Kerr, Flash in the pan? or legit NBA championship caliber coach?

[RsxPiimp]

Playoff success would be the final factor in determining his brilliance, but so far, the Warriors are clicking at such a dominant and dynamic pace (Best start in franchise history). Kerr's style of two way basketball (Top 5 defense and offense team) is wreaking havoc and most importantly the players have embraced each of their roles and chemistry is at an all time high.




We've seen coaches with runs like this before but they fizzle out through the course of a long season, but Kerr is surrounded by great assistants (Credit goes to Gentry's offensive input and Thibs fave assistant Ron Adams on defense) to help him bring consistency to the group along the way.



Thing is they still *could* potentially improve by trading Iguodala wisely (though unlikely, despite of career low averages across the boards) and David Lee is scheduled to help their bench.




Can you see Kerr leading the Warriors to a championship within the next 3-5 yrs?

[spurraider21]

well, he's starting out on one of the best rosters in the league, so that will already make him look better than he probably is, and even if they disappoint, he'll have the "first season with new team" excuse.

they do look a lot better this year on both ends though. the ball movement on offense is evident. i also think moving Iggy to the bench makes sense. he's not a great shooter, and when you already have somebody capable of running on offense like Curry and a lineup filled with good passers, you want to maximize your spacing. Iguodala on that team is better on a bench role, where he can initiate the offense for stretches.

From the limited sample size, the team has also shown commitment to defense, and most of their individuals are already solid defenders. Curry is about average in man to man defense, but he does contribute in the passing lanes, Klay, Green, Bogut all work hard on that end. I think its more likely that its the result of the coach, and not the players randomly deciding "hey guys, lets commit to defense this year"

[TheGreatYacht]

Everyone in the media has been jacking off to these clowns lately. They've had by far the easiest schedule so far and they have the priviledge of playing teams on 2nd nights of B2B's... Kerr is nothing special.

[TheGreatYacht]

Lol Iggy has been awful on the bench. Speights won't be left open in the playoffs and that bench will get exposed.

[ElNono]

related:

Warriors owner explains why he fired Mark Jackson

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2014/12/6/7344165/mark-jackson-warriors-reasons-joe-lacob

[spurraider21]

Lol Iggy has been awful on the bench. Speights won't be left open in the playoffs and that bench will get exposed.
didn't say he's been playing great, but for what he does, the bench makes more sense on this squad. thats why moving him there was a good move. he's also a guy who depended on being a great athlete and is turning 31, and he doesn't have a good enough jumper to develop and old man game.

[UZER]

I don't even count David Lee on their roster. hes gonna get hurt again be it when he comes back, or in a big playoff series. It's just who he is.

[Infinite_limit]

http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/12/01/40/2627618/3/628x471.jpg

[Cry Havoc]

Either way, he's a 1000% upgrade over Jackson.

[gambit1990]

the latter.

[lefty]

Either way, he's a 1000% upgrade over Jackson.

Meh I don't really an improvement over Jackson

[Cry Havoc]

Meh I don't really an improvement over Jackson

The Dubs are already playing better under Kerr than they ever did under MJ.

[HemisfairArena]

Dude learned under Jackson and Pop,,,,looks legit to me.

[Malik Hairston]

How can anybody know whether he's legit or not right now, tbh:lol..

A huge percentage of people thought Mark Jackson was a good coach, too..

[spurraider21]

Dude learned under Jackson and Pop,,,,looks legit to me.
their coaching trees by and large suck

[unforeseen]

NBA championship? No.

[Venti Quattro]

:lol Bulls

[HemisfairArena]

their coaching trees by and large suck

You're forgetting most of their coaching tree are guys that never played pro ball,,,like Bud in Atlanta, dude in Philly, Jim Clemons, Frank Hamblen, P.J,,,ect. This dude learned from playing for both of them,,,it's the same reason I think Robert Horry would make a great coach.

[Venti Quattro]

:lmao :lmao Iguodala

[100%duncan]

The fuck? It's december

[DMC]

The question should be "Warriors, flash in the pan or legit NBA contender?"

Who's their backup PG? How well would they fare if their PG who's the best player on their team suddenly goes down or even suffers a mild injury to his shooting hand?

As for Kerr, we'll see. It will take years to know if he's a good coach or not, you can never tell in just a couple seasons and certainly not in just a handful of games. Hell, Pop's assistant won two games this year.

[manufan10]

I think it's something we'll be able to see when they reach the playoffs, tbh.

[midnightpulp]

Most of ST doesn't buy the Warriors as legit, but I think they're the real deal. They're filled out nicely at all the key positions, only really lacking a backup PG, which shouldn't be too much of an issue since Curry is young (but he is a bit injury prone with those thin ankles).

