Avery Johnson so far...

[NyCeEvO]

Even though the season is young, I wanted to get an idea of how you think Avery is coaching. It is easy to criticize the players when they don't perform but the coach bears a lot of responsibility as well.

IMO, I think he's doing a pretty good job. Unfortunately, our record doesn't show a vast improvement over last year but we're doing ok.

1) Early Timeouts
I'm actually glad to see him call early timeouts and just lay into our players. I've seen him do it to Devin and Brook on one occasion and to Outlaw on another. The players need to understand that good teams start their games with proper execution. If you can't do that, you deserved to be yelled at.

2) Handling of our prized possession- Favors
Honestly, I would like to see Favors out there a bit more than what we've been playing him. I don't want him to be held back too much. Sometimes the young guys just need to be smacked around in order to develop. With that said, I don't think Avery has stunted his growth...yet. Hopefully, as time goes on, we'll see those minutes go up.

3) Pace of the game
I don't think Avery differs much from Frank in this department. Both of them have wanted our teams to run...(well, I think Frank finally realized that his last year as coach but still).

4) Type of plays we run
This is where I think the biggest difference between Frank and Avery. Personally, I think that our plays are more tailored for our team and we actually seek to execute them much more so than last year. This is not to say that the responsibility of executing the plays is on Avery. Ultimately that duty rests on the players.

So far, I'd give him a pretty good rating considering that our team "ain't so great" and he's making due with what the pieces he has.

[elcanis]

i think avery has done at the very least, a decent job. our record doesnt reflect it but we've been playing good basketball, and there seems to be a lot of improvement on the defensive end. i do think that he should be starting terrence williams, though.

also i know brook lopez is our best weapon offensively and we need to work through him/ get him touches, but avery needs to switch up the 1/2 court offense a little bit. harris, farmar, favors, and williams could really thrive if avery could open it up a little on offense.

[Talentfull]

Coming off a 12 win season with a pretty mediocre offseason my expectations wasn't too high too begin with so I think he's doing a good job. There's probably some bits of things I might see from game to game that I don't like but that'll happen for any coach..In regards to his handling of Favors it's been fair for the most part..Although I'd like to see his minutes approach that 25-30 min mark as the season progresses.

On Defense/Offense:
He's a defensive coach, and so far I'm somewhat pleased with our improvement in the area..but we still got a long ways to go. Our offense however like last year is pretty bad..The minor improvement in our O.rating is probably due to the better 3 pt shooting.

On Pace:
Like Frank, Avery's been trying to get us to run but you won't know it..We haven't been running a lot and scoring many fast break points..In fact according to Basketball Reference we're 28 of 30 teams when it comes to Pace. Can't really complain here because I can see us turning the ball over a heck of a lot more and our transition defense is kinda iffy too..

Overall, Avery's been doing a good job. I think the players are buying into what he's preaching and I expect us to get better as the season progresses(hopefully).Still lottery bound but even 25 wins is a big improvement from last season..

[tamarslayer]

He's done a good job, the culture definitely seems to have changed.

The roster has some serious flaws though. The main one being (and yes I will bring this up in every thread because I LOVE beating dead horses) that outside of Harris no one else consistently attacks the basket*...

*Farmar kind of attacks the basket at a decent rate but he hasn't been producing results.
*Williams needs to be more aggressive with his drives, he has the dribbling skills that Morrow and Outlaw wish they had but he always curls instead of hard cuts / drives.
*We really need a RJ

My only real complaint has been Avery's handling of Harris at times. I feel that he's left on the bench far too long sometimes.

[Joel Embust]

I love him. He's getting the best out of the group he has right now. If someone's **** around, Avery let's him now he doesn't accept it.

[jerseyjac]

^^^^and you see the response from players during timeouts...A coach who will acutally chew you out if you screw up (no one gets a pass) and Avery has the balls to sit anyone if they arent playing well and go with the hot hand...

Overall, this team wants to play well and execute for Avery...even at this early juncture of the season, you can see the Nets buying into his system...I love the fact that he has stated publically, even though the Nets may not be the most physically intimidating team in the NBA, they need to learn to play physical and utilize that type of play to win games...

Honestly, I forgot how it was to have a real coach...You earn every minute you play and if you not interested in playing defense, rebounding and doing simple things like boxing out and setting screens, he'll find someone else to fill your spot...

