#Spacing - Steve Clifford Thread

[mrknowitall215]

I have recently seen some very good arguments for Steve Clifford garnishing the Coach of the Year award at season's end. Personally, I think it should be narrowed down to Clifford or Tom Thibodeau if Jeff Hornacek and the Suns fail to reach the playoffs, with Clifford getting the slight nod

You can't really punish coach Hornacek if the Suns don't make the playoffs by not giving him the COY, they would probably be the 3 seed in the East

I wouldn't consider it as punishing Hornacek for not getting the Suns into the postseason, but rather keeping true to perception & which coach overcame the most. The turnaround of the Bobcats has been much more impressive than that of the Suns to me. The Suns are just two seasons removed from being a .500 team and four seasons from being a championship contender in the Western Conference Finals whereas the Bobcats are two seasons removed from being the worst team in NBA history and four seasons from their first & only playoff appearance in franchise history in which they were swept in the 1st round. The Suns aren't but 6 games better than the Bobcats this season, which is close to the wins differential they had last season (4 games)

[LamarMatic7]

I have recently seen some very good arguments for Steve Clifford garnishing the Coach of the Year award at season's end. Personally, I think it should be narrowed down to Clifford or Tom Thibodeau if Jeff Hornacek and the Suns fail to reach the playoffs, with Clifford getting the slight nod

You can't really punish coach Hornacek if the Suns don't make the playoffs by not giving him the COY, they would probably be the 3 seed in the East

I wouldn't consider it as punishing Hornacek for not getting the Suns into the postseason, but rather keeping true to perception & which coach overcame the most. The turnaround of the Bobcats has been much more impressive than that of the Suns to me. The Suns are just two seasons removed from being a .500 team and four seasons from being a championship contender in the Western Conference Finals whereas the Bobcats are two seasons removed from being the worst team in NBA history and four seasons from their first & only playoff appearance in franchise history in which they were swept in the 1st round. The Suns aren't but 6 games better than the Bobcats this season, which is close to the wins differential they had last season (4 games)

I don't know, man... Two seasons might not sound like a lot but they sure can be. I wouldn't look at the number of seasons that have passed by but the dramatic roster turnaround. Is there anyone besides Markieff and Frye that is still left from that team? That's, in my opinion, what matters.

I would still vote for Pop though and wouldn't put Hornacek above or under Clifford.

[mrknowitall215]

You can't really punish coach Hornacek if the Suns don't make the playoffs by not giving him the COY, they would probably be the 3 seed in the East

I wouldn't consider it as punishing Hornacek for not getting the Suns into the postseason, but rather keeping true to perception & which coach overcame the most. The turnaround of the Bobcats has been much more impressive than that of the Suns to me. The Suns are just two seasons removed from being a .500 team and four seasons from being a championship contender in the Western Conference Finals whereas the Bobcats are two seasons removed from being the worst team in NBA history and four seasons from their first & only playoff appearance in franchise history in which they were swept in the 1st round. The Suns aren't but 6 games better than the Bobcats this season, which is close to the wins differential they had last season (4 games)

I don't know, man... Two seasons might not sound like a lot but they sure can be. I wouldn't look at the number of seasons that have passed by but the dramatic roster turnaround. Is there anyone besides Markieff and Frye that is still left from that team? That's, in my opinion, what matters.

Roster turnaround? Is there anybody besides Kemba Walker, Gerald Henderson, & Bismack Biyombo left from that 7-59 record team?

2 years ago, Henderson was the Bobcats' 1st option on offense, Kemba wasn't even considered good enough to receive any All-Rookie Team honors, and to the superficial eye Biyombo was still the same player that he is now

It could be argued that the Suns shouldn't have been as bad as their record indicated just last season, and firing Alvin Gentry midseason was their way of going full tank (which only netted them Alex Len). Phoenix had a roster full of serviceable veterans like Marcin Gortat, Luis Scola, Jermaine O'Neal, and Jared Dudley to go with young talent like Goran Dragic, Michael Beasley, and the Morris Twins, not to mention Channing Frye sitting a entire season due to a irregular heart problem, while Charlotte depended on a sophomore Kemba Walker, a oft-injured Gerald Henderson, a journeyman Ramon Sessions, and a humbled Ben Gordon

Now everyone want to point to the addition & emergence of Al Jefferson as the 'only' reason why Charlotte is suddenly .500 and playoff-bound, but those pundits/critics were the very same ones considering Jefferson as a bad signing for this Bobcats team. Their reasoning? because he won't help their league worst defense get any better & his offense isn't good enough to detract his deficiencies on the defensive end

