duncan228
03-14-2009, 11:31 PM
NBA Beat: Grading the new coaches (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/NBA_Beat_Grading_the_new_coaches.html)
Mike Monroe - Express-News
Seven teams went into the 2008-09 season with new head coaches.
With one month remaining in the regular season, there are easily quantifiable measures of success and failure.
From the abject failure of the Terry Porter regime in Phoenix — fair or not, his dismissal after just 51 games defines his tenure with the Suns as such — to the renewal of hope in New York and Charlotte, where some of basketball’s most sophisticated fans had cause for little but embarrassment, coaching changes have been a mixed bag of results.
Here is how we rate the coaches who went to training camp with teams they were expected to lead in positive direction.
MIAMI HEAT
Previous coach: Pat Riley
2007-08 record: 15-67
New coach: Eric Spoelstra
2008-09 record: 33-31
Grade: A
Analysis: It is never easy following a legend. In Spoelstra’s case, the legend he replaced, Pat Riley, was looking over his shoulder, still the president of basketball operations for the Heat. Spoelstra’s boyish looks didn’t keep him from being The Man on the Heat bench. His ability to earn the respect of his veterans, especially Dwyane Wade, allowed him to put his own stamp on a Heat team that may wind up with home-court advantage in the first round.
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
Previous coach: Sam Vincent
2007-08 record: 32-50
New coach: Larry Brown
2008-09 record: 28-37
Grade: A-
Analysis: Brown’s reputation as the NBA’s best turnaround artist took a hit when he nearly drowned in the sewage that was the Isiah Thomas Knicks. Back in his beloved North Carolina, he rejuvenated his love for the game and pumped energy into an expansion team that had gone nowhere in four previous seasons. He recommended personnel changes that management pulled off, and the ’Cats entered Saturday just a half-game out of the playoffs.
NEW YORK KNICKS
Previous coach: Isiah Thomas
2007-08 record: 23-59
New coach: Mike D’Antoni
2008-09 record: 28-37
Grade: B+
Analysis: Inheriting a roster devoid of the type of players suited to his fast-paced style, but full of toxicity, D’Antoni has managed to make basketball at Madison Square Garden an enjoyable experience once again. Taking an early stand against coach-killer Stephon Marbury, D’Antoni stood up to a segment of the team’s fans and media, but he has his team on the cusp of making the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
CHICAGO BULLS
Previous coach: Scott Skiles/Jim Boylan
2007-08 record: 33-49
New coach: Vinny Del Negro
2008-09 record: 29-37
Grade: B
Analysis: In his first coaching job, Del Negro’s smartest move was accepting veterans Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff as assistant coaches he could lean on. He has done a nice job of developing rookie Derrick Rose as his team’s stud player and has the Bulls in the playoff hunt despite a rash of injuries.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
Previous coach: Avery Johnson
2007-08 record: 51-31
New coach: Rick Carlisle
2008-09 record: 40-26
Grade: C-
Analysis: Players who demanded that Mark Cuban replace Johnson, who had led the Mavericks to the 2006 Finals, have not always responded to Carlisle with appropriate respect. Their spotty effort has caused Cuban to threaten wholesale roster changes this summer. Carlisle is a solid tactician, but his team still has chemistry problems.
DETROIT PISTONS
Previous coach: Flip Saunders
2007-08 record: 59-23
New coach: Michael Curry
2008-09 record: 33-31
Grade: D
Analysis: Saunders was fired because he had lost too many of his key players. Curry has not exactly found them, and his decision to bench Rip Hamilton and start Allen Iverson was one of the worst personnel moves by any coach this season. He’s got Hamilton back in the starting lineup again because Iverson is ailing, and the Pistons will make the playoffs, but they no longer frighten the East’s top teams.
PHOENIX SUNS
Previous coach: Mike D’Antoni
2007-08 record: 55-27
New coach: Terry Porter
2008-09 record: 28-23
Grade: F
Analysis: You can fault Suns owner Robert Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr for their impatience with Porter, who was asked to change nearly everything about a team that had won an average of 58 games under D’Antoni. But Porter’s dismissal on Feb. 16 defines his tenure with the Suns as a failure. His players never bought into his style of play or his approach to coaching. His second shot at being an NBA head coach is certain to have been his last.
