Stotts stated at the end of last season that he wanted to improve at utilizing the bench. Now he actually can.
Stotts set that goal for himself. I like hearing that from a coach. I'm optimistic, more so than in the last few years.
My favorite quote from Stotts is "It's a process. You need to stay true to the process of winning". This tells me he is always looking to improve.
I watched his miked up video from practice today, plenty of action. Teachers don't always use action to get their points across though. They teach with words.
Still doesn't prove anything. Just because he's miked up doesn't mean he's going to tell the truth. He knows he's being miked, hes going to choose his words carefully. He's shown a track record of relying on starters too much. Until he proves it when it counts, then it's just him placating the media and us. Not buying it.
Hard to use scientific method to prove anything before a game has even tipped off but string theory works for me...it's all about the possibilities, not failed experiments from days gone by and scoreless bench players of the past..Stotts wanted to win last season and he did.
In his playoff season in Milwaukee, he had only three starters playing over 31+ mpg, and he had 5 reserves that averaged 14.9 mpg or more. The next (injury-plagued) season saw 7 players averaging 25+ mpg. When he's had multiple bench players who can contribute, he's allowed them to do so. He hasn't had that to date in Portland; he appears to have that now.
