Tweet
TRex wrote:
View Post
Hoiberg gets an obvious advantage of being a former NBA player that I remember as a player. He was a Korver-lite in the pre-3 point era of the NBA. Iowa State is a pretty damn fun team to watch and have been for the last couple of years. They shoot a lot of 3s and attack the hoop. They are a fast paced team who will push the ball hard, but will pull up and run a set when the defence gets back. This shows me that they are an intelligently run offence. When you watch the ball movement, the use of the pick n roll, etc, you can see what tenets are preached; the crispness of certain actions are clear indicators of what the coach is most vocal about.
Attention to detail without micromanaging is, to me, the most important skill for a NBA coach. When you see that a team consistently finds their box-out assignment vs a team that has players rely solely on athleticism for rebounding; that tells you something. If the coach is calling out every decision from the bench for the offence, that is something that I see as a fault for the NBA, where players expect a certain amount of 'hands off' coaching.
Another thing to look for is teams that make successful half-time and in-game adjustments. If you are getting killed by a specific match-up, what adjustments are made? College often has players who are simply not the same level of athlete (both in size and athleticism) guarding each other; so a coach that can make a scheme or designed change impact the game is obviously a good basketball mind, and one worth paying closer attention to. It's not that hard to remember someone's name or team is it? If you can't remember the coaches name, you'll usually remember the team name; quick google search will confirm.
Yes, reading other people's opinions is certainly part of the process, but largely as a validation for the things that I am already seeing. Seeing Hoiberg's name linked to other NBA teams certainly strengthens my belief in him, but to say that someone only reads ESPN and then jumps on a name is a pretty cynical approach.
Point of threads like this is that because there are so many NCAA team's, people will have found their own "niche" team to cheer for. When we have different exposure, threads like this allow us to share our thoughts with people who, perhaps, have not seen that team/coach.
Same as the draft threads with prospects. Last year, first page I posted about Adreian Payne of Michigan State. As a Spartans fan, I catch a fair number of their games. He was a senior who hadn't yet reached the upper-echelon of NCAA stars and was far from a house-hold name. mcHappy, who started the thread, hadn't heard of him - but he was someone I had watched a lot. My comment allowed mcHappy to learn about someone he may not have heard about otherwise (of course, Payne ended up as the 15th pick - so obviously mcHappy would have heard of him eventually). The exact same concept applies here. I make observations, I share and read other people's observations.
Now, NBA assistants is obviously a different beast. Without being privy to the team, you can't really determine what impacts each assistant has. But there are certainly trends you can look for. Teams that are successful aren't necessarily there by accident. Houston assistant Bickerstaff was one name I put out in the OP. I recognized his name from his dad and time with the Charlotte Bobcats. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but then when you see a quote "given responsibility for the defence" in Houston and then that Houston is a very good defensive team then you are getting somewhere.
I don't think anyone in this thread has really said, this assistant is the guy we should hire. We have thrown out names for consideration. I don't think there is anyone who would hire a current NBA assistant without interviewing him first, we are simply brain-storming.
After you read this post, I can almost guarantee that the next Rockets game you watch, you'll be paying closer attention to their defence and their assistants on the bench. Isn't that really the point?
So I don't know if that proved you wrong or not; but I do hope it at least opened your mind to accept that assessing coaching candidates is every bit as valid a topic as discussing NBA prospects, or Casey, or Derozan. We are all outsiders looking in; on every topic. Saying that someone has no idea what they are talking about isn't reality. We all watch, we all draw on our own experiences, we can all share opinions. Sometimes our opinions are right, sometimes they are wrong; it's all part of the fun that is the RR.
Comment