2007-2008 playoff thread

[queridiculo]

The ignore feature seems to have gone missing with the upgrade. Can somebody tell me how I can avoid having to read Ji's tripe?

[LyricalRico]

We can still fire him next year if he fails to bring 2nd round success while bringing in a coach who has some nice young talent to work with.

Yep and Thibbs could very well be on the top of Ernie's list (which is fine by me). Too bad we'll have wasted two extra years under EJ but better late than never.

[fishercob]

So in other words EJ had his panties in a bunch because his yes men had less job security than the new much more talented and accomplished guy and he himself felt threatened due to Thibs being on the coaching staff.

Good to know how secure EJ feels about his job. Clearly tells me that he knows his ass is out of here if he fails once more. At the very least, I'm glad EG has stacked this team with some decent young talent so all these years of mediocrity under EJ haven't set us back.

We can still fire him next year if he fails to bring 2nd round success while bringing in a coach who has some nice young talent to work with.

Not really. EG has to shoulder some of the blame here too. He could have had his cake and eaten it too by extending EJ's assistants AND bringing in Thibs. Then he would have had Thibs on staff if/when he wanted to can EJ. And presumably, we would have been better this year.

But you know what? This playoffs suggest to me more than anything else that the NBA is so much more about players than coaches. I know it's easy (and often fun!) to say that coaches suck and this and that, but players matter far, far more.

Doc Rivers was a complete joke in Boston last year. Ainge remakes the roster and now he's a helluva coach and Thibs is a genius. You think Thibs would have pulled off the same defensive wizardry with the Lakers personnel? Or the Wizards? No way. KG, Perk, Rondo, Pierce, Posey etc., make a coach look good. Gasol, Radmanovich, (quite possibly the worst basketball player in the history of the world), Luke Walton, Nick Young, Jamison, etc., make defensive coaches look bad.

The Wizards chances of improvement have a ton more to do with upgrading the roster than with replacing the coach. The time to best upgrade the roster will be next offseason and the following trade deadline. Replace Jordan then if a fresh voice is needed. Now it would just be a move to make a move and would probably do more harm than good.

It's about the players.

[Wizards2Lottery]

So in other words EJ had his panties in a bunch because his yes men had less job security than the new much more talented and accomplished guy and he himself felt threatened due to Thibs being on the coaching staff.

Good to know how secure EJ feels about his job. Clearly tells me that he knows his ass is out of here if he fails once more. At the very least, I'm glad EG has stacked this team with some decent young talent so all these years of mediocrity under EJ haven't set us back.

We can still fire him next year if he fails to bring 2nd round success while bringing in a coach who has some nice young talent to work with.

Not really. EG has to shoulder some of the blame here too. He could have had his cake and eaten it too by extending EJ's assistants AND bringing in Thibs. Then he would have had Thibs on staff if/when he wanted to can EJ. And presumably, we would have been better this year.

But you know what? This playoffs suggest to me more than anything else that the NBA is so much more about players than coaches. I know it's easy (and often fun!) to say that coaches suck and this and that, but players matter far, far more.

Doc Rivers was a complete joke in Boston last year. Ainge remakes the roster and now he's a helluva coach and Thibs is a genius. You think Thibs would have pulled off the same defensive wizardry with the Lakers personnel? Or the Wizards? No way. KG, Perk, Rondo, Pierce, Posey etc., make a coach look good. Gasol, Radmanovich, (quite possibly the worst basketball player in the history of the world), Luke Walton, Nick Young, Jamison, etc., make defensive coaches look bad.

The Wizards chances of improvement have a ton more to do with upgrading the roster than with replacing the coach. The time to best upgrade the roster will be next offseason and the following trade deadline. Replace Jordan then if a fresh voice is needed. Now it would just be a move to make a move and would probably do more harm than good.

It's about the players.

I would agree with you IF EFJ would have shown that he can consistently use what is at his disposal.

Its taken the man five years to realize that he has a legit big in Haywood and he still used small ball on multiple occasions last year.

As much as its about the players, its also about who the coach puts on the floor and who he holds accountable. EFJ fails in both those departments. He might be a smart x's and o's guy and a players coach but he is nothing but an average in game coach. I'm sorry but this is the same guy who used Jarvis Hayes at the 4 spot when he had much more capable options sitting on the bench.

As much as I'd like the roster upgraded, this team is stuck in the first round with EFJ unless EG brings him a hall of fame big man.

[miller31time]

Doc Rivers hasn't changed one bit. He's still a players' coach who leaves a lot to be desired as far as X's and O's go. His offensive decisions and strategy always make me scratch my head. I mean, how a team with Garnett, Pierce and Allen can only be 10th in offensive efficiency perplexes me to no end.

So what changed from last year to this year? Doc got Garnett, the DPOTY, and Thibs (to make all the parts run correctly). That shored up the defense, leaving what responsibility to Rivers, himself? Keeping the troops motivated and ready for battle. I attribute the Celtics ability to come back from 20+ point deficits largely on Rivers. He is an excellent motivator - it's always been a trait of his.

Regarding Tom Thibodeaux and his ability to change the Wizards, he would have made a huge difference.

What Thibs did in Boston was implement a system that worked, but was also never afraid or tentative to change it up depending on the matchup. There were countless times during the 08' playoffs when I heard that Boston was using a different defensive scheme against ____ to try and limit his ___, and it worked.

I've said it before and I'll say it again -- you can have incredible defenders but be a crappy defensive team. You can also have crappy defenders and be a good defensive team (Cleveland Cavaliers of last season - having one above-average defender in Hughes and another in Eric Snow / Utah Jazz of this season and last season, where their big three, Williams, Boozer, Okur, are all poor or below average individual defenders). You simply need to have a system that fits your personnel, a coach who can guide them through it, and a motivator who can keep them focused and hopeful.

[lupin]

Well the preceding posts definitely preface my question for everyone. How do you rank the following factors and their impact on the C's phenomenal defense: Doc, Thibs, and Garnett. Maybe Doc hasn't changed one bit, but he's the head coach so I have to at least list him as an option.

[LyricalRico]

Hmmm...that's a good question. I give Garnett credit for being the leader on defense. I give Thibbs credit for being a defensive genius. And I give Doc credit for being secure enough in his position as a head coach to allow Thibbs to do his thing. I guess you also have to credit Ainge for putting a team together that everyone knew had a chance to win, so it was much easier to get buy-in from the players.

Maybe it's more of a perfect storm. You need a defensive leader in the locker room, buy-in from the rest of the players, a humble head coach, and a guy who's smart enough to make it all work. Come to think of it - the Wizards have none of those things right now.

They did have the x and o's guy for a week before EJ pushed Thibbs out and they did have a leader before Caron got hurt. But the rest of the players won't buy-in until Gil does and they won't have a head coach who's willing to listen to somebody else until EJ is fired.