guard Jason Kidd has 50 double-digit assist playoff games after dishing out 10 in Game 3. In 138 career postseason games, Kidd had 1,198 assists, trailing only Magic Johnson (2,346) and John Stockton (1,839).
• Through three finals games, broadcasts on ABC are being seen by an average of 15.31 million viewers - up 15 percent over the last Miami-Dallas series in 2006 and slightly over last year's Celtics-Lakers series.
Today
• What: Game 4
• Who: Heat at Mavericks
• When: 6 p.m.
• TV: Ch 9
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