I don't think MDA is the right coach to bring in when you are serious about competing for a title. But he's likely not going anywhere until after the season so he'll get another chance to show he's that guy. Westbrook isn't the best fit but he's talented. Harden is talented but somewhat stubborn. MDA's work is cut out for him. If he's as good a coach as he thinks he is, then we should have a successful season and playoff run. If MDA is the type of coach I think he is then we'll be a decent team but flame out early. MDA is most likely getting his final shot to prove he's the guy.
I dont think he's the right guy... but at this point id give him this last year to prove otherwise... I think MDA is the Marty Schottenheimer of the NBA...
and before folks feel the need to white knight for MDA... Rudy T wasnt the best guy to coach a hard headed Stevie Franchise either... nor do i think Rudy would be ideal in this scenario either... jus sayin...
Every point guard wants to play for MDA, for good reason. He makes their numbers better and gives them freedom to play fast. Guess what position Russell Westbrook plays?
MDA will get his chance to show he's a championship level coach. It's championship or bust. We'll see what kind of coach he really is.
I hate polls that are a different question than the thread title. Anyway, I voted No with the implication that "No, MDA is not the coach for our superstar duo, but we're stuck with him, soooo, you'll have to make it happen yourselves, James and Russ."
I'm not disagreeing with that at all... MDA is great at pumping up guys offensive numbers... bc he's gonna put the personnel on the floor to work those offensive efficiencies - defense and rebounding be damned... Personally, I think MDA gives too much freedom... GG should not have the green light to chuck a 3 whenever the ball finds its way to his hands...
mda unleashed harden's true potential help gaining him an mvp. he also had cp0 in the right place to get us 1 game away from the finals. i think he can unlock another level of russ for offense. at this point theres no reason to not be optimistic. we got 2 mvp's on the same team and one of the best offensive coach minds in the nba. i think we'll be alright.
Likely because of the analytical buy-in. Three pointers are a majority of time better than twos, all else held constant. Except, as we saw in the last two playoffs, when all else varies negatively, being stubborn about one play (and subsequently kick-out catch-and-shoot threes) failed to yield. Yet we still stuck to it. We suffered from lack of offensive diversity, but we know that MDA has been successful implementing plays that utilized off-ball movement and ball-movement in his time with the Suns. His play-calling with the Suns =/= his with us. He evolved to draw plays up that emphasize threes or layups. So his old school style hasn't really been tested in any of our regular seasons. If you can find evidence otherwise, hook it up, and I'll take a look. I think they stuck to the iso based on the idea of reversion to the mean. Except in a playoff/elimination circumstance, there may not be enough opportunity (think time) to benefit from that reversion. It made us super one-dimensional and predictable, which is like a gift to the defenders. Edit: I definitely stand by my vote that MDA can't lead us though. Even if we allotted more plays to his old style, I don't think he can adjust in-game very well based on his run-ins with dynasties to date.
