Is Mike Brown underrated?

[BigDaddyPR]

eevry time we play badly i see someone posting a fire Brown comment, but right now were playing great basketball and mainly because of the DEFENSE!!

Defense is all about the coach imo, and Cle always seems to be on the top of the league on D, and he always seems to be on the wrong side of opinions...

Thoughts??

[JonFromVA]

It's hard to call the reigning Coach of the Year underrated, but yes - he is. It's just that his strengths are atypical among the coaching ranks and often mistaken for weakness.

For instance, when he accepts a suggestion from a player or someone on the staff, he's seen as weak for not thinking of it himself and implementing it ... when in reality just the fact he's willing to accept ideas from others is something many coaches will not do.

I think the typical fan expects less of a manager, and a more assertive alpha dog personality out of a head coach ... a guy who at least acts like he has all the answers.

But the fact that Mike keeps getting the Cavs to bounce back and focus first and foremost on defense is his real strength.

As we continue to figure out how to play with Shaq and our offensive ranking continues to climb, Mike Malone will soon be seen as an offensive genius much like Kuester was, but in reality credit should go to Brown for taking the heat when the offense under-performs and giving his assistants all the credit when it does perform. Same for the defense for that matter. Malone coached defense last year, but this year it was entrusted to Melvin Hunt. Melvin wasn't able to get the D playing up to snuff and Brown has had to become more pro-active with the D again, but you won't read any of that coming out in the press.

[TheOUTLAW]

It's almost impossible for him not to be underrated since he gets the blame for anything bad that happens with the Cavs and gets no credit for anything good. This while he's coached the team to 50,50,45,66 wins and yet the view of him is that of one of the worst coaches in the game while he's clearly better than half.

[Cleveland Fan]

Is he underrated? Well when the CAVS are winning its talent, if they lose a few its Mike Browns fault. That seems to be how alot of CAVS fan react. A few weeks agot I was watching All Bets Are Off & a media member from another town was talking to Bruce & he made a statement that I believe answers this question. He said if Cleveland fired Mike he wouldn't be un-enployed very long. So I say he is underrated some & until he wins the big one it will stay that .


CAVS Fan

[Niko23]

He just makes sooo many stupid decisions sometimes. How about this, his foundation and knowledge of the defensive end is SEVERELY underrated.

[JonFromVA]

The catch is that every decision that doesn't work out is derided, while every decision that does is ignored.

For instance, Mike insisted on developing the "twin towers" as a viable option, and when it paid off big .vs. the Lakers the reaction seems to be ... oh ... well, of course it works against *them* - when in reality if they hadn't already gotten some experience playing together they wouldn't have been ready to get it done .vs the Lakers.

Speaking of twin towers, there was another game earlier in the year, where the fans were ecstatic when Mike chose to go small in the 3rd and we made a run to get back in to the game, but then they tore him a new one when we fell behind in the 4th after going big. What every one of them missed, is that we didn't have anyone small left on the bench to go with because we'd given them extended minutes.

[LeBronade]

He craps all over phil jackson that is for darn freekin surelicious!

[Rise Against]

I would say he is somewhat underrated.. Coach Brown is a great defensive coach.. Probably the best in the league. We should definitely give him more credit for what he provides on defense.. But he doesn't seem to put any care on offense. He relies way too much on LeBron for everything.. Sometimes, his rotations can be questionable. He needs to know how to adjust during in game situations.

[calibanPK]

Well damn I must be the only one who thinks he's terrible. He's a defensive coach....an assistant coach.

[heathmalc]

He has averaged 52.2 wins a season since being our coach; has the 2nd highest winning pct in NBA history in the playoffs (Minimum 20 games); and he has managed to keep the team together/chemistry. Not just anyone has the ability to handle such egos,etc. As they have egos of their own.

What happens when he wins 4 titles in a row? Will people quit talking about him like they did Phil Jackson...Who is now referred to as the "greatest" coach of all time? Being a coach is like being a player...some luck has to fall your way. Phil got to coach MJ & Kobe; 2 of the greatest players of all time, and he got to coach Shaq in his prime, who is arguably the greatest center of all time. Take those players from Phil & he has the same questions asked of him that MB gets asked.

Truth is, as long as we are winning, LBJ stays, and we contend every year, then I am happy...not satisfied; but happy. I think if we get a couple steals we may with 4-7 straight titles. Sounds nuts... but with our oldest core player 27, that allows for 5 titles before he turns 32. LeBron would be 29... A trade player; say Okafor... he'd be 31; Delonte=29; Boobie= 28..... our whole team would be set for a run of 4-5+ titles. PLUS.... Cleveland would grow in popularity & business over that time, and we'd likely be able to continue to contend after LeBron finally retired.

[BigDaddyPR]

I would say he is somewhat underrated.. Coach Brown is a great defensive coach.. Probably the best in the league. We should definitely give him more credit for what he provides on defense.. But he doesn't seem to put any care on offense. He relies way too much on LeBron for everything.. Sometimes, his rotations can be questionable. He needs to know how to adjust during in game situations.

I can agree with that....

[TonyMontana]

He craps all over phil jackson that is for darn freekin surelicious!

Ya totally, I agree with you. He should win COY.

[Benedict_Boozer]

Brown can coach up defense. Or more specifically he can get players to "buy" into his defensive system. Lebron for example improved defensively under Brown. He is also good at managing fire drills or flare-ups within the team.

Outside of that he is average.

[vjkid]

I remember watching an end of game play drawn up for the cavs by the assisstant coach while mike brown was watching

[TheOUTLAW]

That's because Brown actually has an assistant that runs the offense. People always bash him for this and frankly I think it's just ignorance on their part.

[JonFromVA]

That's because Brown actually has an assistant that runs the offense. People always bash him for this and frankly I think it's just ignorance on their part.

Even before he named an offensive or defensive coordinator, he always had the assistant responsible for scouting the opponent talk to the team before a big play.

[gflem]

Brown can coach up defense. Or more specifically he can get players to "buy" into his defensive system. Lebron for example improved defensively under Brown. He is also good at managing fire drills or flare-ups within the team.

Outside of that he is average.

+1

[oikosnomos]

Mike Brown is good enough to know when to get out of the way. Coaches are a small part of the actual game day. They players are on the court, they need to make 90% of the decision, adjust and try to figure out the opposition. Coaches do most of their work before the game starts. Mike Brown has no done anything to hurt team chemistry, confuse the players or try to insert himself somewhere where he doesn't belong. He actually uses his assistance and lets his players be a part of the decision making process. All these things have served to make leaders out of his players and coaching staff. The only thing that he seems to maintain full control over is the defensive end and with good reason.

[JonFromVA]

The only thing that he seems to maintain full control over is the defensive end and with good reason.

Technically, he gave up that control to Mike Malone last year, and Melvin Hunt this year. Mike has stepped in a few weeks ago when the players weren't putting much effort in to the D, but he may very well toss the keys back to Melvin at some point - if he hasn't already.

But that gets at another strength of Mike Brown, he's not afraid to push his guys out of their comfort zone, and he's not afraid to protect them when they struggle.

If I actually believed half the things that come out of his mouth, I'd probably be anti-Mike Brown, but I realized early on that he'd rather make himself look bad, then blame someone else like many coaches do. To appreciate him, you have to be able to read between the lines, and that he has a unique and special knack for holding a team together even when it looks like everything is falling apart.

[beantownski]

i wouldn't call him underrated. he gets the credit and complaints he deserves. he knows how to get his team to play top notch defense, and his offense is bland and uncreative.