Over The Top: The James Borrego Thread

[MPM]

The lack of optimism on this board makes me think everyone here is an alcoholic.

After this past season i wouldnt blame you

*raises hand.

[countryboi]

I cant help but feel like we made the wrong choice.....

[HornetJail]

https://orlandomagicdaily.com/2015/02/07/james-borrego-coach/

Borrego certainly took some influence from Jacque Vaughn. Like Vaughn, he is a quiet measured coach it seems. Aaron Gordon said after the game that Borrego would come into huddles and ask the team what they were seeing out there. This was something Vaughn had done in the past too, but the new voice brought some poignancy to it.

Gordon said Borrego was very encouraging from the sideline and trying to inject some more enthusiasm into the team. That was plainly seen as the bench would erupt even for the simplest plays. Tobias Harris said the team’s energy was at an all-time high.

“He acts pretty well,” Kyle O’Quinn said after the game Friday. “He talks low, but you can feel it. You can feel his energy. He wants to win just like us. If you know JB, you know how he speaks.”

Borrego does have that quiet fortitude about him as he paced the sideline. There was certainly a lot of chaos going on the floor, some that Borrego probably did not expect to deal with or even know how to handle as a first time head coach.

The fire within Borrego also exists too. He was whistling to get his player’s attention on the sideline and he certainly put an emphasis in his first meeting with the team and shootaround on defense and energy.

from 2015

Defense and energy. Maybe I'm wrong, but those two things are what rookies/young players struggle with. Sounds like a player development type guy to me, maybe we're going for the rebuild route?

reading way too deep into that haha. Besides, focusing on what young players are typically weak at shouldn't be specific to "rebuilding coaches". A good organization can field a competitive team while giving minutes to and developing young talent.

Probably not the best week to bring up Toronto as an example since LeBron wiped his ass with them, but look what they have done there. They have vets that led them to 59 wins, but the supporting cast is young and almost completely drafted and groomed by Toronto. Look at guys like OG, Siakam, Wright, Vleet, Poeltl, even Valanciunas is still improving. All those guys are good players. If they stay the course, they'll continue to win 50+ games till Lowry is too old, and DeRozan's getting up there, and by then their young guys will be developed and ready to compete themselves. They were a laughingstock of the league five years ago. Now they're competitive, have a front office and scouts with an eye for talent, and a staff that coaches them up into solid players.

If we can have that kind of transformation within the organization, I'll be happy. We're not winning any championships, but we'll have a team we can be proud of.

[Hornet Mania]

Brad Stevens also emphasizes defense and talks about energy constantly, just saying.

I have no idea if Borrego is any good, and our track record definitely makes me cautious about the whole thing, but I can't really form a firm opinion about him yet. Not every coach who emphasizes (or has a rep for) defense is as stuck in 09 as Cliff. Rotations are another area that could make a big difference. Cliff could have probably hung on longer if he'd simply been more flexible with our lineups.

I'll least give Borrego a chance to show he's not a stick in the mud before I assume he's equivalent to Cliff.

[Emhoward]

This feels like picking Clifford over Synder.

[powerforward]

good post- we have no way of knowing how good a hire this is. In fact I now tend to think they moves we make that I get excited about rarely work out (vonleh draft, hairston, batum trade, monk over mitchell) so while he is the least exciting prospect of the coaches we looked at, lets try to give the benefit of the doubt (despite the fact this franchise doesn't deserve it)

Brad Stevens also emphasizes defense and talks about energy constantly, just saying.

I have no idea if Borrego is any good, and our track record definitely makes me cautious about the whole thing, but I can't really form a firm opinion about him yet. Not every coach who emphasizes (or has a rep for) defense is as stuck in 09 as Cliff. Rotations are another area that could make a big difference. Cliff could have probably hung on longer if he'd simply been more flexible with our lineups.

I'll least give Borrego a chance to show he's not a stick in the mud before I assume he's equivalent to Cliff.

[powerforward]

also, stevens and snyder are primarily defensive coaches. But both seem to put guys in the best position to succeed, this is what i am hoping for

[amcoolio]

I trust Mitch. He interviewed everyone possible.

My 2 cents, I bet Larranega was too goofy for MJ but I wish we had gone with him.... he has higher boom potential, but probably higher bust potential as well.

I don’t know anything about this guy but he is young and been a part of a bunch of winning staffs. Doesn’t strike me as another Clifford so far from what I’ve read about him

[amcoolio]

This feels like picking Clifford over Synder.

We picked Dunlap over Snyder not Clifford

[Emhoward]

This feels like picking Clifford over Synder.

We picked Dunlap over Snyder not Clifford

Ooof

[DY_nasty]

oh you guys wanted the coke fiend now?

[MPM]

Someone on the homepage just noted that Borrego looks like bizarro Brad Stevens. Good call.

[Braggins]

Someone on the homepage just noted that Borrego looks like bizarro Brad Stevens. Good call.

Spoiler:

[Rich4114]

Could JB’s relationship with Kawhi be a factor here?

[SOUL]

FWIW, and it's not like we've had a slew of great coaches lately (Vaughn, Borrego, Skiles, Vogel), he was the least frustrating coach we've had the last 4-5 years and most people were fine with bringing him back when he did coach us, but also didn't lose too much sleep when he left. I think it's good that he went back with Pop for a bit because I'm sure the days with Jacque Vaughn might've caused some damage.

He's not an exciting hire, but he's a pretty damn decent coach. I remember being a fan of most of his lineups, but we also didn't have him for a full season so I can't speak for anything but the 30 games he coached.

[amcoolio]

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=273705

Spurs fans think highly of him. Its also odd to see the diehard spurs fans want Pop and Kawai gone

[fatlever]

Someone on the homepage just noted that Borrego looks like bizarro Brad Stevens. Good call.

[fatlever]

what was the spurs coaching hierarchy last year?

[yosemiteben]

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=273705

Spurs fans think highly of him. Its also odd to see the diehard spurs fans want Pop and Kawai gone

Yeah they hate Pop over there.

[TheKingofSting]

I'm guessing we just hired the Steve Clifford of the Popovich coaching tree.

From his wiki page. "Borrego began in 2003 his career in professional basketball with the San Antonio Spurs, starting as an assistant video coordinator in the summer of 2003"

Totally giving me Clifford vibes. I admit that I know nothing about this guy and have no idea if he is good or bad, but it feels like we just hired another long time assistant who was never going to get a head coaching gig unless we hired them...

Didn't Spo get his foot in the door in the NBA in some similar capacity?


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