[Netaman]

So far I like Avery a lot. He cares about defense, he holds players accountable, and the team seems to execute pretty crisply. Can't ask for much more then that, especially coming off a year where there weren't very many high profile coaches available.

His track record was obviously solid in Dallas, hopefully he has learned from the experience and continued to grow as a coach. The fact that he compiled a veteran staff around him, and apparently allows them to have a strong presence with the team, is a very encouraging sign. Competent people know it is to their benefit to have other competent people around.

[SpeedyG]

^^^^and you see the response from players during timeouts...A coach who will acutally chew you out if you screw up (no one gets a pass) and Avery has the balls to sit anyone if they arent playing well and go with the hot hand...

Overall, this team wants to play well and execute for Avery...even at this early juncture of the season, you can see the Nets buying into his system...I love the fact that he has stated publically, even though the Nets may not be the most physically intimidating team in the NBA, they need to learn to play physical and utilize that type of play to win games...

Honestly, I forgot how it was to have a real coach...You earn every minute you play and if you not interested in playing defense, rebounding and doing simple things like boxing out and setting screens, he'll find someone else to fill your spot...

That is, unless you are Troy Murphy, or Jordan Farmar, or Travis Outlaw. In which case, you play regardless how sucky you are playing.

[jerseyjac]

^^^^and you see the response from players during timeouts...A coach who will acutally chew you out if you screw up (no one gets a pass) and Avery has the balls to sit anyone if they arent playing well and go with the hot hand...

Overall, this team wants to play well and execute for Avery...even at this early juncture of the season, you can see the Nets buying into his system...I love the fact that he has stated publically, even though the Nets may not be the most physically intimidating team in the NBA, they need to learn to play physical and utilize that type of play to win games...

Honestly, I forgot how it was to have a real coach...You earn every minute you play and if you not interested in playing defense, rebounding and doing simple things like boxing out and setting screens, he'll find someone else to fill your spot...

That is, unless you are Troy Murphy, or Jordan Farmar, or Travis Outlaw. In which case, you play regardless how sucky you are playing.

With Avery, once the game is over, its back to practice...If you play hard and do things your told in practice, it looks like you get a clean slate for the next game...for now or until guys really carve their roles out, I welcome this...

As for the guys you mentionedm, you gotta play Troy, its going to take him time to get his legs underneath him...I know Jordan has his share of TOs or forces his shot, but I have no major gripes...about what I expected...Outlaw has been playing better, and we all know coach expects a lot out of him...but at least he gets on him, for whatever reason, it looks like it has worked...

[Netaman]

With TWill banged up it's hard to complain about Avery playing Outlaw and Farmar too much.

The fact that he is playing a guy who was a complete after thought, Hump, over Petro, Murphy, and Favors says enough to me that he isn't worried about anything other then having the guys on the floor who give the team the best chance to win.

It's hard to not have reservations about Petro and Outlaw but as far as Morrow and Farmar go they have been pretty much as advertised.

[enetric]

Even though the season is young, I wanted to get an idea of how you think Avery is coaching. It is easy to criticize the players when they don't perform but the coach bears a lot of responsibility as well.

IMO, I think he's doing a pretty good job. Unfortunately, our record doesn't show a vast improvement over last year but we're doing ok.

1) Early Timeouts
I'm actually glad to see him call early timeouts and just lay into our players. I've seen him do it to Devin and Brook on one occasion and to Outlaw on another. The players need to understand that good teams start their games with proper execution. If you can't do that, you deserved to be yelled at.

2) Handling of our prized possession- Favors
Honestly, I would like to see Favors out there a bit more than what we've been playing him. I don't want him to be held back too much. Sometimes the young guys just need to be smacked around in order to develop. With that said, I don't think Avery has stunted his growth...yet. Hopefully, as time goes on, we'll see those minutes go up.

3) Pace of the game
I don't think Avery differs much from Frank in this department. Both of them have wanted our teams to run...(well, I think Frank finally realized that his last year as coach but still).

4) Type of plays we run
This is where I think the biggest difference between Frank and Avery. Personally, I think that our plays are more tailored for our team and we actually seek to execute them much more so than last year. This is not to say that the responsibility of executing the plays is on Avery. Ultimately that duty rests on the players.

So far, I'd give him a pretty good rating considering that our team "ain't so great" and he's making due with what the pieces he has.

I think you did a nice job breaking this down. Enetric gold star for you...

I wasnt happy to bring him in...but so far? Doing fine. We have too many perimiter talents...but so far they all take turns at contributing. I think he is handling that fine. Hopefully someone will emerge and stay consistent.

