I was wondering what the general thoughts of Montgomery were, and how satisfied people are with Montgomery and the thought of him being the coach for the future. Do people think that Montgomery can maximize this team's potential? Can Montgomery be a coach that can overcome the potential unfortunate situations from injuries and other things? Is Montgomery the "right" coach for this team? Can Montgomery push this team through a 82 game season, into the playoffs? I don't know, I suppose there are lots of questions,(Does Montgomery bring enough discipline?) but I think you get the drift, right? Just out of curiosity...
Well, for me, Monty wasn't a special coach, but he did enough for me to not to scream "Where is Muss?". Monty didn't exactly get an instant respect from players or got 100% from players in the beginning. We were blown out one out of two games, and it was a painful to watch when he tried to install his offense system in the beginning. Eventually we once again became a run and gun team, and it was successful even before Davis' arrival. But for his credit, Monty was able to make this team play hard again, wasn't arrogant like most of typical college coaches, and showed great ability to adjust. If Monty wanted, he could try to force his system all season long, knowing that his first year will be safe. But, he had a gut to abandon his system, and go to the new direction. Also, knowing that Dunleavy was Mullin's favorite player, he basically benched Dunleavy until he became effective. And, like most of college coaches, he has a great set up after time out. So, he gets a passing grade for me. After all, it was his first year so it will be hard for me to give an accurate decsion. For now, he didn't implode the team, improved as season goes on, developed enough talents and showed an ability to adjust if it's needed. We will see what he can really do in 2nd year...
I dont think he is but he will look ok once we get to the playoffs. Comparing him to muss is not fair because of the talent or lack of talent on this team compared to the teams muss had...
Monty inherited a team that had been mid lottery and then lost 3 starters and some top subs in just a couple of years without getting a lot back. He's got a handle now on who these guys are and what they can do,and I think some vision as to what they may do in the future. I like how now he uses the whole roster. I'd like to see the W's be a bit less eager to hoist a 3,and I'd like to see the D improve a bit,but I am also rememering stuff I really didn't like about how various prior coaches did things,and relatively there are no big negatives right now. Monty,at Stanford,tended to have a fairly deliberate,slower paced style,likely dictated by the type of players he had,so it is interesting that the W's do play a somewhat different type game,again showing Monty has the sense to fit the system to the players instead of the opposite. The mere fact that in the last few weeks we went from sucks worse than the Clips (a threshold of suckage) to ambushes contenders says a lot for Monty and Mullin
A coach is only as good as the front office IMO. Monty didn't have a whole lot of weapons at his disposal if you think about what he had at the beginning of the season. He didn't have a lot of talent/pieces to make his signature system effective and he didn't know his players, his opponents, or how different the political environment of his job is. But he adjusted to the changes very well and learned quickly. He was a good coach in that he adjusted his half court/ set plays type of game to a more up tempo style that played to his roster's strengths (guards and forwards). That's not his game, but it shows you that he's got versatility in the way he coaches and he is a pragmatist and not an egotist. He listens to his guys, supports them and has good coaching staff around him that support his philosophy. Now we just need a piece to add to the roster that can provide an inside game, passing skills and defensive presence. I don't think what we have here is going to cut it when those jumpers aren't falling unless Baron or Pietrus is penetrating and finding people (Only Baron can provide that interior passing in such a tight space). We can barely keep teams under 50% and get the ball in the paint at times because our centers or power forwards don't play inside by themselves. I think Monty will be a great coach, but he's at the mercy of the front office and the type of players they put before him. The team seems generally stable and peaceful and I think he has a lot to do with him being our head coach, our ex-nba allstar/future hall of famer GM supporting him, along with our veteran leadership who has committment to the team.
