Time for a new coach? If so, whom?

[Village Idiot]

subject says it all. I feel like this team has gotten as far as they will under Stotts. movement on offense and stagnated and the defense is pathetic. It seems like he's lost the team.

If you want to replace him, with whom would you replace him?

[PDXKnight]

I’d say yes but idk who we realistically replace him with. There’s always guys who go from one nba team to another and they’re kind of meh at this point. Then there’s college coaches, Juwan howard has done well in college but like any coach is he gonna be any good in the nba? Dana Altman has had massive success at oregon but he’s getting older. Or the usc coach has done well as well. I think the big question with any college coach is does their coaching mesh with grown men nearly as well as it does with college players. And honestly besides guys like izzo self and coach k there’s no one in college that really jumps out at me

as far as nba assistants udoka would be interesting perhaps. I’ve heard joerger mentioned as one of the tougher guys to game plan for and he got stuck in sacramento but did ok but i’m not sure about him.. Alvin gentry has eyons of playoff fails as does Dantoni. Maybe our best shot is to wait to see if any nba coaches with solid resumes get thrown under the bus

[d-train]

The question is fine, but the choice of answers tells you all you need to know about the questioner.

I can't choose any of the answers. I can say simply no. It's not time for a new coach. I don't have all the facts, but I know all the facts anyone else answering has. It is time to change coaches when the players say they are not being fully prepared to win. The players are the first to know when the plan and the preparation isn't giving them their best chance to win.

[HoopsFanAZ]

Yes. The short answer.

1. The defense and effort remain unsatisfactory. Inconsistent mindset. Not top 10 and not remotely near the threshold needed for contenders.
2. Ball and man movement on O countered easily by better teams.

Here's my coaching answer: Which team do you like that plays defense and is tough to deal with on O as well? [Leave off the Nets and Lakers with their superstars. I said "team."]

Toss money at the top guy -- or at the lead assistant -- if that brings what they do to the Blazers. This roster after a CJ trade has enough talent to play with the better teams. It isn't, and it isn't new.

[Village Idiot]

The question is fine, but the choice of answers tells you all you need to know about the questioner.

I can't choose any of the answers. I can say simply no. It's not time for a new coach. I don't have all the facts, but I know all the facts anyone else answering has. It is time to change coaches when the players say they are not being fully prepared to win. The players are the first to know when the plan and the preparation isn't giving them their best chance to win.

Terribly sorry for not being more boring with my poll.

The last option was made with you in mind BTW

[d-train]

The question is fine, but the choice of answers tells you all you need to know about the questioner.

I can't choose any of the answers. I can say simply no. It's not time for a new coach. I don't have all the facts, but I know all the facts anyone else answering has. It is time to change coaches when the players say they are not being fully prepared to win. The players are the first to know when the plan and the preparation isn't giving them their best chance to win.

Terribly sorry for not being more boring with my poll.

The last option was made with you in mind BTW

Do you believe the players want a new coach? Or, do you think the players view isn't relevant? The players are stupid and don't know what's best, they don't know as much as you know.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

I'm not necessarily on the fire Stotts train but we keep bailing out defenses. Last night CJ and Melo kept shooting early in the shot clock without even making a pass, so the defense never had to do anything and just got to rest. That might be acceptable if we are leading but lazy plays like that when down should be unacceptable. You have to make the defense move and make decisions. Like CJ you can't keep forcing up shots on your drive early in the shot clock, you gotta collapse the defense and kick it out to a shooter, why did you not do that at all last night??

[Norm2953]

I do think the team has gone as far as its going to get with Stotts but would the most likely replacement
(David Vanterpool) bring any real changes other than a different voice in the room?

[JasonStern]

Not a fan of making a move just to make a move, but if a better coach became available...

