I came across this article while i was looking for a Daryl Morey quote from last year i believe where he said something along the lines that coaches don't actually have a major affect in wins & losses. I wanna say he had some sort of formula for this? Does anyone remember or have that quote? Not sure if this has been posted here before and even though it's a year old it's a good article and definitely relevant with this boards current mood. http://www.clipsnation.com/2013/8/23/4651512/do-coaches-matter-doc-rivers-clippers-expected-wins-pythagorean-expectation#comments
ask michael jordan and kobe bryant how it was like before phil jackson. ask hakeem before he had rudy t. ask shaq if he would have rings without phil jackson or pat riley coaching him. karl malone and john stockton, probably one of the greatest duos of all time, were stuck with the same coach for years and ended their careers with zero championships. a case can be made about coaching and players but at the college level where players changing every year doesn't seem to matter for the kryzewskis, dean smiths, rick pitinos, and john caliparis... they just somehow make it deep in march madness. yea.. coaching doesn't matter.
Going far back in the way back machine with your examples. Yeah, you are spot on, but too many crap coaches are winning these days. Talent is prevailing over great coaching. I witnessed an NBA Finals with Scott Brooks vs. Erik Spoelstra. I've witnessed Spoelstra beat Gregg Popovich in the NBA FINALS. Great coaching helps a good deal, but I'm so "ehh" on it these days. Just when I start to think coaching wins, the Heat win 2 titles with a dude who runs little to nothing on O.
Coaching matters BIG TIME in the playoffs. To say otherwise is stupidity. Game plan and preparation Game by game adjustments On the fly adjustments during each game Player time management with a short 8 man rotation Working the refs X & Os Working the players psychologically Team discipline Team morale and stability A coach is responsible for all of the above and more.
Have you actually considered Spoelstra is a solid coach? He is underrated to be honest. He's definitely better than Scott Brooks, that's for sure.
Dude, Spoelstra is a good coach Look at the Heat's blitz defense, which was unstoppable for 2 years and masked how small they were. On top of that managing the egos of 3 superstars while other coaches get run of town by one (SVG, D'Antoni) or let their star do whatever he wants (McHale)
#1 is Steve Clifford (#4 candidate for CoTY in his first year, worked under both JVG,SVG) Pop near the top at #2 (CoTY) ...and we're at the bottom