Not going to predict their peak. Who knows? Could be all downhill from here. But right now, I would classify them as a strong contender along with the Spurs (jury is still out on whether or not the Thunder can get back into their groove).

[Franklin]

seems like Kerr finally got a team he's always dreamed to have, a team of shooters & runners where the bigs have basically nothing to do but rebound and play defense. The warriors are even more stacked than the best Phoenix Suns in the mid 00s talent wise imho, yet still it remains unknown how well the team will fare in the playoffs.

[RsxPiimp]

this warrior team reminds me of the 2001 sac kings

[spurraider21]

Most of ST doesn't buy the Warriors as legit, but I think they're the real deal. They're filled out nicely at all the key positions, only really lacking a backup PG, which shouldn't be too much of an issue since Curry is young (but he is a bit injury prone with those thin ankles).

Not going to predict their peak. Who knows? Could be all downhill from here. But right now, I would classify them as a strong contender along with the Spurs (jury is still out on whether or not the Thunder can get back into their groove).
they gave the MLE to livingston to be the backup PG... dude cashed in. bravo for him after that injury. between Iguodala and (eventually upon his return) David Lee they can still manufacture efficient offense if Curry needs a breather though.

[DMC]

Most of ST doesn't buy the Warriors as legit, but I think they're the real deal. They're filled out nicely at all the key positions, only really lacking a backup PG, which shouldn't be too much of an issue since Curry is young (but he is a bit injury prone with those thin ankles).

Not going to predict their peak. Who knows? Could be all downhill from here. But right now, I would classify them as a strong contender along with the Spurs (jury is still out on whether or not the Thunder can get back into their groove).

How about their bench? As far as I can tell, you need a good bench to make a deep playoff run unless you happen to make it through without any injuries to key players.

[spurraider21]

How about their bench? As far as I can tell, you need a good bench to make a deep playoff run unless you happen to make it through without any injuries to key players.
David Lee, Andre Iguodala are the main guys, and they need one of Livingston/Barbosa to separate and be the main backup guard. They're probably hoping Jermaine O'Neal eventually decides to play, he gave them good minutes last year. I'm not buying Marreese Speights, but he's played well so far

The Spurs rotation in the playoffs was only 8 deep. Was basically just Mills/Manu/Diaw

[lefty]

Dude learned under Jackson and Pop,,,,looks legit to me.

So did Mike Brown and Jim Cleamons

[RsxPiimp]

Speights looks really good this yr.

[RsxPiimp]

Draymond green killin it tonight.

[JMarkJohns]

The offense and it's rotations is Gentry's work. No doubt. Few people have the vision to create rotations like Gentry. Even Pops acknowledged this after the 2010 sweep by Gentry's Suns.

Kerr hired Gentry as coach in Phoenix as well.

Kerr is smart enough to trust Gentry, even when Gentry benches a starter, and is now starting two subs from last year, and giving scrapheap players big roles.

Kerr is a smart guy, and I'm sure he's brought value to and insight to the bench, particularly as an authority figure, not just motivational speaker.

But this team is Gentry's creation. No doubt. It's almost carbon copy of what Gentry did with Suns in 2009-2010.

[100%duncan]

David Lee, Andre Iguodala are the main guys, and they need one of Livingston/Barbosa to separate and be the main backup guard. They're probably hoping Jermaine O'Neal eventually decides to play, he gave them good minutes last year. I'm not buying Marreese Speights, but he's played well so far

The Spurs rotation in the playoffs was only 8 deep. Was basically just Mills/Manu/Diaw

David Lee will never be healthy :lol

[scanry]

The offense and it's rotations is Gentry's work. No doubt. Few people have the vision to create rotations like Gentry. Even Pops acknowledged this after the 2010 sweep by Gentry's Suns.

Kerr hired Gentry as coach in Phoenix as well.

Kerr is smart enough to trust Gentry, even when Gentry benches a starter, and is now starting two subs from last year, and giving scrapheap players big roles.

Kerr is a smart guy, and I'm sure he's brought value to and insight to the bench, particularly as an authority figure, not just motivational speaker.

But this team is Gentry's creation. No doubt. It's almost carbon copy of what Gentry did with Suns in 2009-2010.

Alvin Gentry was all over the place. I remember him being an assistant with the Spurs in the late 90's. You've got to give D'antoni credit for his offense though. He just brought back the run and gun offense and emphasized on defense after Porter got fired.

Genry btw was too emotional as a coach.

[JMarkJohns]

Alvin Gentry was all over the place. I remember him being an assistant with the Spurs in the late 90's. You've got to give D'antoni credit for his offense though. He just brought back the run and gun offense and emphasized on defense after Porter got fired.

Genry btw was too emotional as a coach.

Your post is all over the place... What is it saying?