Brook is off to slow start. Give him time. I would like Favors to get more run...but not upset about it. A shame he hasnt gotten more time while Troy was out. Tough to see back ups taking time from him too. I believe this kid will learn if he gets minutes. And...if he is part of a future trade...more stats and more exposure increase trade value. Let people see the studly rebounding and steady progress game to game. His stock will go up..be it for us...or in a trade.




Look, this team still isnt good. I was not in favor of the Troy deal....rather have the cap space and flexibility...and I believe we need more top of the draft picks. So far...doing little to hurt that. What you want to see from a lottery type team...is not middle of the road and win totals. You want to see improvement in game play. In decision making. In learning among the prospects...in defense.

We have seen that already even in losses. Without question...they hustle more. They arent dead by half time. THey have cut into late leads. We have gotten whooped by double digits three times. Twice by the Heat and once by the Magic. But, in the other three losses, Bobcats, Magic, and Cavs...we lost by 2-1-2. Keeping games close and battling is a sign of learning.

Improve, get me a top draft pick...and make SMART trades that show patience...I am happy. Dont need radical improvment today that takes away from tomorrow. Nothing has changed in my thinking.

[NyCeEvO]

Even though the season is young, I wanted to get an idea of how you think Avery is coaching. It is easy to criticize the players when they don't perform but the coach bears a lot of responsibility as well.

IMO, I think he's doing a pretty good job. Unfortunately, our record doesn't show a vast improvement over last year but we're doing ok.

1) Early Timeouts
I'm actually glad to see him call early timeouts and just lay into our players. I've seen him do it to Devin and Brook on one occasion and to Outlaw on another. The players need to understand that good teams start their games with proper execution. If you can't do that, you deserved to be yelled at.

2) Handling of our prized possession- Favors
Honestly, I would like to see Favors out there a bit more than what we've been playing him. I don't want him to be held back too much. Sometimes the young guys just need to be smacked around in order to develop. With that said, I don't think Avery has stunted his growth...yet. Hopefully, as time goes on, we'll see those minutes go up.

3) Pace of the game
I don't think Avery differs much from Frank in this department. Both of them have wanted our teams to run...(well, I think Frank finally realized that his last year as coach but still).

4) Type of plays we run
This is where I think the biggest difference between Frank and Avery. Personally, I think that our plays are more tailored for our team and we actually seek to execute them much more so than last year. This is not to say that the responsibility of executing the plays is on Avery. Ultimately that duty rests on the players.

So far, I'd give him a pretty good rating considering that our team "ain't so great" and he's making due with what the pieces he has.

I think you did a nice job breaking this down. Enetric gold star for you...

I wasnt happy to bring him in...but so far? Doing fine. We have too many perimiter talents...but so far they all take turns at contributing. I think he is handling that fine. Hopefully someone will emerge and stay consistent.

Brook is off to slow start. Give him time. I would like Favors to get more run...but not upset about it. A shame he hasnt gotten more time while Troy was out. Tough to see back ups taking time from him too. I believe this kid will learn if he gets minutes. And...if he is part of a future trade...more stats and more exposure increase trade value. Let people see the studly rebounding and steady progress game to game. His stock will go up..be it for us...or in a trade.




Look, this team still isnt good. I was not in favor of the Troy deal....rather have the cap space and flexibility...and I believe we need more top of the draft picks. So far...doing little to hurt that. What you want to see from a lottery type team...is not middle of the road and win totals. You want to see improvement in game play. In decision making. In learning among the prospects...in defense.

We have seen that already even in losses. Without question...they hustle more. They arent dead by half time. THey have cut into late leads. We have gotten whooped by double digits three times. Twice by the Heat and once by the Magic. But, in the other three losses, Bobcats, Magic, and Cavs...we lost by 2-1-2. Keeping games close and battling is a sign of learning.

Improve, get me a top draft pick...and make SMART trades that show patience...I am happy. Dont need radical improvment today that takes away from tomorrow. Nothing has changed in my thinking.

Cool, Christmas came early. I got an Enetric gold star!!

I completely agree with you about our future. The more I look at the idea of possibly acquiring Melo, the more I frown upon it. It looks like he's pretty set on getting either the 3yr/$65 million extension or waiting till free agency. And unless we make some major draft trade, I don't see him signing with us. But does that mean that it is the end of the world? NOO!! Not by a long shot...(I find it funny that I'm writing cuz I was actually pushing hard to get Melo throughout the summer lol).

