Over the summer, 95% of us wanted him out. So what do you guys think? Has he improved enough to stay or should he still get canned?
I was one of those who wanted him out, I think Ice was the only one who defended him and said we need to give him a chance. My reason for wanting him out was, it didn't seem like he could utilize our players the way I would've liked to see it, e.g. not much playing time for our rookies and sophomores even though they showed promise and we were already losing and there was no hope left. Also it didn't appear that he was in control of the team, couldn't control T-Mac with his bad attitude to talk trash to the media either. Well, with the guys we have right now he looks far better, maybe because he invested his freetime over the summer to get something going with our new squad. Basically, he is doing his job better than I expected but the season isn't over yet, you never know what's going to happen, he has this season to prove that he can coach our team and if he is successful, we should keep him, but let us decide this at the end of the season.
I too supported him, and still believe that he is doing a good job. He may not be high-profile, but he knows how to both motivate the team and draw up good offensive/defensive sets for the squad. He is well known around the league for developing young talent.
^He couldn't motivate last years team nor did he give any big chance to our young guys even when it was already official that we couldn't make the playoffs. Maybe the reason for this all was that he took over quite unexpectedly and in a very bad situation, but that was last season and it seems that he changed somewhat, even though I'm not too happy with the Jameer Nelson situation, I expected a bit more from him. But I'm in for it now, lets give him this season and see how he is handling our young guys and our team.
This summer I didn?t like Davis as a coach either. But maybe now days you have to look at it both ways, last year he didn?t have the right personnel to un his style of offense. But this year the Magic made the Tracy trade and its looking good, they have depth and Grant Hill back, so that?s defiantly helping Johnny Davis. Not to mention the up-tempo players like Steve Francis fit his style of coaching and that?s the key to the Magic's early success.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Coranor:</div><div class="quote_post">^He couldn't motivate last years team nor did he give any big chance to our young guys </div> I think that was hardly his fault. Last year's team was an open sore from the get-go, and Me-Mac made sure the wound didn't heal. It's hard to give chances to young guys who can't play (Reece Gaines). I should also remind you that Keith Bogans did in fact get many chances to play. Last year's team was slow and relatively devoid of talent (as if most of ya'll didn't know that). I've been saying for years that Davis is the true backbone of the coaching staff but it usually falls on deaf ears. Jameer Nelson is an undersized PG in the NBA... and is a rookie. He has been progressing, and that is what you hope for. It seems as though many of you were expecting Jameer to come in and dominate. Give him time to grow, I say. Let the coaching staff determine whether or not he should get more opportunities and better minutes... unless you are in practices with them, you really have no idea how he impresses his coaches. I'm a huge Jameer fan, and just sincerely hope that he progresses to eventually become a deciding factor in games.
^First I know that Reece was bad and I didn't mean Reece, I'm not that stupid. And Keith was the only one but once Stevenson came, Keith's chances decreased rapidly, and that was long after it was clear that there was no hope left and Stevenson wasn't that much better than Bogans either. Then we had Drew Gooden, he struggled coming off the bench and playing alongside Howard, Drew didn't have any confidence left and there was no one giving him that, the coach should have given him more chances even when he was playing inconsistently. I'm happy for him that we traded him to Cleveland, he's still inconsistent but he can also come out and give you a great game. Others I expected to see more towards the end of the season included Pachulia, still young and raw but he showed some promise. And Nelson, show me one post from someone who said that he is going to dominate. No one expected this. Yes he is undersized, yes he is a rookie coming from the college and needs some adjustments to the NBA (and yes we have a great PG in Steve Francis and a better than average SG so Jameer doesn't see this many minutes either). But you need to see the other side of the medal, the coaching staff needs to help him to get around this and needs to coach him this stuff, they are not only the one who decide whether a player gets minutes or what kind of offense is run, they are also there to help the player to improve his game and I don't see much improvement in Jameer's game since his first days with us. I'm sure he works enough but he needs a coach who directs him in the right direction. I'll give him time, but I don't see him becoming a deciding factor in games anymore, I hope now that he becomes a great backup PG for Steve, I wish so much that Darrell was still around, he could mentor him so greatly.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Coranor:</div><div class="quote_post">^First I know that Reece was bad and I didn't mean Reece, I'm not that stupid. .</div> I never said you were stupid, so I really don't understand your attitude there. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> And Keith was the only one but once Stevenson came, Keith's chances decreased rapidly, and that was long after it was clear that there was no hope left and Stevenson wasn't that much better than Bogans either. .</div> Keith's chances may have diminished, but he still had plenty of opportunities. I don't know why this is even an issue for you. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Then we had Drew Gooden, he struggled coming off the bench and playing alongside Howard, Drew didn't have any confidence left and there was no one giving him that, the coach should have given him more chances even when he was playing inconsistently. I'm happy for him that we traded him to Cleveland, he's still inconsistent but he can also come out and give you a great game. </div> Everyone knows the deal here. He was another attitude problem. Maybe he should've been given more opportunities to start etc., but they made their decisions based on his work ethic and focus in the game (which both were suspect). <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Others I expected to see more towards the end of the season included Pachulia, still young and raw but he showed some promise. </div> I'll have to agree with you there. Pachulia was a bad loss IMO. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> And Nelson, show me one post from someone who said that he is going to dominate. </div> First off, I will not thumb through hundreds of posts to appease your ridiculous request. You insuated that he is not being given a fair shot, and that is just not true. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> But you need to see the other side of the medal, the coaching staff needs to help him to get around this and needs to coach him this stuff, they are not only the one who decide whether a player gets minutes or what kind of offense is run, they are also there to help the player to improve his game and I don't see much improvement in Jameer's game since his first days with us. I'm sure he works enough but he needs a coach who directs him in the right direction. </div> I do see the other side. Quite plainly as a matter of fact. If you watch the games, you'll notice that he has his eyes on the coaching staff most of the time he is out there... to improve his game and the o/d sets drawn up. His style of attack has changed considerably, and his shot selection has improved. I'm not personally attacking you Coranor, but this is a forum and I have to stand up for what I believe to be true, and I believe that you have unrealistic expectations of him.