Mike Monroe - Express-News
Seven teams went into the 2008-09 season with new head coaches.
With one month remaining in the regular season, there are easily quantifiable measures of success and failure.
From the abject failure of the Terry Porter regime in Phoenix — fair or not, his dismissal after just 51 games defines his tenure with the Suns as such — to the renewal of hope in New York and Charlotte, where some of basketball’s most sophisticated fans had cause for little but embarrassment, coaching changes have been a mixed bag of results.
Here is how we rate the coaches who went to training camp with teams they were expected to lead in positive direction.
MIAMI HEAT
Previous coach: Pat Riley
2007-08 record: 15-67
New coach: Eric Spoelstra
2008-09 record: 33-31
Grade: A
Analysis: It is never easy following a legend. In Spoelstra’s case, the legend he replaced, Pat Riley, was looking over his shoulder, still the president of basketball operations for the Heat. Spoelstra’s boyish looks didn’t keep him from being The Man on the Heat bench. His ability to earn the respect of his veterans, especially Dwyane Wade, allowed him to put his own stamp on a Heat team that may wind up with home-court advantage in the first round.
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
Previous coach: Sam Vincent
2007-08 record: 32-50
New coach: Larry Brown
2008-09 record: 28-37
Grade: A-
Analysis: Brown’s reputation as the NBA’s best turnaround artist took a hit when he nearly drowned in the sewage that was the Isiah Thomas Knicks. Back in his beloved North Carolina, he rejuvenated his love for the game and pumped energy into an expansion team that had gone nowhere in four previous seasons. He recommended personnel changes that management pulled off, and the ’Cats entered Saturday just a half-game out of the playoffs.
NEW YORK KNICKS
Previous coach: Isiah Thomas
2007-08 record: 23-59
New coach: Mike D’Antoni
2008-09 record: 28-37
Grade: B+
Analysis: Inheriting a roster devoid of the type of players suited to his fast-paced style, but full of toxicity, D’Antoni has managed to make basketball at Madison Square Garden an enjoyable experience once again. Taking an early stand against coach-killer Stephon Marbury, D’Antoni stood up to a segment of the team’s fans and media, but he has his team on the cusp of making the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
CHICAGO BULLS
Previous coach: Scott Skiles/Jim Boylan
2007-08 record: 33-49
New coach: Vinny Del Negro
2008-09 record: 29-37
Grade: B
Analysis: In his first coaching job, Del Negro’s smartest move was accepting veterans Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff as assistant coaches he could lean on. He has done a nice job of developing rookie Derrick Rose as his team’s stud player and has the Bulls in the playoff hunt despite a rash of injuries.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
Previous coach: Avery Johnson
2007-08 record: 51-31
New coach: Rick Carlisle
2008-09 record: 40-26
Grade: C-
Analysis: Players who demanded that Mark Cuban replace Johnson, who had led the Mavericks to the 2006 Finals, have not always responded to Carlisle with appropriate respect. Their spotty effort has caused Cuban to threaten wholesale roster changes this summer. Carlisle is a solid tactician, but his team still has chemistry problems.
DETROIT PISTONS
Previous coach: Flip Saunders
2007-08 record: 59-23
New coach: Michael Curry
2008-09 record: 33-31
Grade: D
Analysis: Saunders was fired because he had lost too many of his key players. Curry has not exactly found them, and his decision to bench Rip Hamilton and start Allen Iverson was one of the worst personnel moves by any coach this season. He’s got Hamilton back in the starting lineup again because Iverson is ailing, and the Pistons will make the playoffs, but they no longer frighten the East’s top teams.
PHOENIX SUNS
Previous coach: Mike D’Antoni
2007-08 record: 55-27
New coach: Terry Porter
2008-09 record: 28-23
Grade: F
Analysis: You can fault Suns owner Robert Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr for their impatience with Porter, who was asked to change nearly everything about a team that had won an average of 58 games under D’Antoni. But Porter’s dismissal on Feb. 16 defines his tenure with the Suns as a failure. His players never bought into his style of play or his approach to coaching. His second shot at being an NBA head coach is certain to have been his last.