Do or Die Time for Montgomery?

Discussion in 'Golden State Warriors' started by Shapecity, Aug 4, 2005.

  1. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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    Last season the Warriors made a run during the second half after acquiring Baron Davis. Prior to his acquisition the Warriors were being criticized for overpaying free agents Derek Fisher and Adonal Foyle. Whispers from fans and the media were losing faith in Chris Mullin as the GM. However, the Warriors fortunes changed after Baron Davis stepped in and gave the team the All-Star presence it was lacking.

    This year the Warriors are playing with something they have not had for awhile ... expectations. The pressure is on the Warriors to build on their second half success and make it back to the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. I'm not sure if these expectations are fair because the Warriors are in arguably the toughest division in the NBA, and definitely in the better conference. Last year the 8th seed, Memphis, reached the playoffs with 45 wins, and the Warriors finished with only 34 wins. Is it fair to expect the Warriors to improve by at least 11 wins for this upcoming season?

    So if the Warriors do not make the playoffs, will this be the final year for Mike Montgomery as head coach of the Golden State Warriors?
     
  2. Kwan1031

    Kwan1031 JBB JustBBall Member

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    Mmm... At this point, I would say no even if we don't make PO. However, I won't be surprised if Monty gets fired. After the bad break up with Muss, Monty really was suppose to be Mullin's hidden Ace in the sleeve. Well, things really didn't turn out as Mullin expected, and Monty showed mix result as his rookie season in NBA. But, because of the high expection Mullin had on Monty, I still think he will get at least one more year in normal circumstance. However, the expectation is huge for next year's Warriors, and I heard some insane number of season tickets were sold for a team that didn't make PO. So, if Warriors let fans down next year, Mullin very well needs to slay a sacrifice lamb to damage the control, and generally that sacrifice is the head coach.

    So, I guess if we don't make PO, Monty will be fired depends on how angry/disappointed fans are...
     
  3. Custodianrules2

    Custodianrules2 Cohan + Rowell = Suck

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    If the Warriors don't make the playoffs, there's no hope Shape. But to answer the question based on opinion, it would be silly to fire Montgomery if the problem isn't Montgomery. But then again we've seen franchises finding a scapegoat all the time. Now if the players are not clicking with Montgomery, then it would seem like money does the talking and Monty would have to go because the dollar investment is more in the players than it is the coach. But it just doesn't make sense to replace a coach every two years when the whole reason for Mullin signing him to a 4 year deal was to develop an identity for the team. If the identity is more with how Baron runs the team by himself than how Monty coaches the franchise, obviously it makes Monty look like he's less needed. But I think he's needed considering he's a coach that Baron seems to like because he gives him his space. I think as long as there is a good relationship between players and coaches, and the coaches are doing everything possible and everything right and they still lose, it would seem like the problem isn't the coach, it's about the players or the chemistry or something.
     
  4. Warriorfansnc93

    Warriorfansnc93 JBB JustBBall Member

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    Look, the ONLY reason why the Warriors have any hope of making the playoffs is Baron Davis. We saw how horrible the Warriors were last year before the trade. And we saw how awesome they were after the trade. It is obvious. If we dont make the playoffs this year it is because Baron Davis gets injured or something. Monty did not all of the sudden flip a switch in his coaching. I personally think we should have kept Muss. Monty's record was no where near Muss' record as a coach until Baron Davis came along. Baron basically will make Monty look like a decent coach when he has not shown the ability to turn this team into a winner without Baron Davis. That being said, if they fire him before he has served at least 2.5 of the 4 year contract I will be mad because it will basically say once again there is instability in Warriorland which means no playoffs for how many seasons now? I just hope Ellie will be able to coach and make Baron and the team happy if Monty gets fired. I personally think Monty was Cohan's man, not Mullin's man. I think Mullin wanted to hire Ellie so if Monty succeeded, then good, but if not, then his true man would be able to step in...
     
  5. Run BJM

    Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

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    I doubt Monty will get extended after this season unless we make it to the 2nd round of the playoffs, but in reality that will mostly be Baron's work. Montgomery has probably cost us a few games due to his senseless lineups that he plays in the 4th quarter. Baron is the only reason we went on the run we did, Monty probably would have gotten us a #2 draft pick without B. Diddy. I wont be unhappy to see Monty fired at the all-star break, the only quality that I like about him is the way he develops our young guys into pretty promising players (though Pietrus and Dunleavy's late season surges are all Baron's work). I dont know who should be a successor to Monty, Ellie sounds alright but he also sounds like one to yell excessively and piss off our players, just like Muss. I would love to land someone proven, maybe Silas if he wants to coach Baron again.
     
  6. CohanHater

    CohanHater JBB JustBBall Member

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    I think it depends on the circumstances. If Davis goes down and the Warriors don't make it that's one thing. If Monty makes dumb moves and they don't make it, that's another. I honestly think Monty's a sloid coach. He struggled at the beginning with all the things that are required of a head coach, but ooked ok at the end of the season. I like that the kids had to earn their way onto the court. This season should be more of a challeng e for him, in that the expectations have been raised, and because there's so much talent on the team, people will rip him when their personal favorite guy is getting less minutes than another player. The only remedy for that is WINS WINS WINS.
     