IMO if we're banking on the idea that Favors will be a stud, (which there is no reason to doubt this projection so far) he is going to need a stud PG. Typically, I hate watching all of these videos of high school players and all they do is show highlights of kids dunking all day as if that all that it takes to make it in the NBA. However, yesterday I looked at a mock draft here: http://hoopshype.com/draft.htm
I googled and Youtube'd most of the players on here. While all of these guys have "talent", there are only two guys that you can tell will be bust-proof: Harrison Barnes and Kyrie Irving (and if you put a gun to my head and say make a choice between the two, I say give me Irving). Why pay Melo 3yr/65mil when you can have a stud rookie on a 3yr/$14-19mil with a 4th year option and then a Durant-like extension of 5yr/$86mil? There are no shortcuts to title contention no matter if you're getting players through free agency or the draft. 7 years from now Melo will be 33, while Favors will still only be 26. Pair him up with one of the top draft talents this year (hopefully Irving) and good things will happen.

[NyCeEvO]

Hey guys, here's today article by Wall Street Journal about Avery Johnson and his coaching.
Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... lenews_wsj

Only 49 seconds had elapsed in the Nets' Nov. 9 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers when coach Avery Johnson began hollering for a timeout.

As his bewildered players approached the bench, Mr. Johnson's raspy, Louisianan inflection could be heard over the Prudential Center crowd. Brook Lopez, the team's 22-year-old center and franchise cornerstone, had disobeyed a direct order from the man known as The Little General, and he was going to hear about it.

"I was explicitly told through shoot-around, through practice yesterday, before the game today, not to bite on [Cleveland center] Anderson Varejao's pump fake," Mr. Lopez said after the game, explaining the reason for Mr. Johnson's tirade.

These not-so-friendly reminders are the price of playing for the Nets these days. They can be humbling, even verging on humiliating. Mr. Johnson spent one video session last week likening his team's toughness to that of tissue paper. Afterward, Mr. Lopez confessed, "He was practically looking at me." But the Nets players aren't complaining about this brand of leadership—they're craving it.

"You've got to trust him," swingman Terrence Williams said of Mr. Johnson, who was the NBA Coach of the Year with Dallas in the 2005-06 season. "He's not some guy that never coached in the NBA before and became the coach of the New Jersey Nets. It's a coach that's been around and everything that he says, I'm putting myself 100% into it."

Trust is a funny thing in the NBA; players don't automatically follow Xs and Os just because they're written on a white board. Coaches have to prove they have their players' interests at heart, even when dishing out criticism. Mr. Johnson has a talent for giving his players those gruesome details. And to their credit, the Nets have been listening.

"It's very similar to parents," said General Manager Billy King, who was hired less than a month after Mr. Johnson's June hiring. "You may not want to hear what they have to say, but you realize it's the right thing. I think that's what Avery is doing with our guys. They understand that he's looking out for what's best for them."

When his team suffered five consecutive losses, Mr. Johnson didn't pull any punches. "I don't like our mental and physical conditioning right now," he said. "And we've got to improve in all areas. And I don't know when the next time, you know, they'll see an off day, because we need work."

The next night, New Jersey snapped the skid with an eight-point win in Cleveland despite Mr. Lopez's disappointing four-point effort.

With his center's frustrations mounting, Mr. Johnson tapped into his own experiences as a player under Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "Sometimes your best offense can be your defense," Mr. Johnson said. "I remember Popovich used to tell me, 'Play defense, son. Just get some steals, guard your man.' " Mr. Johnson took it a step further by holding a one-on-one tape session with Mr. Lopez to pinpoint exactly what the center was doing wrong.

The results were immediate.

Mr. Lopez, who was mired in a 21-for-73 shooting slump, hit his first three field goals Saturday and finished with 23 points and two blocks as the Nets were edged, 91-90, by Orlando—the same Eastern Conference power that beat them by 15 points earlier in the week. Furthermore, Lopez held Magic center Dwight Howard to 16 points after yielding 30 points to the perennial All-Star in the Nov. 5 loss in Orlando.

Mr. Lopez had "a little carryover from our little individual, one-on-one video session yesterday," Mr. Johnson said after the game. "I'm probably going to have to do that with him more often."

The head coach wasn't pleased with the loss to the Magic, but nobody could deny it was another step in the right direction. Since enduring that five-game losing streak, the Nets are 2-1, including Monday night's win against the Clippers. That was the team's first road victory against a Western Conference opponent since Jan. 24, 2009.

