Since being on this board, I have yet to hear the views on Coach Silas. I personally am confused with him often, but yet we are looking at a playoff berth! So I guess the bottom line is wins. I think our lack of quality assistants is a bigger problem. Maturing Before Our Eyes For a season that started darkly (remember how this team simply could not win on the road?) and got even darker (the Newble-Silas fight, the Ricky-Silas run-ins, etc.), things have rapidly come into focus for this year?s Cavs. The key word here is focus. The Cavs go into every game believing they can win, and knowing what it takes to win. They have found the formula for making every game a battle, whether it is at home against the defending NBA champions or on the road against a tough Rockets team. The formula is simple: play tough defense, give no easy baskets, dominate the boards, and take care of the ball and then pound it inside on offense. This was the formula that the early-season Cavs could not grasp, even with all the young talent assembled on the roster. This is the formula that the new-look Cavs have focused upon and it has kept them in most games, which has dramatically reduced the commonplace blowout losses of the early-season and given the team the opportunity to learn how to close out games in the fourth quarter. continued http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_7416.shtml Your thoughts on the Coach......
I like Silas, I think the players respect him because he does not roast them on the court, but at times I would like to see him get mad out there, sometimes players need that (though in this day and age, it may not be a good idea either)
My only beef with Silias would be his rotation - I don't always understand what he's thinking. But he's not being paid to help me understand, bottom line - like you said - is we are winning now. So whatever he does is fine with me, I know I'm happier with him then I would have been with Van Gundy.
Silas is a great teacher and seems to be a good motivator..... however, he is not a very good X's and O's coach. We need to get some quality assistants in here that know the X's and O's (Jim O'Brien would make me cream my pants but he wants another head coaching job)
One thing Silas is good at stressing is rebounding. Since leaving the Hornets, Jamal has said he isn't as fierce at rebounding the ball without Silas' motivation.
Silias style reminds me of the Fratello days. Low scoring and very effective on defense. The only differense is having a superstar. Mike did not have one, except Kemp.
What are your thoughts on our player rotations??? With Nailon on board would you like to see him play some power forward? Or do you prefer to stick with Battie? Personally I think on certain matchups, Nailon could be handy behind Boozer! Some athletisism wouldn't go astray in our frontcourt! I also think Battie is better suited at center. He seems to be only capable of around 15mpg because of his knees, which is what we wnat behind Z. As for Diop, I only want to see him on the floor against big teams. When we require both he and Battie. To me he is still to raw to be in the rotation. He and Kapono should only see spot minutes or unless there uique talents are required. Kapono when we are struggling big time on zones, or Z is in foul trouble so Diop steps in to help Battie! Who knows whats goes though Silas's head, but what goes through yours????
Silas seems to be a guy that can get you to the playoffs because he is a good teacher and motivator, but after that when things get tough and the pressure is on, I doubt his ability to lead a team to glory. As far as Xs and Os go, I don't recall seeing him outcoach anyone all year. I have seen him get schooled by opposing coaches on occasion though. There will be times when it seems brutally obvious that a time out is in order to calm the team and down and set up a play where he'll just let the team go and a poor attempt results. Also, we come out of time outs often looking as though we didn't even set anything up or draw a play of any kind. We still don't attack the zone very well and our pick and roll defense is ugly. I think a lot of this has to do with a lackluster assistant coaching staff made up of a bunch of nobodies. His rotations are starting to get better, but I think he cost us a few games early on by sticking with matchups that were against our favor for too long and sitting key player for extended periods of time together in crucial moments of the game. He's a good coach, but I don't know if we'll ever make it to the next level (deep into playoffs, championships, etc.) with him at the helm.
Good post Redscoon... I really think Silas needs to get himself better assistants! Silas is a good teacher and motivator like you say, but when it comes down to plays on the run, he struggles. There seems to be many good coaches out there avalilable as assistants. But will Silas feel threatened by a better x's and o's guy??? I hope not, as he needs help to take this team to higher levels than he did with the Hornets!
