Game Thread GAME# 38: BLAZERS @ KINGS - JANUARY 1, 2019 - TUESDAY, 6:00 PM, NBCSNW

Perhaps they have changed the definition of 'great'. Otherwise, Stotts does not qualify. His Playoff record is 11-24. If that is great, we are conversing in two different languages.

 

Thank you. And even more glaring: when you routinely have opponents going on 8-0, 10-0, 12-0 or more runs without calling a timeout or making adjustments, then you're just not a great coach. Because that's basic shit that even a High School coach knows.

"Stotts a great coach"..........lmao, what a joke.

 

The people supporting Stotts rarely argue any specific basketball reason. Just a bunch of hot air, and tired takes.
Example: "Ex-players say hes a great coach." Yeah, players tend to say that about players coaches.
Example: "Hes been in the running for COY", Dwayne Casey was CPY last year. Toronto made the right move in firing him, and he's 17-19 in a Detroit with two all-star big men. He wont be in the running this year.

Lack of role player talent and good coaching can combine to hold back a team. But I think were a top 10 talented team. Were also a team that's able to overcome its issues in most games and inconsistently fix them... That is, until the playoffs, when teams gameplan for them and easily exploit them and we dont adjust. We got swept by the freakin Pelicans. The Pelicans!

And there's more people that agree with me than you think. Many more. Dont discuss this with me unless your going to discuss actual basketball.

 

In those two series, he went up against a terrible coach in McHale and needed miracles from Aldridge and Dame to barely win that series, and then he went up against a Clipper team that lost Paul and Griffin. Ots not like weve clearly been the better coached team in either series at all, like Memphos was when they beat is, or the Pelicans last year.

 

I get so tired of the Stotts defenders that cant argue basketball reasons and sit back with the same recycled surface level takes to try to tell me how I'm wrong.. I could list off a list of real reasons but they always avoid that.

 

You’re not responding to my full post. Two series without HCA.

 

I get tired of you thinking, if they hired you, you’d be the the best coach in the league.

 

I get tired of this non-argument from you because you can't actually discuss basketball reasons beyond a context-devoid "They won two series without HCA!!" claim.

 

Except when they do you just say it was luck or those reasons simply don't count. That's fine. i'm good with that. I had this long winded response written up and just erased it.

You don't like Stotts. Simple. Enjoy the game tonight.

 

Also, I don't think I'd be a better coach than Stotts. It's the same thing when you criticize players. Doesn't mean I think I could do better, but it's fair because they're professionals in the NBA, so they're held to a high standard. If they don't meet that standard, that has nothing to do with what I could do.

 

So lazy. "Hmmm... What can I say to discredit him since I can't discuss basketball? Oh, I know. You say it's LUCK or that stuff doesn't count! Yeah! I don't have a quote but I say you do so take that! Also... You don't like Stotts, that's why!"

Sigh.

 

Seriously i wrote like four paragraphs and just deleted it. Honestly i understand your frustration. Stotts ain't perfect. You don't like him as a coach. I can accept that. He ain't going anywhere this year. Part of the writeup i deleted was about his contract till 2020. But i doubt he will make it past a new owner anyways.

 

BonesJones- Raptors were .720 last year but are only .700 so far this year with “upgrade” of Kawhi. Pistons playing better this year. Maybe firing Casey was a bad idea?

 

I don't like his coaching schemes and philosophies for this team where it stands.. I like him as a person, and there's aspects of his coaching that makes me think he'd be good as a coach for a rebuilding team. He can build a culture and give young, unheralded players a sense of confidence they need to become legitimate NBA players. For a contender though? He's a poor coach, especially in the playoffs. Did you not watch the Pelicans series and think Stotts was doing a very bad job?

I don't like that you make it sound like I have it out for him as if what I say isn't completely 100% credible and well thought out. Stotts defenders always try to do that stuff when they're the ones that avoid discussing basketball reasons in depth. That type of stuff annoys me.

I know he's not going anywhere. I'm still going to point out what he's doing wrong when it happens, because it's frustrating and I think a lot of people don't notice it.

 

Good point

 

So because they're off-pace by ONE game out of 40, that means that maybe it was a bad decision? Even though there was a big adjustment period to swapping out their best player for Kawhi? Even though they've dealt with more key players missing games than they did last year?

That's not even mentioning the fact that coaching matters more in the playoffs. Bad coaches get exposed in the playoffs, just like Casey did. They got swept and destroyed in the 2nd round by a mediocre Cavaliers team who almost lost in the conference finals to a Celtics team playing without they're top two players.

 

We’ll see if Nurse is better in playoffs. Of course, he doesn’t have to play LeBron though. Cs weren’t playing without their two best players. Horford and Tatum are better than Hayward.

 

So what? That's gonna be your excuse when they do better huh? "They didn't play LeBron, so it's not coaching". That Cavs team was still weak and even the Pacers, who didn't have HCA, took the Cavs to 7 games, just like the Celtics did without Kyrie. The Raptors got swept, just like we did.

 

One whole paragraph i deleted was on the Pelican series. I gave credit to him where he did well and bashed him where he was too ridged but i also brought up the other factors that were obviously hurting the team. In Game 2 he tried changing and working through Nurkic. Nurk got in foul trouble almost immediately and that put a stop to that. he tried it again in game three and Nurk picked up his third foul on a stupid push off call. Again he had to go back to the small two guard crap that wasn't working. Game four when he went to Nurk it was working and they had success.
There were issues with Harkless and as we all know when Harkless plays well this team is much different but he was injured. Then there was the Aminu factor. Yes Aminu gets decent numbers but we all know teams sag off him and beg him to shoot. Unless Aminu is lights out with an injured Turner playing for Harkless this team has no chance. Dame and CJ were overmatched and stuffed.

Yes i watched it. I think Stotts had no other options available. he even tried Wade Baldwin. Pat Con was a no go. Davis is a great hustle guy but he is not an offensive juggernaugt. They locked down the only options this team had. I just cannot blame the coach for not having a team with talent.

 

So Nurkic being in foul trouble is all it takes for Stotts to resort to continuously setting ball screens with Nurkic on Dame 30 feet away from the basket even though the Pelicans were simply trapping it with two elite defenders? He didn't have anything else? Even a simple side pick n roll would've been more effective than that, but he didn't do that. He didn't do anything. He had no options? He could've use Dame off the ball running around screens. He could've used side pick n roll which is harder to trap. He could've had the team try to run whenever possible so the defense wasn't set. Do you want more things he could've done instead of run a goddam ball screen at Dame 30ft away from the rim?

SMH.