Woody getting coach of the year talk

[NineOhTheRino]

I guess the rest of the country thinks Woody is a pretty good coach.

[Diesel]

I guess the rest of the country thinks Woody is a pretty good coach.

Actually, my candidates are:

Phil Jackson, Doc Rivers, D'Antoni, & Sloan.

Woody is like 10th on the big board.

[NineOhTheRino]

Actually, my candidates are:

Phil Jackson, Doc Rivers, D'Antoni, & Sloan.

Woody is like 10th on the big board.

D'Antoni??? How much game planing goes into telling guys to run and shoot? He's a newer version of Don Nelson. He'll get you to the playoffs but you'll NEVER EVER EVER win it all.

and I'm not saying that Woody is better.

Edited December 17, 2008 by NineOhTheRino

[DrReality]

Who is performing at the half?????

LUDACRIS . . . . . this talk of coach of the year.

[thefloydian]

That's hilarious.

[gsuteke]

Actually, my candidates are:

Phil Jackson, Doc Rivers, D'Antoni, & Sloan.

Woody is like 10th on the big board.

Jackson and Rivers are off to record challenging starts.

D'Antoni has guided a dumpster fire for a team to a not great, but respectable record thus far. Respectable and the Knicks in the same sentence? You've gotta start somewhere and D'Antoni deserves some credit for that.

Sloan is a Rock Solid coach and the Jazz have dealt with injury problems all season long to this point.

Mike biggest issue with Woodson (outside of his sometimes inexplicable substitution patters -Acie being the latest example) is the Hawks just don't have any damn offensive strategy it seems.

We make jokes about Iso-Joe but there comes a point in time where it's just not funny anymore.

Edited December 17, 2008 by gsuteke

[Admin]

Mike biggest issue with Woodson (outside of his sometimes inexplicable substitution patters -Acie being the latest example) is the Hawks just don't have any damn offensive strategy it seems.

We make jokes about Iso-Joe but there comes a point in time where it's just not funny anymore.

The way I see it there are 3 types of coaches in the NBA.

1. Coaches that can coach both offense and defense well. There are very few of these guys in the league.

2. Coaches that are mediocre offensively and defensively. They don't excel in coaching either side of the ball but they can coach each side good enough to keep a job.

3. Coaches that either coach defense really well or offense really well and there are maybe 10 of these guys (just guestimating). Generally speaking when they are good at one they are weak at the other.

Of course Woody falls into the latter category in that he really has no clue offensively but he's a hell of a defensive coach. Contrast that with a guy like D'Antoni who is a brilliant offensive coach but has no clue defensively and it's really a pick your poison type of situation. Personally I'd rather have a coach who is better defensively but I'm sure some of you feel differently.

[gsuteke]

Well if that be the case my hope is Woodson is wise enough to realize that and bring on an Offensive Guru to his staff to help him out.

[NineOhTheRino]

Well if that be the case my hope is Woodson is wise enough to realize that and bring on an Offensive Guru to his staff to help him out.

You really think Woody would do that? We all know how these things play out. The second the teams hit a rough patch the fans would be clamoring to get the offensive guy in Woody's spot. Heck I'm already hearing underground talk of Mark Price.

Edited December 17, 2008 by NineOhTheRino

[crimedog]

D'Antoni??? How much game planing goes into telling guys to run and shoot? He's a newer version of Don Nelson. He'll get you to the playoffs but you'll NEVER EVER EVER win it all.

and I'm not saying that Woody is better.

The fast breaks in PHX were all scripted. What each player was supposed to do when an opposing shot went up is coached. Other teams (the Raps once they got Ford, for example) tried to do it and it didn't work. It takes dedication to the system and a high bball IQ from players.

Dol, I understand what you are saying in terms of "who's good at what" but there are degrees. D'Antoni is an offensive genius and his ability to coach a defensive squad are a bit under-rated considering the Suns were always b/w 14-17 in defensive efficiency while he was there as opposed 24 this season whereas Woody is probably a "solid defensive coach" (nowhere near as good at his "specialty" as a guy like D'Antoni) - consider that this would be the first Woody team that was above a D'Antoni team in defensive efficiency.

[Diesel]

D'Antoni??? How much game planing goes into telling guys to run and shoot? He's a newer version of Don Nelson. He'll get you to the playoffs but you'll NEVER EVER EVER win it all.

and I'm not saying that Woody is better.

Well, D'Antoni has done a very good job with a very dysfunctional bunch. Did anybody think the Knicks would be here now?

I'm just looking from a perspective of what they have vs. what they are doing... he's done very well.

Everybody just figured that the Knicks are getting ready for Bron-Bosh stakes.. but look... they have made QRich, Duhon, Nate Robinson, and DLee into studly players and AL Harrington is looking like the man.

I watched them play LAL last night and what they do is fun to watch. They just run. As a fan of the old school LMU and UNLV teams... Arkansas too... I must say that I haven't seen a team do what this NY team does. When the Lakers scored last night, there was no reaction to it, they just went down and tried to score. Eventually, the Lakers started missing but the pace for NY didn't change. NY almost won last night. However, Kobe...

I wouldn't be surprised if NY makes the playoffs.

The other thing is that there is no bicker on this NY team. Everybody seemed happy. They don't argue with calls, they just play. It's almost refreshing.

When I watch us, I hate it when Smoove starts his crying at the refs... that's 1 play... let Woody do the crying.

[thefloydian]

I love seeing Nate Robinson in the D'Antoni offesne. I hope he keeps him around for the Bron years.