  7. Warriorfansnc93

    Warriorfansnc93 JBB JustBBall Member

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    Yeah, I think Silas would be a great pick if he and Baron get along good...
     
  8. upsidedownside7

    upsidedownside7 JBB JustBBall Member

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    I personally think Elie is being groomed to be the future GSW head coach.
     
  9. Custodianrules2

    Custodianrules2 Cohan + Rowell = Suck

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    <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Warriorfansnc93:</div><div class="quote_post">Look, the ONLY reason why the Warriors have any hope of making the playoffs is Baron Davis. We saw how horrible the Warriors were last year before the trade. And we saw how awesome they were after the trade. It is obvious. If we dont make the playoffs this year it is because Baron Davis gets injured or something. Monty did not all of the sudden flip a switch in his coaching. I personally think we should have kept Muss. Monty's record was no where near Muss' record as a coach until Baron Davis came along. Baron basically will make Monty look like a decent coach when he has not shown the ability to turn this team into a winner without Baron Davis. That being said, if they fire him before he has served at least 2.5 of the 4 year contract I will be mad because it will basically say once again there is instability in Warriorland which means no playoffs for how many seasons now? I just hope Ellie will be able to coach and make Baron and the team happy if Monty gets fired. I personally think Monty was Cohan's man, not Mullin's man. I think Mullin wanted to hire Ellie so if Monty succeeded, then good, but if not, then his true man would be able to step in...</div>
    Monty also tried to do something different from Muss that the players weren't used to doing before in order to play team ball. Also any franchise player like Baron Davis will make a coach look good. The issue just appears that Montgomery doesn't have enough experience to take over a winning team in the nba. He's a rookie.

    Elie is in the same boat in terms of not having the headcoaching experience even though he's been assistant coach in the nba. Plus we don't know that Elie would be any better than Monty or that Mullin wanted Elie as head coach all along and was blocked by Cohan wanting Montgomery insead. We're talking Cohan, a guy who has never made a good directly related basketball decision in his life with coaches/players and probably knows better by now to let the Mullin or whoever general manager do his job (even if it reinforces the fact Cohan also doesn't choose good basketball managers sometimes - St. Jean/Mullin excluded).

    I mean the owner wants so bad to win so he can actually set foot inside his own arena without getting booed by fans. His own kids know we hate or dislike what he's done to the franchise for over a decade. In fact, near the end of the season when we were winning he was there on tv with courtside seats, sweater draped around his neck like a damn preppy who just got back from the yacht club. The big let down is if Monty gets fired and he is replaced by Elie and it turns out everybody ends up hating Elie.
     
  10. Custodianrules2

    Custodianrules2 Cohan + Rowell = Suck

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    I agree with CohanHater, but I'm pretty sure WF93 and upsidedownside are probably on to something regarding Elie. Wasn't Elie groomed by Greg Popovich to be a head coach? It seems like a great head coach will make others into good head coaches because of the way they lead by example. Same with Montgomery if you look at how many assistant coaches he's had in college that went on to become head coaches at some other schools. We'll see though because obviously it's not really a written rule. And you know Monty doesn't know the nba as well as Elie, so naturally he's going to defer to the other guys rather than overstep his bounds. He's forced to trust his assistants. Like said before, he's really go no nba experience, but he's got a lot of potential. He's a hall of fame college coach and he seems to work well with players without rubbing them the wrong way. You know how egos can get out of control in the nba.

    I just think the team needs to execute even without Baron on the floor. They can't rely on a point guard to bail them out so they can stand around waiting for the ball like they do on most plays. They have to elevate their game to the next step in terms of team play and have a starting 5 that can execute like they've played together for years.
     
  11. REREM

    REREM JBB JustBBall Member

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    Monty took over a team that had been non-playoffs..then lost Jamison,Arenas,Dampier,Boykins and Cardinal....and mainly just got someones castoffs in return.
    Eventually the W's draftees made progress-the journeymen got dealt,Baron and Zarko arrived. Monty had some players now-and BOOM,the "poor" warriors were winning at about the pace of the Spurs. Not bad for a first year coach.

    If the W's are healthy,yet miss the playoffs,I doubt Monty would be the scapegoat based on one season-but he'd be on thin ice the year after
     
  12. Custodianrules2

    Custodianrules2 Cohan + Rowell = Suck

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    Good point there rerem. I think a coach's 2nd or 3rd year really start to tell the whole story. A guy can't be a stud in college and then go in the nba thinking he's going to command the same authority. He's got to earn his stripes because he's the new kid. I think Monty's going to go and do the earning since his first year was all about adjustment and learning the nuances that only a first-time nba head coach could really explain. As a fan who has no idea what this guy really goes through, I don't pretend to know.
     
  13. Map1986

    Map1986 JBB JustBBall Member

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    <div class="quote_poster">Quoting upsidedownside7:</div><div class="quote_post">I personally think Elie is being groomed to be the future GSW head coach.</div>

    I agree, he will make up for monty's shortcomings that will last about 2 more seasons...
     

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