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A thread on the GB about Brad Stevens got me thinking, where does SVG rank among coaches? Last season I however I don't think SVG lived up to his capabilities as a coach. Strange/stubborn rotation decisions, stale offense, poor handling of Reggie's return, keeping Stanley on too tight a leash and impacting his confidence, and a lot of "this is my fault, I have to fix it" answers in post game interviews.

Flash forward to this season and things are looking a lot better. He's giving Stanley major minutes and trusting that he'll impact the game defensively, and as a result Stanley looks a lot more confident offensively as well. The new offense is fantastic. Lots of ball movement, more offensive opportunities for Tobias, and most importantly utilizing Dre on the perimeter as a passing hub has really opened things up for us & done a good job of keeping Andre engaged in the game. Ideally I'd prefer if Bullock is in a suit all season and his minutes go to Luke, but that's a tad nit picky & Kennard has gotten decent mins over the last 3 games.

I think right now the only better coaches are Pop & Stevens. Maybe Carlisle...Thibs has a tendency to run his players into the ground and I think Kerr is a little bit overrated because of the really talented rosters he's had to work with. In a vacuum, Kyrie & Love stay healthy in 2015 and the Dubs likely lose the series to the Cavs.

top 5 easily

You dudes all hopped up on a fast start and the fact Leuer is out hurt and thus can't be playing 25 minutes a game. He needed to be talked into the new offense by his brother during the off-season.

TurboTitan wrote:top 5 easily

This. Been a fan for years since he was in Miami.

Before SVG was hired I led the charge to get him...I thought he was top 5.

I don't think he's top 5 anymore.

1 - JVG had to convince SVG to change the offense.

To me this is huge since most of what we're doing now I suggested in October 2016.

If I could see it then why couldn't SVG come to the decision on his own?

2 - he continues to play certain guys big minutes despite the fact they are ice cold offensively - & you only do that if they're contributing defensively. Jon & Bullock haven't earnt those minutes based on what we see in games

Top 5 Coaches:

1 - Pop - always and forever

2 - Stevens

3 - Carlisle

4 - Kerr - the Phil Jackson argument applies here. You don't just hand them a ball and walk away

5 - Mike D - has made a massive difference in HOU since arriving

Spo, Fizdale, Vogel, Stotts etc

SVG used to be right up there...not anymore IMO

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Top 10, not top 5. May never have been top 5, really. He's a good coach, though.

Why do people keep saying JVG had to convince SVG to change the offense? I'm trying to search for an article about it and can't find anything.

Paul Lord wrote:Why do people keep saying JVG had to convince SVG to change the offense? I'm trying to search for an article about it and can't find anything.

IIRC it was said during a game broadcast.

Greg Popovich
Eric Spoelstra
Brad Stevens
Rick Carlisle
Steve Kerr
Mike D'Antoni
Scottie Brooks
Tom Thibideau
Quin Snyder
Mike Budenholzer
Jason Kidd

Then there's;
Doc Rivers
Tyronn Lue
Frank Vogel

And I like guys like;
Steve Clifford
Nate McMillan
Billy Donovan
Jeff Hornacek

We really don't have any criteria, but I think those guys round out the coaches in the discussion. Could even put Dwayne Casey in the mix, I guess. I won't.

So lets take the bottom guys out of the equation, for the sake of argument.

I think Doc Rivers ruined things in Clipper land with the nepotism. So remove him from the list.

Tyrann Lue was gifted a cast of talented players. That would say more about his resume, even though he did have to direct those players... so eliminate him.

Vogel is on the fringe... I thought he did well with the Pacers... and what he is doing down in Orlando is worth watching the next couple of seasons. Vogel is structured, has a very decent scheme, knows the game and has a decent rapport with his players.

Brings me to the top group. Jason Kidd has been special and I like the way he is developing the young guys, Maker and Brogdon. He has done well even though important players like Middleton and Parker have had injuries. He most likely knows how to better handle this generation of players, IMHO. While he was shaky when he first got into the mix with the Nets, I think the Bucks were lucky to get a guy who lives & loves basketball.

Budenholzer gets kudos for taking a group of aging players and getting the best out of them. Unfortunately, new ownership/management have decided to go into rebuild mode, but I'm betting it takes less than 4 years before you see the Hawks back in the Playoffs, We'll see. Much respect for him.

I have to appreciate what Quin Snyder has been doing in Utah. I don't think they have the greatest talent evaluators there, but Having Gordon develop the way he has, Quin certainly didn't constrain those talents... and in fact got him to take on a much needed leadership role before he headed off to greener pastures. I never thought Gobert would be anything like he is today. I was wrong about Rudy, so I have to give credit not only to him, but Snyder. I love their defense. They're a team I like to watch.

I'll finish off with Thibs. He is a fair comparison to SVG, although one could argue Stan has a much better grasp on the offensive side of the ball. I won't argue either way. This is where the positioning should be for Van Gundy... at its highest. 7 or 8. However, I am biased, and would take a handful of the latter guys, because I think Stan has a difficult time reaching today's players. He's old school. Blue color. And he seems to struggle adjusting to the younger generation... I don't know this as fact, just my perception.

I'm throwing SVG in right behind Kidd. For now. 12th

Pop used to have a pretty big lead over everyone else but now I think Stevens has closed the gap and is right there. I think Stevens is likely going to be considered the best coach in the league within 2 years.

I got SVG in the 7 to 9 range partly because of how well respected he is by most of his players. I think if you look at actual Xs and Os he's more middle of the pack in that area somewhere in the 12-15 range.

Middle of the pack, or lower. It took his brother's insistence to start moving the ball more on offense over last summer, telling him the P&R was too predictable and easy to defend.

SVG should have known that, considering his team was trashed thousands of times last year on that play.

He's too rigid, inflexible on making in-game decisions, and weirdly runs his starters for a lot of minutes, even if the game is already over.

I think his finals run with Orlando was a lot of luck, hot shooting from his shooters, D12 in his prime and Boston breaking down and LBJ ready to high tail it to Miami.