For 3 damn quarters, AGAIN. The main reason we got back into the game is because they FINALLY changed it in the 4th. Switching a guard on Dirk has NEVER EVER worked and I guarantee Stotts is going to do it AGAIN on Wednesday.
I legitimately cannot understand why we switch a guard on to Dirk so easily. He doesn't even have to set a pick, we switched when he would leisurely walk by the ball handler. Utterly ridiculous coaching.
The fact that it's a strategy is just so beyond me. We saw in the 4th Aminu is fast enough to jump out on the ball handler and then recover on Dirk. Why Stotts INSISTS on switching a guard onto Dirk is just FUCKING STUPID.
This is why I'm not comfortable with Stotts being the coach of this team. Don't get me wrong, he's a good coach. But his inability to adapt on defense is beyond mind-boggling. Defense wins championships. Not trying to outscore the other team from downtown.
We need to either fire Stotts or pay a lotta money to bring in a strong defensive coach like Thibideou.. Thibs and Stotts would be a great coaching duo, but one without the other is just meh.
Still not as bad as killing 13 seconds and shooting a fadeaway three at the end of regulation. That was by design. Not the first time Stotts has called for that either.
I saw better plays out of Time Outs from the coaches in the 3rd/4th grade league I reffed this winter.
The other team was playing good defense appropriate for the level of the game. Kind of a moronic response but I figure you knew that when you typed it.
I've hated Stotts most of this season, and this game is exactly why. And it's far from the first time. It's almost like he's trying to out-smart himself. The fact of the matter is that he has the skills of an Assistant Coach who's trying to play Head Coach. It baffles me what Olshey and Allen see in him. But one thing's for sure: he needs to either go this off-season, or he needs a change of the coaching staff around him, who can better help him out. Especially on the Defensive side of things. Because this level of stupidity is just not gonna cut it. Glad to see I'm not the only one who feels this way. Anyone here still think he deserves that "Coach of the Month/Year/Whatever" title they were rambling about giving him earlier this month? I had a good laugh over that.
The play is give the ball to Dame and have him shoot at the buzzer. I blame Dame for taking a terrible shot. It was tied so there's no reason to go for a 28 foot fade away 3. He can get to the mid range all day and get the same step back from there.
It does seem like Stotts has rigid defensive philosophys he has trouble deviating from. Giving up the midrange jumper to elite midrange shooters is another one. Chris Paul has owned us with that. Not doubling poor passing post players who are scoring at will on us. It's something I'll keep an eye on. I'm not so mad with this one game; I just want to see improvement next game, next week, next season. The Blazers became shockingly better defensively from year 1->2 of Lopez with the same starting 5 so I'll give him a chance. Stotts offense is of no concern to me. My main gripe with Stotts is the minutes he plays two players on back to backs. We had similar issues with our starters the previous two seasons. Partly why his teams peak well before the playoffs. But most coaches struggle with that. Thibbs is even worse than Stotts with players minutes. Amazing more coaches don't try to do what the best coach in the league has done down in San Antonio for a decade.
Thibs' calling card is defense but he coaches offense fine. Iirc Denny put some numbers out in a previous thread.
Him as DC to Stotts would negate Stotts defensive deficiencies. Thibs major problem is the allotment of minutes and the handling of rotations, something he wouldn't have the opportunity to do as an assistant.
Agree with above - Stotts is overrated. How many times do our guards pick up their dribble - allowing defenses to tighten up. The stupid hand offs/ give n go with wings that fool no defenses - Horrendous PnR defense - Overplaying players till their energy is zapped. And the inopportune time outs that I swear he must be calling for the other team. All things that appear so elementary for other teams.
We switch on everything, as we should. The problem isn't with the occasional mismatches, it's when the rotations are too mellow and soft. When you switch on a player you can guard him or look like you're guarding him, that's the difference between us playing strong defense or weak defense
