Coaches seem to fall in the Clint Eastwood categories of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Nate is in The Ugly. That's does not mean that he is not good or bad, but that it just gets tough to watch his offense sometimes. But until we find a coach that I feel is better, I am fine with an Ugly coach.
No . . . just playing (hoping the "sources" showed I was joking) But I do think that Nate attracts players and it is one of the selling point in trying to resign or bring a player in. I'm guessing here as the only players I know for sure want to play for Nate are Roy and Howard. I do wonder how much Nate factored into Camby wanting to come back, I haven't read anything to suggest that (so no, I don't have a link) . . . but wouldn't be surprised if that was a factor in his decision. Every player is different, but I prefer the no nonsense coach who likes to run a tight ship as opposed to the silly role playing skits that is allowed on a team like Clevland. But that is just me . . .I'm thinking vets like Howard and Camby appreciate that too. But again just my .02 cents.
I voted stay (for now), and here's why: I used to be a mild Nate supporter, and I've slowly but surely become a Nate detractor in the past year ... his rotations make me scratch my head, and his ability (or lack therof) to make adjustments on the fly leaves a lot to be desired, but I will say this, he got way more out of the team than I thought he could after Oden and Joel went down. Last year was such a wasted season in so many ways, and one of the casualties was being able to get a good read on just what Nate will be able to do with this team that is no longer in that "young and growing" stage. He did a great job going from "inexperienced and bad" to "slightly experienced and good," but I still don't know if he'll be able to go from here to "experienced and great." One more year and I guess we'll know ... I guess.
I voted go, mainly because I am still miffed at the lack of adjustments in the playoff series. I also dislike how slowly he seems to make changes (Blake over Miller, etc), the rotations he uses, and the lack of force feeding hot hands.
He's been an NBA coach for 10 years and done nothing but put together MAYBE 3 good regular seasons while losing 3 out of 4 playoff series.... 2 of which his team was the higher seed. Why the fuck do fans ride this guys jock? There's NO evidence he'll ever do ANYTHING in the postseason which is really all that matters. He's fucking wank. Shit basketball and get's blown out in the playoffs home AND away. Can't wait until he's fired.
The anti-Nate gang should have been lobbying for Nate as COY instead of ripping him for being considered for the award.
As the should be President of that "gang", I would like to go on record as saying I never ripped him for being considered for the award.
I voted go because I don't feel like wasting Brandon Roy's prime and what is left of his knees on a coach who insists on an offense that wears Roy down, is easily defended in the playoffs, and has a terrible time making adjustments - especially in game.
Because it's super easy to score against a set defense -- you're basically saying Jerome Bettis didn't take much of beating because he only had to rap off 3 or 4 year runs between the tackles and "bowling ball" his way to the first down marker.
Nik answered it pretty well. Brandon has to work hard to create space to drive the lane, and he gets hit and thrown down a lot by much bigger guys than him. He does a lot of cuts and is very crafty creating that room, but that is hard on the knees and very hard on the body when you get thrown down a lot. There is a reason why under Wade's jersey it basically looks like he should be playing football instead of basketball with all the padding he has on. I'm not advocating that we be a 7 seconds or less team or anything similar, not at all. I'd prefer a coach that simply didn't rely so much on Brandon creating offense with the ISO and the pick n pop.
I think the most important part of a coach is having your players respect and focus. It doesn't matter if your a genius and can make the greatest adjustments, if the players don't buy into what your asking for it won't work. I see the Blazer players respecting Nate and following what he asks of them. If they start to tune him out then it's time to go. I still remember PJ Carlesimo and Maurce Cheeks.... those guys were FAR far worse than Nate so while I get frustrated with Nate's offense and starting lineup's I just remember those dark days which makes his coaching seem much better.
Both with better records as Blazer coach than Nate. Absolutely silly point IMO. Just cause you are respected doesn't mean shit if you can't coach.
I think it is more of a humorous point to be honest - Nate claims that he wants to push the pace more each and every single year, and that he only has the team switch on picks defensively in emergencies. Well, once again we were either last or near last place in pace and once again we seemed to have emergencies the majority of the time defending the pick and roll. So either Nate is a very bad coach, or the players have tuned him out. Nate could also be the victim of having several different groups of players who simply cannot do those things despite his and their best efforts, of course, but I suppose he'd have to be as cursed as Bill Walton's feet.
