Re: Coaches who shouldn't be axed.... yet Dave D'Alessandro writes a lot of stuff regarding the Nets during the season, and I really enjoy his pieces........ but he also wrote this on sportingnews.com:Hold your fire - for nowAfter just a fortnight had passed, you already could hear the bloodhounds in the distance. In some NBA precincts, there is no such thing as a honeymoon anymore, or a coalescence period, or a feeling-out phase. Virtually every choochaloon on press row, in the cheap seats and in the owner's box is in agreement: The slow start is the coach's fault, so off with his head. A facile analysis but all too common. Here's a better rule, one that most (logical) people in the league subscribe to: You don't decide what you have until roughly 20 games into a season. And, short of a felony conviction, even then there are only two good reasons to fire a coach. The first is when a team continuously plays with drunken lethargy. The second is when the locker room has disintegrated into chaos. A lousy record? That will force many G.M.s to act, sure. But if a G.M. fires a coach based on losses, he may be putting his own job at risk: If the team still is playing hard for a guy, then it is obvious the talent the G.M. has assembled was substandard from the start, and that's his own fault. Still, the knee-jerk chorus is growing louder. But for every argument you can make to dump a guy, there is a counterargument. Boston. Fire Doc Rivers? He has handed the offense over to two children, his team's best big has just had his appendix carved out, and the most valuable big off the bench is Michael Olowokandi. G'ahead, you try to coach that mess without conjuring up imaginative things to do with a razor blade. Memphis. Fire Mike Fratello? He's missing the guy who led his team in scoring, rebounding and blocks last season, his top scorer is a 32-year-old backup point guard, and everyone wants him to play two rookies who are shooting 38.4 and 29.2 percent. Minnesota. Fire Dwane Casey? No rebounders other than K.G., no 3-point shooters, no bench -- actually, the second unit is filled with so much dead weight, the team still is showcasing two unwanted veterans instead of playing its prize rookie. Philadelphia. Fire Mo Cheeks? The only truly tough guys on his team are 6-2 and 6-0, and they both play point guard. The rest should be shipped to some crowded place where has-beens and underachievers are the principal tenants. Keep in mind that none of these situations fits that deranged Larry Brown scenario, where the organization believed he was deliberately dumping games so he could get his boss fired. Everyone's intentions are pure. And all are qualified from a technical standpoint. Like the more successful coaches, they prepare carefully, practice often, obsess over the same details, contend with the same distractions, honor the same philosophies and run the same stuff. The difference is their G.M.s are under a lot of pressure lately. As they should be. More often than not, they've created the messes.-----------------------------------------------------------------------Although the reasons that he stated are obvious to me, and I really agree with every team he listed. I also posted the Celtics part in the Celtics forum, just because most Celtics fans want to see Doc leave. Anyway, give these guys a chance to do something. Especially Fratello. All he got is Chucky Atkins and some young guys.... how can expect them to play well?Any other thoughts, opinions regarding to this article?
Re: Coaches who shouldn't be axed.... yet I agree Mike Fratello shouldn't be fired, I really like him. He knows what he's doing.But when was this article written, because if it was in the last day or two, then this guy doesn't get updated on the NBA:- Al Jefferson has been back for 4 games now and he's been playing well.- Kandi-Man is out.- He must not know about the stupid decisions Doc makes with lineups and minute distribution. I guarentee this guy doesn't see the Celtics play more than 3 times a year.- No 3-point shooters whatsoever in Minnesota? Mike James, anybody? Troy Hudson? Randy Foye and Ricky Davis are solid. KG and Griffin are good longball shooters for bigs.- The only "has-been" in Philly is Webber, he made it sound like the team has Webber, Payton, Mourning, Mutombo, and Cliff Robinson.- With proper coaching and a good system, Philadelphia can definitely make the Eastern Conference playoffs. Give me a break. Every team in the Western Conference would except Memphis (LMAO so sad).
Re: Coaches who shouldn't be axed.... yet I haven't seen anyone talk about Fratello. It's stupid to, we all know why the Grizz suck, there should be no talk at all about that yet.Rivers should be fired. Mitchell, who wasn't in that article, should be fired. Casey and the Wolves GM should be fired.
Re: Coaches who shouldn't be axed.... yet Rivers shouldn't be fired? He's doing a laughable job with the Celtics. He is not the guy for this team, the sooner the better in my eyes.
