Has Billy Donovan done a good job this season?

[sco]

I've been on him for several years with various things I don't like...many, many things. That said, he got the slowest paced team to become the fastest and from being near the bottom of 3's taken to toward the top. That is a big cultural change. And then again, he bafflingly has kept Vuc as the starter despite a fair amount of evidence to the contrary while he was out. And then again again, he has incorporated new guys seemlessly and has young guys improving.

I'm not asking if he's the best coach in the NBA, just curious where sentiment stands.

[DuckIII]

I’ve always thought he was fine. I could take him or leave him. He has never made me feel anything strongly either way.

It’s the FO, it’s the FO, it’s the FO.

Most of the BD criticism has always seemed to be attached to fan player preferences. BD doesn’t use or treat “their guy” the way they like, so he sucks. I’ve never really seen it. He makes good and bad decisions. Like most every coach.

Totally replaceable while also no compelling reason to do so.

[jordanwilliams6]

I’ve said before that he’s a perfectly adequate and mediocre coach.

I’d sit him at about 18-20th in the league. He’s probably performed a little above that this season but he’s now finally blessed with players he’s more suited to coaching. Guys with high IQ who move the ball and have a willingness to play for each other.

[HomoSapien]

More no's than yes? Is this team supposed to be better than it is?

Here's what I'll say are in his favor:

1.) This team should not be battling for the 8th seed.
2.) Josh Giddey turned the corner under his coaching.
3.) Coby White turned the corner under his coaching.
4.) Matas Buzelis has progressively been given more and more minutes.
5.) Repaired his relationship with LaVine.
6.) He successfully integrated the new guys into the team in a meaningful way while most of this board was advocating for all three to be bought out or benched.

Here's what he has done poorly:
1.) Finding a consistent and fair role for Jalen Smith.
2.) Giving Pat too long of a leash early on.

[ShouldaPaidBG]

Ya and it's also clear that he's been developing the young guys (sans Pat, though that has nothing to do with Billy) well this whole time.

[Jcool0]

I wouldn't say he has done a good job... But if Erik Spoelstra, a coach everyone says is one of the 5 best, can lose 10 in a row. Who knows how much coaches really influence NBA games. Its fine.

[meekrab]

My biggest issue with Donovan is the team is consistently not ready to play at tipoff or out of half time. On the second or third play of the Lakers game 40 year old possible Grandpa LeBron waltzed past the whole team for a transition layup. I've lost count of the number of timeouts we've taken less than 2 minutes into the 3rd quarter, which should never happen let alone multiple times a week. It hasn't been quite as regular since Giddey and Coby took over running the offense from the Mid Three but we often dig 20 point holes in the first quarter and spend the whole game trying to get it back.

Some of it could've been blamed on lazy vets but nothing about Zach or DeMar otherwise indicates they're affected with sloth.

[ChettheJet]

all those who wanted him fired must be searching for reasons other than the coach why the team has turned things completely around. Billy wasn't so clueless 3 years ago or 3 months ago and he hasn't become a genius in the last 15 games. But he's got players who are willing to be coached and make the effort to fill a role and not look for where they can shine

[WindyCityBorn]

He is doing an amazing job now.

[poolshark52]

The question specifically asks about this season. I think the answer is clearly yes. I mean look at the overall talent level. No All Stars beyond Vuc and that was some time ago. He's done a rebuild midseason fairly successfully while developing the young guys. I'm not sure anyone can get through to PW, so I don't hold that against him.

[jnrjr79]

He completely revamped the offense to the roster and has the young guys playing well. I’m sometimes annoyed at his approach with Matas, but overall, he’s done fine.

[HearshotKDS]

I voted for "Its complicated" but its really not - I think he's JAG. I think you could replace him with a handful of other coaches, some even available, and get similar or maybe even better results. There are plenty that would do worse, too.

[kodo]

If he put Giddey in the correct role & Coby in the correct role with 20 games left in the season...is he really doing a good job?
We could have had this kind of team back in October, with the exception of Matas development. Obviously Tre/Huerter/Collins are also helping but that has less to do with Billy and more to do with AKME.

I mean most people on this board preseason said Giddey should be the PG and Coby should be a scoring guard. Lavine would have replaced Huerter and would have done far better than Kevin.

[RagingBull316]

I think he's been bad for years, and when we win it's often in spite of his bad decisions. He put Vuc back in at the end of the Denver game, when it was clear that wasn't the right move and Denver immediately went on a 8-0 run since Vuc wasn't playing any defense. He never seems to notice who has it going and who doesn't, he calls timeouts at terrible times, he's one of the worst coaches in the league at knowing which plays should be reviewed. He gives out entitlement minutes to guys who don't hustle and play lazy, while making guys who do hustle and play with energy fight for playing time. It's completely backwards, and he doesn't really hold any players accountable. It's sad that he's going to have a longer coaching career here then Thibs did, even though Thibs was way more successful with whatever roster he was given.