[Village Idiot]

I’d say yes but idk who we realistically replace him with. There’s always guys who go from one nba team to another and they’re kind of meh at this point. Then there’s college coaches, Juwan howard has done well in college but like any coach is he gonna be any good in the nba? Dana Altman has had massive success at oregon but he’s getting older. Or the usc coach has done well as well. I think the big question with any college coach is does their coaching mesh with grown men nearly as well as it does with college players. And honestly besides guys like izzo self and coach k there’s no one in college that really jumps out at me

as far as nba assistants udoka would be interesting perhaps. I’ve heard joerger mentioned as one of the tougher guys to game plan for and he got stuck in sacramento but did ok but i’m not sure about him.. Alvin gentry has eyons of playoff fails as does Dantoni. Maybe our best shot is to wait to see if any nba coaches with solid resumes get thrown under the bus

Dave Joerger would be at the top of my list. He's reknowned for tough, defensive minded teams. He's never coached a player like Damian Lillard. It would be very interesting to see what he could do with this team (minus changes of course)

[Epicurus]

Yes. The short answer.

1. The defense and effort remain unsatisfactory. Inconsistent mindset. Not top 10 and not remotely near the threshold needed for contenders.
2. Ball and man movement on O countered easily by better teams.

Here's my coaching answer: Which team do you like that plays defense and is tough to deal with on O as well? [Leave off the Nets and Lakers with their superstars. I said "team."]

Toss money at the top guy -- or at the lead assistant -- if that brings what they do to the Blazers. This roster after a CJ trade has enough talent to play with the better teams. It isn't, and it isn't new.

If the O is so easily countered, why ar the Blazers again in the top team throughout the season? I guess you are saying the opposition coaches are not as insightful as you. Complaints about defense are legit, but ones about the offense just shows an axe to grind or just being clueless about the offensive playbook.

[Epicurus]

What the hell is the Blazer record? Is it 24- 32 or 32-24? Is it at negative variance with preseason predictions? Or is it at variance with some rosy glasses regarding player talent? Is it at variance with this season's injury reports and the time to build line-up chemistry?

Stotts has done a very good job with the game to game available talent. Yes, teams with better two way talent are beating the Blazers. Aren't they expected to?

Last night's game was an aberration for this season, losing to an inferior team. ALthough the defense was horrible in the first period, during a 5 and half minute span, more precisely, it was fine for the rest of the game. The Blazers simply shot poorly with a decent shot quality. How is that on a coach? Oh, I know he failed to wave the magic coach wand.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Yes. The short answer.

1. The defense and effort remain unsatisfactory. Inconsistent mindset. Not top 10 and not remotely near the threshold needed for contenders.
2. Ball and man movement on O countered easily by better teams.

Here's my coaching answer: Which team do you like that plays defense and is tough to deal with on O as well? [Leave off the Nets and Lakers with their superstars. I said "team."]

Toss money at the top guy -- or at the lead assistant -- if that brings what they do to the Blazers. This roster after a CJ trade has enough talent to play with the better teams. It isn't, and it isn't new.

If the O is so easily countered, why ar the Blazers again in the top team throughout the season? I guess you are saying the opposition coaches are not as insightful as you. Complaints about defense are legit, but ones about the offense just shows an axe to grind or just being clueless about the offensive playbook.

I don't think my complaint that we bail out opposing defenses way too often by going ISO early in the shot clock, especially when playing at a deficit, is an axe to grind or clueless. It's great that we have players who can get their shot at any time, but lets keep that time closer to the end of shot clocks, you have to consistently put pressure on the defense and force them to move and switch or at least make some decisions every possession. I get Lillard does it because he wants to force the defense to react to him that far up the floor to give our team better spacing but CJ and Melo do not utilize the early shot the same way and essentially go 1 on 1 without ever making a pass - again, fine in some circumstances and when playing with a lead (very demoralizing) but not early in the shot clock when playing from behind. It happened so many time last night I lost count and the coach absolutely needs to stamp that behavior out.

[Epicurus]

The question is fine, but the choice of answers tells you all you need to know about the questioner.

I can't choose any of the answers. I can say simply no. It's not time for a new coach. I don't have all the facts, but I know all the facts anyone else answering has. It is time to change coaches when the players say they are not being fully prepared to win. The players are the first to know when the plan and the preparation isn't giving them their best chance to win.

Terribly sorry for not being more boring with my poll.