Yes, Gentry has been all over the place, but he's assisted under Larry Brown, Gregg Popovich, Doc Rivers, three Title-winning head coaches, and D'Antoni's offense was opportunistic "organized" chaos that ran 7 players into the ground, while Gentry's was structured, centered around motion, emphasized high post play within spread-floor concepts, and went 10 deep with assorted castoffs all everyday roles.

The offenses had two things in common: Nash and Amare. That was it. And neither played the same in both. Hell, Amare didn't even play same position.

[scanry]

Your post is all over the place... What is it saying?

Yes, Gentry has been all over the place, but he's assisted under Larry Brown, Gregg Popovich, Doc Rivers, three Title-winning head coaches, and D'Antoni's offense was opportunistic "organized" chaos that ran 7 players into the ground, while Gentry's was structured, centered around motion, emphasized high post play within spread-floor concepts, and went 10 deep with assorted castoffs all everyday roles.

The offenses had two things in common: Nash and Amare. That was it. And neither played the same in both. Hell, Amare didn't even play same position.

That Gentry never had a system to play with. You think the 3 one year terms with Pop, Brown & Doc would be enough to pick their brain? He had one good season as a Sun's coach and never could develop talent either in Detroit, LA or in Phx. If D'antoni's offense was opportunisitc chaos, i don't what Gentry's offense is cause it sure looked the same. D'antoni would've won multiple championships had he had a defensive anchor like Tim or KG. I don't get the D'antoni hate with the Suns fans. He made your team relevant for a good 4-5 years.

If you can't see the flaws of a 60 year old coach who was too emotional, i don't know what will? I'm not surprised why GM's haven't given him an opportunity. Teams value continuity and Gentry for whatever reason doesn't care. I wouldn't be surprised if he bolts GSW if OKC or Portland come calling this summer.

BTW the 10 deep analogy is bullshit considering D'antoni did the same in the regular season. He did shorten the rotation in the playoffs considering how loaded the West was back then. FYI the Spurs had a 7 man rotation in their 2005 title run. Pop went one further in 2006 by cutting it to 6. Moreover the Western conference was weakest when Gentry's Suns made the conference finals in 2010.

[JMarkJohns]

That Gentry never had a system to play with. You think the 3 one year terms with Pop, Brown & Doc would be enough to pick their brain? He had one good season as a Sun's coach and never could develop talent either in Detroit, LA or in Phx. If D'antoni's offense was opportunisitc chaos, i don't what Gentry's offense is cause it sure looked the same. D'antoni would've won multiple championships had he had a defensive anchor like Tim or KG. I don't get the D'antoni hate with the Suns fans. He made your team relevant for a good 4-5 years.

If you can't see the flaws of a 60 year old coach who was too emotional, i don't know what will? I'm not surprised why GM's haven't given him an opportunity. Teams value continuity and Gentry for whatever reason doesn't care. I wouldn't be surprised if he bolts GSW if OKC or Portland come calling this summer.

BTW the 10 deep analogy is bullshit considering D'antoni did the same in the regular season. He did shorten the rotation in the playoffs considering how loaded the West was back then. FYI the Spurs had a 7 man rotation in their 2005 title run. Pop went one further in 2006 by cutting it to 6. Moreover the Western conference was weakest when Gentry's Suns made the conference finals in 2010.


So, you, a Spurs fan who likely saw 10 games of the Suns are telling me, a Suns fan who records and watches every game, what the offense looked like, despite the fact I've cited specific schemetic differences twixt D'Antoni's and Gentry's offenses?

Fuck off...

[scanry]

So, you, a Spurs fan who likely saw 10 games of the Suns are telling me, a Suns fan who records and watches every game, what the offense looked like, despite the fact I've cited specific schemetic differences twixt D'Antoni's and Gentry's offenses?

Fuck off...

Let's see. You mentioned Gentry had a "structured, centered around motion, emphasized high post play within spread-floor concepts" How's that not D'antonio's offense. How's that hard for you to accept? Many coaches have tweaked that system and found found success including Pop & Coach K.

I'm merely pointing out that Gentry never had a system in place. He just brought back the system that suited Nash & Amare. Remember those two were very vocal during the Porter days and wanted D'antonio's system back. Gentry even admitted it was 90% D'antoni.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2010/03/25/20100325phoenix-suns-alvin-gentry-system.html

[JMarkJohns]

How is that different than a bunch of slipped screens and a shit-ton of over-dribbling penetration by Nash to draw double teams?

Gee, with a high post you actually run an offense, with lots of off-ball motion, off-ball screens, and some actual post offense, which Amare dedicated himself to.


You're merely very wrong.

Did you even read the article? "Gentry lauds D'Antoni's offense but did alter it. The Suns run traditional sets when Nash is out and even with him at times. There is a "continuity" offense with the ball out of Nash's hands, and that helps to save his energy."