I didn't mind Davis from the begining of the season, and I still don't... But in the future, I hope the Magic look into some other coach options. JD is a good option at assistant, but he's still just an average coach IMO... Like some of you posted previously, utilizing his players is probably the main problem with Davis... He missuses the rookies and Hedo as far as style of play and some plays they run. I see that he is trying to do that Rocky IV comeback sh*t, but still...
I still want JD fired. Yes, he's doing a much better job this year, but that's mainly because all the players like each other and are coming together. Johnny Davis still makes bad substitutions. An example is against the Suns, before Battie AND Kasun were in foul trouble, JD brought in Garrity for about 7 or 8 mins against the Suns. Garrity doesn't thrive in any kind of fastbreak game, since he is slow. Garrity shouldn't be in at all in these types of games(unless we need a 3 to win). Also, we have much better defensive players than last year, but we are still one of the worst defenses in the league. We have the players to at least be in the mid of the pack and give up around 93-95 ppg, but we're up near 100 ppg again. Davis doesn't call plays to the people who are hot. Dwight goes 4-5 early and doesn't get the ball again is the main example. I have been more impressed with JD, but in order for us to reach the next level, I still think we need to fire him.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting XOver:</div><div class="quote_post">I never said you were stupid, so I really don't understand your attitude there. Keith's chances may have diminished, but he still had plenty of opportunities. I don't know why this is even an issue for you. Everyone knows the deal here. He was another attitude problem. Maybe he should've been given more opportunities to start etc., but they made their decisions based on his work ethic and focus in the game (which both were suspect). I'll have to agree with you there. Pachulia was a bad loss IMO. First off, I will not thumb through hundreds of posts to appease your ridiculous request. You insuated that he is not being given a fair shot, and that is just not true. I do see the other side. Quite plainly as a matter of fact. If you watch the games, you'll notice that he has his eyes on the coaching staff most of the time he is out there... to improve his game and the o/d sets drawn up. His style of attack has changed considerably, and his shot selection has improved. I'm not personally attacking you Coranor, but this is a forum and I have to stand up for what I believe to be true, and I believe that you have unrealistic expectations of him.</div> First, when you bring in Reece when it is clear that I didn't mean Reece unless I'm stupid, then yes I think that you think I'm stupid. The issue with Keith is, that this showed me that Davis wasn't willing to give the young guys a chance even though we were out of the playoff race. And yes, Keith didn't get much more chances after the Stevenson trade, it was a hit in his face so and wasn't good for his confidence. Work ethic is a poor excuse, you can always motivate someone to work harder on his game. Keith wasn't a superstar and I'm sure that he would've done more if he was asked to. Anyway, never heard of a bad work ethic from his side. Pachulia, that's a start that we agree at one point. Still, Davis should have given him more opportunities and worked with him somewhat more. Nelson. I'm not talking about his minutes, I'm talking about his improvements. And all I'm saying is that I expected more then I'm seeing. That's all, I'm not talking about that he should be dominating by now (and when you bring this in you really should prove that I said so, I never did and will never do, because that's not what I was expecting!) and Francis should come off the bench (or Mobley while Nelson and Francis form the backcourt). That's not gonna happen. All I'm saying is that Davis is not the best coach for either utilizing the players we have up to their potential or developing young talent. But as I said, he's done far better this season than I expected and he should be given a chance up to the end of it but he shouldn't be given an extension before that.
At first I didn'y want him to be honest. I didn't think he had enough experience or leadership to turn this team around. He has been doing great so far and lets hope he keeps it up.
Is Johnny Davis the best coach in the NBA no his 55-119 career coaching record proves that in his two seasons of NBA experence as a head coach JD has been less than amazing, butfor the Magic he may be the perfect fit. Lets face it in the Magics case the teams good play is what keeps JD his job, not JD's great coaching abilities. Last season he could not do much with only Tmac to coach, bu this year he ahs a great deep team and it is getting them wins, and the team can not fire the coach when his team is winning.Truth be told this team we have right now has enough talent to win with any coach that is put in the spot, but why change up a system that is working? Not only that he is winning, but we signed JD to a five year contract so if we fired him w ewould be getting rid of a coach who has our team winning and still be paying him for the next five years or until another team hires him as a coach which may be a while so why would we want to do that. i say as long as we are winning we keep him around he is not the greatest coach in the world he does not run enough plays for some guys and to many for others, but the team is playing well under him so why not keep him. He will not pull off any Phil Jackson coaching and win 9 championships, but he will not be like Doug Collins a coach who can not even get his team to the playoffs. In the end of the story. The players liek him, Weisbord likes him, guess I dont mind him.
^When did we sign Davis to a five year contract? As far as I know he only has this season left, at least this article from the 3 December says so: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">NEW YORK -- Johnny Davis' future as head coach is not the only contractual curiosity being monitored by the Orlando Magic. Davis, chosen NBA Coach of the Month on Thursday, has this season remaining on his deal.</div> Full Article (Orlando Sentinel): http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/bask...?coll=orl-magic