[Diesel]

The way I see it there are 3 types of coaches in the NBA.

1. Coaches that can coach both offense and defense well. There are very few of these guys in the league.

2. Coaches that are mediocre offensively and defensively. They don't excel in coaching either side of the ball but they can coach each side good enough to keep a job.

3. Coaches that either coach defense really well or offense really well and there are maybe 10 of these guys (just guestimating). Generally speaking when they are good at one they are weak at the other.

Of course Woody falls into the latter category in that he really has no clue offensively but he's a hell of a defensive coach. Contrast that with a guy like D'Antoni who is a brilliant offensive coach but has no clue defensively and it's really a pick your poison type of situation. Personally I'd rather have a coach who is better defensively but I'm sure some of you feel differently.

I kinda look at it from a more general perspective...

1. Coaches who are organized.

2. Coaches who are not organized.

I think that's what makes the difference aside from offensive and defensive.

Quickly, can anybody tell me what defense Sloan subscribes to?

How about what offense Larry Brown uses?

We get caught up into the thought of pick and roll, triangle, and pick and fence.. but the truth is offense and defensive game planning is secondary to organization. If a coach cannot make in game substitutions, know his personnel, or have his team atuned to make adjustments, he's not so good.

Woody proved that he can make adjustments in a playoffs series... he's just not a great in game adjuster.

Sloan and Poppovich has a discipline to their teams. It doesn't matter who is playing all players know their role. I think this is the most important thing. That is why it seems like Sloan can win with anybody. He takes the talent and tells it what to do. He doesn't need to have the most talented... just the guy with the skillset to do what he needs done. The reason why Sloan is on my list is because without Deron and Boozer, the Jazz are still playing winning basketball.

How many teams can lose their best 2 players and still win??

If you took Yao and Tmac from Houston, could they be a playoff team?

If you took Howard and Lewis from Orlando would they be a playoff team?

If you took Kobe and Pau from LAL would they be a playoff team?

Well, Utah has missed Deron and Boozer for about 10 games and they are still a playoff team!!

[thefloydian]

I kinda look at it from a more general perspective...

1. Coaches who are organized.

2. Coaches who are not organized.

I think that's what makes the difference aside from offensive and defensive.

Quickly, can anybody tell me what defense Sloan subscribes to?

How about what offense Larry Brown uses?

We get caught up into the thought of pick and roll, triangle, and pick and fence.. but the truth is offense and defensive game planning is secondary to organization. If a coach cannot make in game substitutions, know his personnel, or have his team atuned to make adjustments, he's not so good.

Woody proved that he can make adjustments in a playoffs series... he's just not a great in game adjuster.

Sloan and Poppovich has a discipline to their teams. It doesn't matter who is playing all players know their role. I think this is the most important thing. That is why it seems like Sloan can win with anybody. He takes the talent and tells it what to do. He doesn't need to have the most talented... just the guy with the skillset to do what he needs done. The reason why Sloan is on my list is because without Deron and Boozer, the Jazz are still playing winning basketball.

How many teams can lose their best 2 players and still win??

If you took Yao and Tmac from Houston, could they be a playoff team?

If you took Howard and Lewis from Orlando would they be a playoff team?

If you took Kobe and Pau from LAL would they be a playoff team?

Well, Utah has missed Deron and Boozer for about 10 games and they are still a playoff team!!

Yeah, but are you saying Milsap is only putting up those numbers because of Sloan's coaching? Maybe he's just a beast. And the Jazz are pretty deep besides him.

Edited December 17, 2008 by thefloydian

[macdaddy]

Yeah, but are you saying Milsap is only putting up those numbers because of Sloan's coaching? Maybe he's just a beast. And the Jazz are pretty deep besides him.

I'm not an expert on the Jazz but I think they seem deep because Sloan does define their roles and puts them in positions to excel. A lot of those guys would probably never see the floor for the Hawks or other teams. Just like players under D'antoni look like offensive beasts but send them somewhere else and suddenly their scoring numbers look weak.

[Traceman]

I guess the rest of the country thinks Woody is a pretty good coach.

He IS a "pretty good coach." COY material? Not yet but if we win 50 he HAS to be in the conversation. Virtually all of the so-called experts wrote us off after Chillz went to Greece but we have actually performed better than everyone expected us to perform even if Chillz had returned.

[Guest]

I say Sloan. Every damn year he does a great job of coaching but it goes unnoticed. Is this year his best ever at coaching? Probably not, but he damn well deserves the award because he has been such a selfless coach and he deserves a selfish award. Look at the list of coach of the year winners, its so lame. Give it to a deserving man who goes about his business and gets the job done year in year out.

[crimedog]

He IS a "pretty good coach." COY material? Not yet but if we win 50 he HAS to be in the conversation. Virtually all of the so-called experts wrote us off after Chillz went to Greece but we have actually performed better than everyone expected us to perform even if Chillz had returned.

Could be because "the so-called experts" are jackasses as many around these parts didn't think losing Chil would hurt that much, if at all in some cases.

[Traceman]

Could be because "the so-called experts" are jackasses as many around these parts didn't think losing Chil would hurt that much, if at all in some cases.

That is definitely true!

[Lascar78]

I guess the rest of the country thinks Woody is a pretty good coach.

Most of these guys just look at where teams are in the standings compared to where they thought they'd be and assume that those coaches are great. Even if they haven't seen that team play a single game.

If not, one of Phil Jackson, Popovich, or Sloan would win coach of the year every year.