May 31, 2003, 10:38PM Great players, not coaches, win ballgames By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle All right. We'll make it easy for all the owners with sticker shock and the general managers with cauliflower ears from pressing phones too hard into the side of their heads. In the season of the coach scramble, want to know who is the best coach? Easy. Who's got Michael? Who's got Hakeem? Who's got Shaq? Who's got Tim? Did you guys forget? Yes, coaches can help. They work hard to match each other. But players win. At most, when picking from proven veteran coaches, you can choose who is right for your team. You can decide whose style fits your needs. But once they are good enough to do whatever they do, the players decide who wins. Larry Brown is the belle of the ball, the coaching "genius" on every list. He has won two fewer championships than Rudy Tomjanovich. Rick Carlisle was fired in Detroit so the Pistons could romance Brown. But Carlisle had a better record with less talent than Brown had with Philly. In his second season with Detroit, Carlisle's team reached the Eastern Conference finals by eliminating the team Brown had built for six years. This is not to say that Brown is a fraud. Brown's reputation is deserved. The guy teaches basketball graduate school. He is nothing short of great at it. But no one has a monopoly on "genius." The coaches -- at least those whose jobs do not interest Brown -- have to be falling over themselves laughing. This season's mad coaching carousel will push the pay scale for veteran coaches from $5 million to $8 million per season. These guys are among the best in the world at what they do. But the success of their jobs is largely determined by luck in the annual lottery. When Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was named the coach of the year this season, he accepted by saying, "A few years ago we won the No. 1 pick in the lottery. If we hadn't gotten (Tim) Duncan, who thinks Popovich would be standing here?" Only Tom James, the Spurs' pragmatic director of media services, raised his hand. Even Phil Jackson, who is not known for battling self-esteem problems, has often said he took over the Lakers when Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were ready for him. But the notion of finding a savior that cannot jump is only slightly less inaccurate as thinking that a coaching hire, even with the buzz this one has generated, sells tickets or fills suites. Perhaps it should. In some cases, it would. In Houston, buzz creates interest, but winning sells tickets. This is roughly as revealing as reporting that the ball is round. But while Carroll Dawson and Les Alexander have not been moved to have the flashiest news conference possible, there has been a notion bandied about that they need to make a splash. Forget it. Every coach looks good at his news conference. If buzz translated to ticket sales, the Rockets would have waiting lists for tickets. A better product and an aggressive marketing campaign improved ticket sales by 17 percent. But the Rockets had fallen so far, there is no way they could have climbed out of that hole in this economy even if they added a 7-foot-5 Chinese center. Alexander loves big names. But that is the basketball fanatic in him. He thinks, to borrow the Rockets' favorite word, big. But by now, he has learned that he can increase attendance only by increasing the number on the left side of the standings. To that end, forget flash and pick the guy who fits your needs. If you'd rather think they are all geniuses and pay your coach that way, fine. But while coaches with 50-win seasons get fired and owners rush out to buy the next big name the way players collect Mercedes, remember that after you pick your favorite, it will be the guys who actually play that will win or lose. Incredibly, a bunch of NBA owners seem to have forgotten this . http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/1932836
Yeah, but if your coach can't control players, develop them, or have a system which utilizes their talents it's pretty hard to win as many games as the team should win.
One of Feigen's best articles IMO. Right on the money. Brining in a Brown or a Jackson or a Riley does not automatically make this team a contender no more than a Silas, Dunleavy or Van Gundy would. Its about finding the right combination of coach and player. I hope we all remember that before bashing our management if Brown or any other given candidate is not hired by us. Good work John!
That is an excellent article that I totally agree with... There is such a thing as a bad coach, but I think most coaches have to be pretty good to get into the NBA to begin with. In the end, the team that wins is the team with the star that's playing the best basketball. The Spurs win when Tim Duncan is the best man on the court. We won when Hakeem was the best man on the court. All we need is a coach that won't screw up. I'm beginning to care less and less about who we sign. All of the candidates are smart enough to know that Yao Ming is our franchise player and Steve Francis is an excellent #2 option in the grand scheme of things. We should simply get the guy that truly wants to win in Houston.
This pretty much sounds like an article telling people to forget about Brown. Whether or not great players make great teams or great coaches make great teams is not the issue. A few days ago, the papers were all saying how Brown would come in and turn the Rockets into some intelligent basketball team. Now that Brown isn't likely to come here, the papers just turn it around and say that its the players who really matter. It doesn't matter anyways. Its all over. For all of the Rudy haters out there, if there was a choice between Dunleavy and Rudy, I bet many of the Rudy haters would turn into Rudy lovers real fast, including this one.
I'm not a Rudy hater but i'm not a Rudy backer...if i had to pick i'd pick Dunleavy because, lets get real and face reality, it was time for a change...for the worse or for the better...the only way of finding out is to act upon it....dreamcasting and predicting outcomes won't get us anywhere. On the article...i agree that great players will have more importance than say a great coach. but in order for your great players to become great...they need at least a good teacher to wield them into the right direction.
I completely agree. I think that is definitely the case with the Rockets. Our good players won't become great without the right kind of help, which I don't think they were getting under Rudy T.
Yeah but bad coaching can prevent you from winning them too. Look at how Popovich failed to adjust his gameplan in the fourth quarter of game five and give Dallas a breath of hope to take the series to seven games, false though it was.
for real.....looks to me like this is FAGan's way of throwing in the towel as far as larry brown goes. No crap its the players that win the games buddy, but we still want the best coach we can get!