Mr. Johnson's victories won't all take place on the hardwood this season. Some are happening in the minds of his players every day. "Part of what I'm doing here is trying to change a mentality and change a losing spirit," Mr. Johnson said.

"There's going to be growing pains, but you know it's clicked when it becomes habitual," Mr. King said.

The one comment that stood out to me was T-Will's comment: "He's not some guy that never coached in the NBA before and became the coach of the New Jersey Nets. It's a coach that's been around and everything that he says, I'm putting myself 100% into it."

Ummm...what does this say about Lawrence Frank. I guess T Will didn't fully respect Frank for the preseason and 17 games he shared with Frank as a rookie lol.

[-soul fist-]

L was one of the guys of course they respected him


just not on the court

[demens]

I just made a post on another forum talking about how GREAT Avery has been.

I think he is maximizing the hell out of this team. Whats wrong with our record, 4-6 for this team is overachieving. I still say the talent level of this roster is only slightly better then last years team.

All the "right things" he's been preaching since he got the job are actually starting to show little by little. The team is still wildly inconsistent on defense due to most of the team just being bad defenders. But he is getting more effort out of them and the overall team defense has gotten better. Yeah, you still have games when the Clips had lay-up after lay-up in the paint, but looking at the big picture, its getting better.

You see a bit of toughness developing too. We still have a bunch of soft players but inserting some guys who were out of the rotation early and provide exactly what was lacking is great. Mainly Humph, but even the scrubs Ross, Graham have a positive impact.

Which brings me to his rotation. Another thing he is doing an amazing job with. I think he is developing Favors as good as we could hope for. It still clearly shows the kid has zero offensive skills, keeping him on the court longer is a liability, but when he has good energy going, getting the put back dunks, and his teammates are finding him for easy shots then he excels, those things wont happen every night with this team, and definitely not for 40 min. I would rather not see Ross/Graham in the rotation but sometimes there is no other choices, it just shows that Avery is searching and not set in his ways and not willing to just settle for a crappy rotation cause his options are limited. I also agree that he is holding everyone accountable with no exceptions. I love that Harris is not playing 40 min a game and sometimes finds himself on the bench for LONG stretches during the game, same for Lopez.

Offense looks rather ugly. But considering this is a brand new team (and the lack of talent), its to be expected. You still see an improvement in late game execution. Inconsistent yes (blowing a lead in the
Charlotte game) but also making some 4th qtr come backs to win games as well, i dont think we had any of those last year. And as Czar pointed out last night, there are more plays being added to the system as they move forward, the nice play they called for Favors off a time out that got him a lay-up. The great play call at the end of the half for an Outlaw 3.

All those things add up and you clearly see small changes in the loser mentality this team has.

Avery is coaching them like a football team, keeping things simple, make sure they do the little things and dont beat themselves. They dont have the talent to beat many teams in the league, but if they go those other things they can keep getting better. Avery is doing a coach of the year worthy job so far.

[tamarslayer]

Hey guys, here's today article by Wall Street Journal about Avery Johnson and his coaching.
Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... lenews_wsj

Ummm...what does this say about Lawrence Frank. I guess T Will didn't fully respect Frank for the preseason and 17 games he shared with Frank as a rookie lol.

It's a shot at Kiki not Frank. Williams loved Frank and was getting a good amount of minutes under him.

[demens]

Ian and Jim talking about some of the stuff we were here, how Avery has these guys playing with max effort unlike last year.

[NyCeEvO]

For the person who voted terrible in the poll, would you mind explaining why you believe that he's doing a terrible job? It would be nice to know why you think he's doing a bad job.

[JohnVancouver]

Hi guys - Suns fan here, but have alway shad a soft spot for the nets going back to the ABA. Just wondering what's going on with Murphy - he and the coach aren't talking? And TWill sent to the DLeague?
What's up - never heard of Murphy having any attitude problems. We have talked many times about trading for him

[tamarslayer]

The short story is that Kris Humphries unexpectedly morphing into a double-double work-horse and Murphy's untimely injury, coupled with Derrick Favors being way ahead of schedule have created a minute crunch.

It also doesn't help that post-mono / this season Brook has been a bit more perimeter oriented which reduces the effectiveness / benefit of the spacing that Murphy provides.

Personally I still think he should be seeing minutes over Petro but oh well...