Don't read an article and think you're an expert. I lived every game in those eras, and the offenses were not anything alike. Gentry pushed tempo, which Porter did not, and allowed the offense to be "spread" like D'Antoni liked, but who tempo and spread were utilized were not the same. Traditional sets, better depth, use of off-ball motion and high-post sets. None of that was utilized by D'Antoni who openly admitted to just rolling a ball on the floor. Nash used screens on the elbows to generate space and separation, but Amare always looked to catch and shoot or slash, not stand at the elbow and allow motion-based cuts, screens to open up a slasher or three-point shooter. He also very seldom was used in low-post. D'Antoni hated dumping the ball down low. Amare was used much more often closer to the basket under Gentry, helping his FG% make a big jump.

And as far as rotation and depth, in 2006-07, D'Antoni played 8 player rotation, 6 over 30 mpg and 2 at about 18 mpg. In 2009-10, Gentry played a 10 player rotation, 4 at 30+ mpg, 4 at 20+ mpg, and 2 at almost 18 mpg. He mix-n-matched his players to maximize complementary skills, including well into the playoffs, something D'Antoni never did.

I'm glad you think 5 Titles makes you a master of all things NBA, but you're not even close to correct on this.

Yes, they pushed tempo. Yes, he spread the floor. But it's not that simple. Where Porter wanted to bog down the lane and play a deliberate, inside-out game, Gentry brought speed back. But it wasn't 7-seconds or less. It wasn't organized chaos. It was organized, schemetic, and often times saw players not standing waiting for outlet, but moving, screening, slashing all without the ball, or away from the ball. It was a true high-post, motion-based offense.

That's completely different than D'Antoni's go-go-go coaching scheme...

[Brunodf]

I will wait until they are 100% healthy to make any conclusions...

We have to see how the team will adjust when D.Lee comes back and take away shots from Curry/Klay and starts over D.Green

[Texas_Ranger]

Tonights win was the only impressive win they had this season. Just look against who they played so far.

[StrengthAndHonor]

Speights looks really good this yr.

Speights is insane this year.


12.4 PPG
4.9 RPG
55.8 FG%
58.7 TS%
26.1 PER

All that in just 15 minutes of play :lol

[SpursFan86]

Most of ST doesn't buy the Warriors as legit, but I think they're the real deal. They're filled out nicely at all the key positions, only really lacking a backup PG, which shouldn't be too much of an issue since Curry is young (but he is a bit injury prone with those thin ankles).

Not going to predict their peak. Who knows? Could be all downhill from here. But right now, I would classify them as a strong contender along with the Spurs (jury is still out on whether or not the Thunder can get back into their groove).

Livingston was solid last year for the Nets tbh...hell, he was better than Deron Williams for part of the season. Haven't seen too much of him this year but I think he's a serviceable backup PG.

Anyways, I agree that GS is a legitimate contender if they can stay healthy (which admittedly is a big "if"). I said the same thing upstairs and a lot of people disagreed, but I think people are just assuming they're the same old team. Curry/Thompson has improved, Barnes is actually looking like a decent NBA player and not a complete bust, Draymond Green is one of the best role players in the league, Bogut is a great defensive big when healthy...they have a really nice squad. People say "Oh well they're a jumpshooting team. What are they going to do in the playoffs if Curry/Thompson go cold?" - they have the best defense in the league. They can win grind-it-out games.

I'm not gonna say they're favorites or anything, and I think the Spurs match up well with them, but I'm not gonna write them off either. If they can stay healthy and avoid us in the playoffs, they'll have as good of a shot as anyone.

[DMC]

David Lee, Andre Iguodala are the main guys, and they need one of Livingston/Barbosa to separate and be the main backup guard. They're probably hoping Jermaine O'Neal eventually decides to play, he gave them good minutes last year. I'm not buying Marreese Speights, but he's played well so far

The Spurs rotation in the playoffs was only 8 deep. Was basically just Mills/Manu/Diaw

I don't mean for the playoffs, I mean for RS. You have to have a bench that's good enough to get minutes in the RS in order to have the proverbial "x factor" types in the playoffs that you will need. One benefit for the Spurs last year was that their bench got significant minutes due to key injuries at the right time during the season, so the bench was basically a playoff contender on their own.

[benstanfield]

Spurs, Grizzlies, Blazers, Mavericks, and probably the Clippers are all really bad matchups for GSW. They look like a really good team on paper, but it's hard to foresee a team led by jump shooting PG and SG to make any noise past the first round. Almost every playoff team in the West has at least 1-2 stoppers on the wing, and Draymond Green and David Lee aren't going to take them past Dirk, Griffin, Aldridge, Gasol/ZBO. You aren't going to get far in this West with a starting PF that's 6'7 220.

[lefty]

Kerr is shit and GSW are not a contender