Freak..I read this on your recommendation, and it's an interesting article, but I disagree with it's main thrust. Doug Collins had Michael too...Mike Dunleavy had Kobe and Shaq...Both organizations changed direction with the right coaching change. Don Chaney had Hakeem too. But what changed things for us? A coach with a vision of how to work things, even if it didn't work later, it was the important move at the time. Great coaches don't win without great players, I'll grant you. But if you've got a choice, and we seemed to have had one, why on earth would you not go for the brass ring?
Collins didn't have Jordan in his prime... Dunleavy never coached Kobe/Shaq... The NBA is won by the most dominant player in the playoffs. All the coach has to do is try to get the ball in that player's hands as often as possible.
I'll give you your second point..I guess it's too late at night...but I disagree with points 1 and 3. What made Jordan's prime just that? A coaching change, as he himself has attested. We won it after Hakeem became the focus of the offense in a way that best suited our team...He didn't rise to that level on his own. Coaches dictate systems, and systems either do or don't work for the players used. look at Philly pre and post acquiring Brown, and tell me that it's all about the players. What was the big deifference between the Lakers the year before Jackson got there and the year after? Aside from the ring, I mean. A reductionist view tries to categorize things in isolation when they aren't. It takes a combination of great playing and coaching, and they are inter-dependant. Why do you suppose the Pistons are offering Brown 8 million? Do they know less than Feigan?
I hear you Feign. The NBA coaches are interchangeable. Rudy should coach this current Spurs team and win another trophy because as long as he puts the ball in Timmy's hands he's set to kiss the trophy. Doesn't matter if Tony Parker dribbles the air out of the ball in his system. Nice logic Feign. Let's get John Lucas 'cuz he is probably cheaper than the over priced non-difference makers like Larry Brown.
John Lucas? Forget him. How about Lon Kruger or Kurt Rambis. Heck, Clyde Drexler. Why not. You know who would be a great head coach? Jack Haley. he motivated Dennis Rodman. Yeah, that's the ticket. Jack Haley.
Jordan became a winner because he finally learned to trust his teammates. Hakeem became a winner because he finally learned to trust his teammates. It took the right combination of Dominant Superstar and Decent Roleplayers for them to win it all. I do think that there are good coaches out there that might get more respect from players than other coaches. In the end, it takes the player to realize that they can't win anything without their teammates in order for them to finally rise to the top. Brown won with the Sixers because of his players. They acquired Mutombo and Snow and let Iverson jack up as many shots as he wanted to, and it worked. The Sixers became a solid team when Ratliff showed up, and they became even better when they traded for Mutombo. Spot almost any coach in the league that team, and I imagine they'd go pretty far in the playoffs as well. From a report posted on this bbs, Carlisle had some personal off-court issues that turned off his players. They're offering Brown $8M because he's percieved as being the best coach available. I'd rather have a coach that clearly wants to be with us because I know I can trust that he will pour his heart and soul into this team, much like his predecessor. If Brown wants to be with us, he'll sign with us for whatever we offer him. If he's all about the $8M, then he can go to Detroit. In my opinion, all of the coaches that are being discussed are respectable guys. I think the Rockets will make it to the playoffs with any of these coaches. The only "positive" you could take from Rudy going away is that it might be a wake up call for our superstars. I imagine that every coach up for the job plans on developing the team around Yao with Steve playing the sidekick. It's all about the players. All you need is a dominant player and a respectable supporting cast, and you'll go far. These coaches will only go as far as Yao can take them...
Jackson and Riley havnt coached any team that needed to be taught and developed they have only handled Teams of Stars!! They helped move them from V. Good to Great. Riley hasnt won anything since LA. We are talking about a Coach for our team that can teach fundamentals, Attitude, fortitude, determination, Skills, Court play and vision. Coaches like Don Chaney and Rudy T were able to do that. The Coach we get is very important to how we perform. We just got through last season with a coach looking like he was past his prime. We had very good young players that produced a human cry of foul. Coaching, plays a very significant role in how the players perform. Its a Coach that will transform a melee of selfishness into a well organised Team and bring them to a Championship level. This is the type of Coach we need.
Band Geek Mobster:- You just made a major statement! I like what you said. I agree with you that the Coach must have heart and desire over Money. The Coach next season MUST WANT TO BE HERE! If Larry Brown treats us badly we will know that he doesnt have desire or heart, hes only after the money! WE SHOULD LET HIM KNOW EXACTLY HOW WE FEEL! We should know the result early in the week
Yetti, I disagree with you here. You are saying you don't like coaches who come in and turn a team of stars from a good team to a great team. That is exactly what this team needs. We are a team of stars (Yao and Francis) that were good (43-39) and who have the potential to be great. You say they can't teach. Well then how do Jackson and Riley teams go from being good to great? By being tought how to win. Jackson came in and taught Kobe and Shaq how to play together, as a unit, for the good of the team instead of individuals. He came in and installed an offense that has made them successful (actually, lots of credit to Tex Winter here). Jackson has transformed "a melee of selfishness into a well organised Team and bring them to a Championship level". Riley came in and taught Ewing and the Knicks the concept of team defense. Riley and Jackson are all about fundamentals (ever heard of how Riley runs his practices?), attitude and fortitude. Court vision is not something that can really be taught IMO. You either have it or you don't (goes hand and hand with Bball IQ).
