BrokenLeftyJumper wrote:There were huge differences between the two:
No, no, no. There was one huge difference between the two: Davis played well last night and did not in game 4. Let's face it that's the only difference that plays any role in how you determine if Doc is coaching well or not. If Davis plays well, great move Doc. If Davis plays bad, then Doc is a moron. Makes it nice and easy to criticize Doc in hindsight, because of course he should have a crystal ball and know exactly what players will do as soon as they enter the game. If Sam Cassell misses a shot, Doc is an idiot, should have looked in the crystal ball and seen that, DUH, Eddie House would have hit that shot!
Case in point, your statement earlier in the thread that says Doc coached poorly in the first half, but then did a great job in the second half. Seems to me like: Team plays bad = Doc is moron. Team plays good = Doc made ok coaching moves. Nothing to do with real reasoning, more like just blaming everything that goes wrong on the coach.
As far as playing Glen Davis in a road game, I remember quite distinctly him having two awesome games during the season at the Cavs and another game at the Pistons. So I don't think it was stupid just because it was road game and smart because it was a home game. I also don't really understand how the score would have affected his play. Both games were relatively close playoff games. Pressure either way.
I think you do have a point about the lineups though. That is certainly valid, playing him with KG and Pierce makes a difference.
I agree that a player can have a good or a bad day and the coach can`t really know beforehand how the guy is going to play.
But after playing the guy for a few minutes he can see that. And then it is time to make a move. And that is the problem with Sam. If he plays like crap, put Eddie in in the second half, it is as simple as that! And that is why I said Doc did a good job in the second half! He recognized that Cassell was terrible and he didn`t play him again! That is good coaching!
But by inserting a rookie into the game a lot of other stuff needs to be taken into consideration. A 5th game in conference finals isn`t the same as a regular season game at the Palace.
Of course, the score is also important. We had momentum on our side. You play differently with an 8 point cushion after a great 3rd quarter, than being 3 down on the road.
And playing with 4 starters is much easier than playing with PJ, Posey and Sam Cassell, obviously.