[sco]

I think he's been bad for years, and when we win it's often in spite of his bad decisions. He put Vuc back in at the end of the Denver game, when it was clear that wasn't the right move and Denver immediately went on a 8-0 run since Vuc wasn't playing any defense. He never seems to notice who has it going and who doesn't, he calls timeouts at terrible times, he's one of the worst coaches in the league at knowing which plays should be reviewed. He gives out entitlement minutes to guys who don't hustle and play lazy, while making guys who do hustle and play with energy fight for playing time. It's completely backwards, and he doesn't really hold any players accountable. It's sad that he's going to have a longer coaching career here then Thibs did, even though Thibs was way more successful with whatever roster he was given.

Yeah, he clearly has guys who he plays for some reason beyond what we are all seeing, clear as day, on the floor, night after night. Continuing to start Vuc and give him the lions share of the minutes, not this year, but last year, is so odd.

[Ice Man]

I’ve always thought he was fine. I could take him or leave him. He has never made me feel anything strongly either way.

It’s the FO, it’s the FO, it’s the FO.

Most of the BD criticism has always seemed to be attached to fan player preferences. BD doesn’t use or treat “their guy” the way they like, so he sucks. I’ve never really seen it. He makes good and bad decisions. Like most every coach.

Totally replaceable while also no compelling reason to do so.

Agree on all points. I would also add that to the extent that Billy has a strength, it's that he is a players' coach for both young and old. Patient with the young, many have improved under him. And tolerant with the old. He's not a drill sergeant but unlike with Fred, they respect him. His weakness being what everybody here knows, he's not a great Xs and Os guy. But honestly, I don't know how much difference that tactical stuff makes.

[sco]

I’ve always thought he was fine. I could take him or leave him. He has never made me feel anything strongly either way.

It’s the FO, it’s the FO, it’s the FO.

Most of the BD criticism has always seemed to be attached to fan player preferences. BD doesn’t use or treat “their guy” the way they like, so he sucks. I’ve never really seen it. He makes good and bad decisions. Like most every coach.

Totally replaceable while also no compelling reason to do so.

Agree on all points. I would also add that to the extent that Billy has a strength, it's that he is a players' coach for both young and old. Patient with the young, many have improved under him. And tolerant with the old. He's not a drill sergeant but unlike with Fred, they respect him. His weakness being what everybody here knows, he's not a great Xs and Os guy. But honestly, I don't know how much difference that tactical stuff makes.

I think his weakness, which is pretty common in the NBA IMO, is that he will often play the higher paid player over the better player.

[dougthonus]

More no's than yes? Is this team supposed to be better than it is?

Here's what I'll say are in his favor:

1.) This team should not be battling for the 8th seed.
2.) Josh Giddey turned the corner under his coaching.
3.) Coby White turned the corner under his coaching.
4.) Matas Buzelis has progressively been given more and more minutes.
5.) Repaired his relationship with LaVine.
6.) He successfully integrated the new guys into the team in a meaningful way while most of this board was advocating for all three to be bought out or benched.

Here's what he has done poorly:
1.) Finding a consistent and fair role for Jalen Smith.
2.) Giving Pat too long of a leash early on.

I think this is a good list. On the con side I'd probably add:
1: Large overuse of Vuc in post offense (and probably too many minutes, related to your Jalen comment)
2: Not being able to apply this fast offensive style successfully with Zach earlier

Maybe I'd say #1 is mitigated by the fact that perhaps they were trying to up his trade value, which looked like it had worked, but they were unable to move him, and maybe #2 is too much of a Zach problem and not a BD problem, and it's probably offset generally speaking by the fact he rehabbed his relationship and Zach's value enough to get him traded.

[sco]

More no's than yes? Is this team supposed to be better than it is?

Here's what I'll say are in his favor:

1.) This team should not be battling for the 8th seed.
2.) Josh Giddey turned the corner under his coaching.
3.) Coby White turned the corner under his coaching.
4.) Matas Buzelis has progressively been given more and more minutes.
5.) Repaired his relationship with LaVine.
6.) He successfully integrated the new guys into the team in a meaningful way while most of this board was advocating for all three to be bought out or benched.

Here's what he has done poorly:
1.) Finding a consistent and fair role for Jalen Smith.
2.) Giving Pat too long of a leash early on.

I think this is a good list. On the con side I'd probably add:
1: Large overuse of Vuc in post offense (and probably too many minutes, related to your Jalen comment)
2: Not being able to apply this fast offensive style successfully with Zach earlier

Maybe I'd say #1 is mitigated by the fact that perhaps they were trying to up his trade value, which looked like it had worked, but they were unable to move him, and maybe #2 is too much of a Zach problem and not a BD problem, and it's probably offset generally speaking by the fact he rehabbed his relationship and Zach's value enough to get him traded.

You raise a good question about whether Zach is a good fast paced player. Not sure there. He was always good on those long passes from Ball. That said, he seems unable to just catch and shoot (instead he'll bring the ball down and dribble before doing anything...seems almost involuntary).

[Ice Man]

I think his weakness, which is pretty common in the NBA IMO, is that he will often play the higher paid player over the better player.

Oh, for sure. But everybody does that, at least to some extent. I went crazy watching Thibs start 3rd and 4th year Boozer over Taj. (You could argue about the first 2 years of Boozer, but not the last 2.)