I'm sure we'd all agree that this season (and overall, the last 3 years) have been a major disappointment. While I think everyone should read the article, there are several important quotes that not only help to restore my faith in Hollins but give a shred of confidence that things won't remain this bad for long.
Now, head coach Lionel Hollins, working on just a few hours of sleep like everyone else, is sitting in a courtside chair after practice with a baseball cap knocked back on his head, and he is talking candidly about how "at this stage of our development," the 8-11 Nets "are not a very good team."
Why does he say that?
"Look at our record," Hollins shot back. "It's the truth."
Then he calmly went on to tick off the Nets' defensive limitations, their lack of foot speed, how their big men "get whipped" too often when it comes to rebounding, and how his players struggle to accept they need to control the tempo of games more, because, as presently constructed, they can't play at the faster tempo they'd prefer.
t's become clear it's not a question of if roster changes are coming. But when.
Neither Hollins nor Nets general manager Billy King is even taking great pains to deny it.
King, when asked 11 days ago if he still believes Lopez, Johnson and Williams can win together, raised the first red flag when he said, "We'll see." Just three days ago -- boom -- ESPN's Marc Stein and Ohm Youngmisuk reported that the Nets have begun "exploring" what they might be able to get back in trades if they break up the team.
Remember, too, that personnel changes were part of Hollins' M.O. in Memphis, too, which overhauled its roster between his first and second years -- then took off winning after weeding out who didn't fit.
Right now, the Nets could desperately use a quick shutdown perimeter defender and an athletic, physical, rebounding big man to cover for the lumbering Lopez, who is also a poor passer out of double teams. (Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like his game?)
"Maybe everybody just dealt with what Brook did or Joe [Johnson] or Deron Williams did. My philosophy is totally different. ... I used to say this to a lot of guys: 'Why are you mad at me and getting into an argument with me because of what I say, and yet that guy kicks your ass every night out there on the glass and you don't get into a debate with him? Don't get mad at me! Get mad at him! He's the one you're competing against. I'm on your side!'"
If you ask Hollins about calling out young Plumlee or his unsparing critiques of Lopez's game, Hollins says, "You know, if they ask, 'How is Mase playing?' and I say, 'Not very well.' That's just the truth. What does he need to do? He needs to play better -- at everything. I'm looking at everything. ... Same with Brook.
"If you go back, Brook has averaged 20 points a game. Now, you could be happy with that. But at 7-foot, we don't get rebounds, we don't get shot blocks, we don't get charges. That is as important to winning than just 20 points. It's not just the rebounds, and it's not just the points, and it's not just the charges. It's all of that."
Hollins says what he's attempting here is nothing less than a culture change. Some players already here will survive it. And some will not.
"The culture part of any team is hard to change, and especially with players that have been in the league, because they've had success doing this or that, and then it's, 'Well I've been on winning teams before, and I've still been able to do this,'" Hollins adds.
"I say, 'Well, where are your aspirations? Just being on a winning team? A winning team is 42-40, you know,'" Hollins scoffs.
via http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_ ... lds-change
There are several more notable items in the article that I can't quote without blatantly disrespecting the TOS, but in short it goes into Hollins' personality, his take on the team, his opinion on JJ's comments, and how he's managing this squad.
Read it. Read it all.