The last option was made with you in mind BTW

Do you believe the players want a new coach? Or, do you think the players view isn't relevant? The players are stupid and don't know what's best, they don't know as much as you know.

Bingo, folks point to Lilard's commitment to win, yet believe that he would countenance a head coach who impedes winning. Also some folks perhaps have not seen the locker room after Stotts' 500 win ( a few more, I think, than the author of this thread). It certainly did not reflect a squad disbelieving in their coach. I firmly believe that NBA players expect knowledge and fairness from coaches. I believe they believe Stotts has delivered such.

The Baylor coach hit it on the head regarding defense. He said that all his players fortunately had the instinct to anticipate and ths gain a step. If you only have one or two players on the court who have this critical defensive instinct (and are healthy enough to fully employ it every possession, looking at Nurk here), then no matter your scheme or demands, the defense will be shaky.

[Epicurus]

A coach needs to stamp out the court behaviors which have earned players accord and high remuneration?

Someone just recently said this in all earnestness. I suggest that person should acquaint themselves more deeply into human behavior and less machine programming. The major, if not sole, way to "stamp out" such court behaviors is benching. Of course, the alternative is only viable if the replacement offers a likely performance gain. Yet, here specifically such doesn't really exists. This stamp out prescription would with high probability mean a worse team record ( but more eye pleasing for the critic, I guess)

[Epicurus]

BTW, I wish folk who so frequently bemoan ISO learn its operational meaning. The Blazers this season, at last I checked, did lead the league in isos, but it was about 10% of possessions and not the massive amount suggested by the misusers of the term.

i like points per possessions which implies good shooting, low turnovers, high offensive rebounding, and getting to the foul line ( the Four Factors). How that occurs is matter of indifference. The biggest difference this season compared to say 2019, the last very good season, is in shooting and offensive rebounding (even with Kanter being a superman).

[DeBlazerRiddem]

A coach needs to stamp out the court behaviors which have earned players accord and high remuneration?

Someone just recently said this in all earnestness. I suggest that person should acquaint themselves more deeply into human behavior and less machine programming. The major, if not sole, way to "stamp out" such court behaviors is benching. Of course, the alternative is only viable if the replacement offers a likely performance gain. Yet, here specifically such doesn't really exists. This stamp out prescription would with high probability mean a worse team record ( but more eye pleasing for the critic, I guess)

You can choose to not understand what I was saying if you cannot. A coach can tell his players to attack the paint without benching them. A coach can tell his players to move the ball on offense.

[Epicurus]

I understand perfectly what you are saying. i am saying in reaction to it that "telling" will not and does not "stamp out" the court behaviors you mention. Neither you nor I have the slightest idea what the coaches are telling players.

Not just you certainly, but even coaches and commentators, should simply say pass when they mean pass, and not dress it up with "ball movement." Dribbling also moves the ball, often in more controlled ways (hence fewer turnovers) than passes.

[d-train]

In addition to a game plan and preparation, a coach needs to hold his players accountable when players fall short of team goals. Although, I hear the complaining about players not doing the right thing, I see no indication that players aren't being held accountable. An impressive personality trait of Lillard and CJ is they do accept responsibility and don't make excuses. Our players seem more inclined to look inward, than to point to teammates.

Many of the complaints are because fans don't understand, or they don't like the game plan. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, even an uninformed one. Our players understand the game plan. I think our players agree with the game plan. Execution is still a great problem, but nothing is easy in the NBA.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Not just you certainly, but even coaches and commentators, should simply say pass when they mean pass, and not dress it up with "ball movement." Dribbling also moves the ball, often in more controlled ways (hence fewer turnovers) than passes.

The important thing is that you make the defense actually react to you. If you can get a favorable switch or some space on a screen great, go ahead with your shot.

But often we bail out defenses by offensive actions that require no response from the defense. One guy guarding the ball for 5 seconds while the other 4 get to rest.

I really noticed this last night way more than it should have happened. I understand its tough to manufacture good shots in the NBA, sometimes you need a Melo or CJ to do their thing. But not early in the shot clock.