One question to Scott Skiles

[Jiwol]

If you could ask our coach one question that reporters covering the team on a daily basis are afraid of asking, what would it be?

I'm gonna participate in pregame press conference in London as accredited journalist. As I'm not connected to the team's staff and my job doesn't depend on them liking me or not, I'm open to ask Skiles about some controversial issue we tend to discuss here on Real GM if I get a chance.

If you were me and had a chance to ask that one question, what it would be about?

Ignoring Hezonja on offense? Starting AG instead of Frye? Offensive schemes? Lack of FT shooting? Victor's inability to run the point? Short leash for some players? Vuc's defense? Anything else comes to your mind?

Let's make this one a question to Scott Skiles from the Real GM users.

[MagicStarwipe]

Skiles is stubborn. You ask him a question that's going to put him on the defensive and he'll likely go even further in that direction just to spite you. But I'd ask him about putting more athletes on the floor at the same time. I can't believe how slow and lethargic we often look for a young team. We have 1 above average athlete in our starting lineup.

[Bensational]

Ha! That's fantastic dude! Awesome you get to do that.

It's tough, because there are probably a lot of questions worth asking. For me it would be something along the lines of whether or not he has plays drawn up for Gordon and Hezonja, but I can't think of a way to word it that doesn't give him an easy out with cliches.

"They've just gotta find their shots in the flow of the game... keep moving into the right places... make the right play... the offense will come to them". blah blah blah.


Maybe phrasing it along the lines of "Some players, like Oladipo and Napier can step on the court and put up 10 shots in 10 minutes, but Aaron Gordon and Mario Hezonja often struggle to get off more than a couple of shots in 15-20 minutes of action. Why is that?" might coax a little more out of him?

[Baka_La Flame]

you mad bro?

[craig01]

What timeframe he has in mind to decide that when the tinkering of parts has gone as long as it can, that the existing pieces of the puzzle just won't fit.

[OrlandO]

What timeframe he has in mind to decide that when the tinkering of parts has gone as long as it can, that the existing pieces of the puzzle just won't fit.

That would be an excellent question if he actually tinkered with the lineup. He's put out two horrible offensive-minded starting lineups that made us either super small or super slow. When will he try defense first or at least balance it all out? When does our defensive/athletic/energetic 4th pick get his shot?

[thelead]

What timeframe he has in mind to decide that when the tinkering of parts has gone as long as it can, that the existing pieces of the puzzle just won't fit.

That would be an excellent question if he actually tinkered with the lineup. He's put out two horrible offensive-minded starting lineups that made us either super small or super slow. When will he try defense first or at least balance it all out? When does our defensive/athletic/energetic 4th pick get his shot?

This. He's threatened making changes at least a dozen times and has only made one change... Skiles is all talk.

[OrlandO]

With how often he criticizes his players' defense/energy, why is it Aaron Gordon hasn't had an opportunity to start? Aren't those the things that got him drafted 4th by the club a year ago? Does he think a frontcourt of Harris/Frye/Vuc actually has a chance to get it done on the defensive end on a consistent basis? Surely we need an athletic defender in there somewhere. Prior to the season there was excitement about having versatility at the forward positions with Harris/AG, but we've yet to experiment with this in the starting line up, why is that?


Why don't we take advantage of Frye and Hezonja's 3pt shooting more when they're on the floor? They look more like decoys than 3pt shooters.

[OrlandO]

"Why do you have a hard-on for Evan Fournier?"

[OrlandO]

Why does CJ Watson heal at the rate of a 50 year old?

[bluesteelmagic]

Where is CJ Watson? What's the extent of his injury? (IMO his injury must be worse than what's being said by the team. There have been no updates, and from my understanding he has been unavailable to the media)

This team seems to be lacking in energy, effort and on defense. Why have guys like Dedmon and Gordon been put on such a tight leash given the circumstances.

Gordon is outperforming Frye. Why isn't he given an opportunity to start?

This team struggles to hit the 3 ball with any consistency. Why aren't we running plays for Frye and Hezonja (and to that point, once we moved Oladipo to the bench, it appears we are also running less plays for Fournier. Which IMO has greatly affected his confidence)

We hear a lot of praise about Devyn Marbles understanding of Skiles defensive schemes and his ability to execute on that end for Skiles during practice, so why hasn't Marble been given an opportunity?

It seems some players are on a very tight leash (Gordon, Hezonja, Dedmon, Oladipo, Nicholson, Napier and to an extent Vucevic) but others have free reign to screw up, make mistakes, play poorly etc and still get their PT (Frye, Tobias, Fournier, Smith)

Ball movement seems to be a real struggle on offense. Many times guys like Oladipo, Gordon and Nicholson will force ill advised shots that are not within the flow of the offense. Can these habits be fixed, and if so what steps need to be taken To do so?

[Flannerz]

With the 3 point shot being so important in the NBA today, why does Mario, our best three point shooter, get so few looks?

[fateis007]

"At what point do you realize this .500 ball were playing has been a bi-product of a favored schedule, and not a well coached & cohesive team ?"

It's time to grow a pair Coach and make some ridiculous changes. I would much rather see AG crashing his way into the paint and drawing contact, and mario bombing 3s all over... then a whole season of Vuchi's long 2 game all the way to getting destroyed by a team like Wizards in the first round.

[SaberT]

Why does our offense seem focused on getting long twos (worst shot in NBA), and why do we not have plays designed to get our 3pt shooters open (Frye, Hezonja, Fournier,...)

[drsd]

What is "The next step" to get above mediocrity?


..

[Nemesis21]

Why didn't you hire an offensive minded assistant coach?

[Orlwillbeback]

Ask him if we could start:

Elf
Dipo
Harris
Gordon
Vuc

[Jiwol]

Thanks, guy. Just +1 each other out and I'll decide what to do. I'm leaning towards question about Mario's and Aaron's involvement in our offense. Keep your fingers crossed for me to actually ask the question

[OrlandO]

Ask him if we could start:

Elf
Dipo
Harris
Gordon
Vuc

You would think a defense-first coach would have tried it by now.

[CraZyPraiZ]

I'd ask if Mario has been told not to shoot and just pass. He passes up way too many open shots.