jimmie wrote:
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Yes, talent wins in he NBA, but once you get past the first round it becomes difficult to determine which team is more talented. Was San Antonio more talented last year than OKC? Was OKC last year more talented than Miami? At that point it's about match ups and style of play.
It's about imposing your game on the opponent and execution to me that's the role of the coach, not to motivate that players, but make sure that their using that motivation in the right way.
A tangible example of this is Carlisle's use of Terry during the Mavs championship run. I'm not sure there was a player MORE motivated to win the Championship that year, I mean the guy tatooed the trophy on his body during the regular season. Yet, Terry was always an energy guy who had problems make good decision.
I don't have a source and this is a Carlisle anecdote that I'm peraphrasing but here goes. Carlisle has said that in the playoffs, when Terry was taking bad shoots (well, taking bad shoots that weren't going in) that he (Carlisle) would sub him out, but wouldn't try to tell him to take better shots, or do anything different, he'd just say something like, "I'm going to put you back in just let me know when you're ready."
Two or three possessions later Terry would come up to Carlisle and say "I'm ready". Carlisle immediately subs him in and Terry scores 9 straight points or some other terry-esque feat. What did Carlisle actually do? There's no motivation speech, no X's or O's, no strategy or advice, didn't go to a different player, bench him because "he just wasn't hot tonight" no, he just used a technique that he found worked for Terry that made sure his motivation was used in the right way.
Obviously, it takes different methods for different players, sometimes different methods for the same players on different days, BUT keeping players mentally focused is biggest and most important part of what a coach does, and although I don't think it's motivation, a lot of times it seems like motivation.
This is something that Phil Jackson is routinely credited with, and again, I think we can all agree that Kobe Bryant, is a pretty motivated guy. Well what would Jackson due to keep bryant focused? A number of things, but one was to quip references to MJ, something like, "Do you think Jordan only took 1000 jump shots a day?" and of course, Kobe would go out and shoot 2000 jump shots, because he wants to be better than Jordan. I don't know how many jump shots Jordan took, and he may not of taking any, but it was a techique that Jackson know would light a fire under kobe's ass.
Yes, talent wins in the NBA to a point after which it comes down to which team is mentally tougher, and this is where the coach, more than any other person in the organisation, makes a difference.
I would agree, Casey hasn't had the team focused the way they need to be, and motivation is a component of that, but I'm not ready to call for him to be fired yet, I think he gets next season as well, and you re-evaluate afterwards. He's still got some games left to get these guys back on track even though playoffs are over with (will at least according to me and most of the other posters on here).
Unfortunately, for those of us who want see more Ross & JV I came across this tidbit on Doug Smith's blogl (which I went to to read about his blurb about bargnani)
Regardless of what you or I think, these guys are not going to give up the ghost of a playoff race yet.
Not sure when the inevitable hits home and the race is over — six back in 10th with just 24 to go seems an impossible task — but just listening to them in the locker room after the Cleveland game hammers home their continued confidence.
They were disappointed, frustrated and ticked off, of course, but no one was throwing in the towel; not Dwane Casey, not the three of four players I talked to.
And you may say it’s silly to think that way but what you think, or I think, doesn’t really matter. Until it’s over, it’s not over.
So if you’re looking for 30 minutes a night for Terrence Ross or 40 minutes a night for Jonas Valanciunas or 15 minutes a night for Quincy Acy, you’re not going to get it yet.
Please don’t whine, it’s not your decision and until you get Dwane’s job, there’s nothing you can do about it.
Not sure when the inevitable hits home and the race is over — six back in 10th with just 24 to go seems an impossible task — but just listening to them in the locker room after the Cleveland game hammers home their continued confidence.
They were disappointed, frustrated and ticked off, of course, but no one was throwing in the towel; not Dwane Casey, not the three of four players I talked to.
And you may say it’s silly to think that way but what you think, or I think, doesn’t really matter. Until it’s over, it’s not over.
So if you’re looking for 30 minutes a night for Terrence Ross or 40 minutes a night for Jonas Valanciunas or 15 minutes a night for Quincy Acy, you’re not going to get it yet.
Please don’t whine, it’s not your decision and until you get Dwane’s job, there’s nothing you can do about it.
#anderson2thabench
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