With that being said, I think Clifford has just as good of a case as any coach for Coach of the Year because the turnaround he's done for the Bobcats is almost historical & unbarring of a miracle. I praise Hornacek's work as a coach with the Suns, but if they don't make the playoffs their season will be insignificantly loss, and that's where Clifford's consideration for the award intensifies

[catch20two]

The Suns didn't make the playoffs. I think that build a good case for Clifford as COTY. The only coach that I see with a better chance is Thibs. I don't know how he kept that Bulls team afloat with their best player D. Rose out for the season and then trading away Deng in a tanking effort by the front office.

[molepharmer]

The Suns didn't make the playoffs. I think that build a good case for Clifford as COTY. The only coach that I see with a better chance is Thibs. I don't know how he kept that Bulls team afloat with their best player D. Rose out for the season and then trading away Deng in a tanking effort by the front office.

Bulls traded Deng to dump salary (not tank) and because they already knew they weren't going to re-sign him over the summer. Besides that they also knew they had a very capable backup in Jimmy Butler, in combo with M Dunleavy. While both Gibson and Noah have stepped up their games, DJ Augustin is the primary reason the Bulls have kept afloat. Mainly because if it hadn't been him at PG it would have been M Teague or M James; two horrendously bad alternatives.

While Thibs has done a great job, I actually came to this forum to compliment the job Clifford has done. And to say that I think he got shafted by not being on the final ballot (if it is the final ballot). Despite Clifford not being the best coach in the league, he'd be my pick as COY, as well documented by mrknowitall215. Turning around the culture of a young roster/franchise is much more difficult than getting a veteran laden team to continue its winning tradition.

[Snidely FC]

I think Steve Clifford is the best thing to ever happen to this franchise. Just freaking awesome.

[doc.end]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/ESP ... coach-year

[JDR720]

The Bobcat bias is still strong i can see

[Snidely FC]

Year 1 and look at the company Cliff keeps. Right there with Pop and Thibs. Never in my wildest dreams thought we'd get a coach in their neighborhood.

("All the COY award gets you is fired." - George Karl)

[BlackOutBuzz]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Griuj5X05lE&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/youtube]

[mrknowitall215]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/NBA/status/456855472063393792[/tweet]

[HornetJail]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/NBA/status/456855472063393792[/tweet]

[mrknowitall215]

Steve Clifford finished fourth in the Coach of the Year voting (8 first place votes) behind the winner Greg Popovich (59 first place votes), the runner-up Jeff Hornacek (37 first place votes), and third place Tom Thibodeau (12 first place votes). I think that's a accomplishment in itself

[ohara]

Great job Coach! All 5 of those who landed in the Top 5 were deserving.

[JDR720]

Michael Smith (ESPN) just went on a rant about Cliff the team going back to Charlotte to avoid distractions lol

[LamarMatic7]

I haven't caught up yet but it turns out that Clifford was on the Dan LeBatard Show two hours and a half before game 2 started. The interview certainly won't be as fascinating now as it was before the game but you can check it out here:

http://www.theticketmiami.com/podcast_lebatard.aspx

Just click on the specific interview on the right side of the page.

[SeanBobcats]

This guy is just legit as a coach. Couldn't have asked for a better job done. Charlotte fans appreciate u coach Cliff!

[Snidely FC]

I think Steve Clifford is the best thing to ever happen to this franchise. Just freaking awesome.

I still believe this. In one year he has done wonders.

However, his job just got harder. One reason its so hard to maintain excellence in pro sports is that once one brilliant coach figures out how to play your good ideas, you need to evolve to the next idea, because that becomes the blueprint for stopping you. Doubling Al Jeff hasn't worked for defenses, so Spoelstra doubled Kemba instead. Smart move. Al can't get the ball. Kemba gets frustrated to the point of taking himself out (injury or no). Train wreck. What do you do Cliff? Your move.

[ball teacher]

The Bobcats tanked last year. If we didnt have Cliff but we had Al and we actually tried to win, we'd still be productive. If we didnt have Al and we tried to win, we'd still suck. Sorry, but Cliff is overrated imo.

[mrknowitall215]

The Bobcats tanked last year. If we didnt have Cliff but we had Al and we actually tried to win, we'd still be productive. If we didnt have Al and we tried to win, we'd still suck. Sorry, but Cliff is overrated imo.

I totally disagree. If there was a 'thumbs down' button, I would click it