Post#1 » by mkwest » Wed Jul 14, 2010 1:31 am
In this day and age, do we overstate the importance of position?
Probably a little bit. You have guys who are 6-foot-10 and 7-feet playing behind the line and not playing in the post anymore. The post-up game is different. The rules are different. The game continues to evolve and that dictates a lot of the things you do on the court. Talent wins in this league. We all know that.
Do you see this Clippers offense operating on sets and isolations, or will it be more of an improvisational offense?
Probably a little bit of both. You want to flow freely with the way we're built, the way Baron [Davis] can push it, and the way Blake [Griffin] and Chris [Kaman] can run, but you're going to have to play in the half court as well. It's not just one style. You want to emphasize defense and rebounding. That's where we're going to win games, so we can get out and get some easy baskets. But our execution has to begin on the offensive end, which will help our defensive transition and our floor balance.
Looking back, pre-Chicago, do you ever regret you didn't spend a couple seasons on the bench somewhere as an assistant?
No, I don't. The reason I don't is that I felt like I was an assistant coach on the floor when I played. I played both positions. I played for great coaches. I used to watch a lot of film and study reports. Coaching is different, though. Some people probably need it more than others. I was just fortunate enough to have an opportunity to do what I believed in and my philosophies over 20-plus years. It just fell into place for me that way. I look at that as fortunate, but also doing a lot of the right things over a lot of years.
Kevin Arnovitz,
TrueHoop/ESPN
