paulpressey25 wrote:djsunyc wrote:
i'm stuck between these two hypothesis:
1. bud has overachieved dramatically with this roster in the regular season but the playoffs is a true indicator of what they really are or
2. bud is able to win big in regular season but lacks the adjustments needed in the postseason
It is both.
Bud has flaws but it’s going to be very hard to find a better coach out there. The guy came into this dysfunctional mess of an organization and brought a system. That system won them 60+ last year and would have won them 60+ this year.
And I understand people looking at the one off, that was the Raptors firing Casey for Nurse. But for the Raptors to make that leap, it took them trading for Kawhi, who went on to have one of the all time great playoff performances in NBA history to knock the Bucks out in six games. And it also took FVV shooting 14-17 on threes.
The Bucks front office botched almost every personnel move from 2014 through the 2018 draft. Bud made the owners look like geniuses the past two years. If the Bucks now want to get from point B to point C, it’s going to take finding a Masai and giving him free reign. Instead we’re going to get Alex and Marc working the trade checker nonstop.
Excellent post until you said that the Bucks botched every move from 2014-2018, conveniently picking 2014 and not 2013. You just can't make a case against management by ignoring drafting Giannis and making the trade for Middleton in 2013.
Nothing that has happened the last two years was possible without Giannis and Middleton. So it's a mixed bag.
But I agree with the overall assessment. Bud is top 7 or 8. And I'd give him the benefit of the doubt if he acknowledged his shortcomings. But he hasn't and apparently won't, even though it's obvious to everyone. There is no basis to replace Bud with the likes of Stackhouse, Cassell, Charles Lee, et al. I do think Chauncy Billups is really smart and has the right temperament to coach, but I have no idea about his knowledge and philosophy on defense and offense.
One last anecdotal observation about Bud. I went to a lot of games this year and last. Unlike every other coach I have watched in person, Bud spends the least time in the huddle with his players after timeouts. In many instances, he goes back to the huddle as the time out is ending and quickly draws something out while the players have already stood up.
I wasn't sure why he always did that, but now it seems clear to me that he is so fixated on his limited defensive and offensive principles, that he has little to say to the players. Unlike Nick Nurse, who has multiple offensive and defensive sets, Bud doesn't. Things rarely change. He has nothing to say to them.