dirkforpres wrote:
You do realize that good coaches can become bad coaches over time right? There’s a reason why guys like Mike Brown, Larry Brown, George Karl have essentially been blacklisted from head coaching gigs in the NBA… doesn’t take away from previous accomplishments, but they didn’t exactly have glorious exits because they couldn’t adapt.. . Same thing is happening with Rick. The same coach that broke Lebron brain in 2011 isnt exactly the same coach today that expects Dwight Powell to contain Embiid in 2021. He never changed with the times and it’s why Dallas is headed for another swift 1st round exit
Yeah, sure. Lots of great coaches don't change with the times (Phil Jackson), others egos eventually burn enough bridges that they can't find an NBA job (Karl, L.Brown). But explain how that's Carlisle? What evidence of "not changing with the times" do you have on Carlisle? Dwight Powell guarding Embiid in the regular season isn't exactly nailing Carlisle's coffin shut. Is there something super old school he does that used to work, but doesn't anymore? I see Carlisle's main skill as being forward-thinking and adaptable. Those kinds of coaches tend to stick around if they want to. After butting heads with some ball-handling guards (Rondo, Mayo), Carlisle seems to have chilled out and decided to let Luka do whatever he wants.
I expect the Mavericks to lose in the first round this year. Not because Carlisle can't get them out of the first round, but because they'll most likely end up playing a better team (Nuggets, Clippers) without homecourt advantage. Because the Mavs aren't an amazing roster yet, and also a young team. We judge coaches by how they perform based on the expectations of each season. The Dallas Mavericks, mostly because they made many efforts to build a pseudo winner while Dirk was still around, have stayed a treadmill team for a while. Only since drafting Luka (and Dirk retiring) have they started making meaningful efforts to build a new, post-Dirk, championship-level roster. Last year I fully expected Doncic to get blitzed by Kawhi/PG, and for the Mavericks to get swept. Especially when Porzingis went down. Instead, they were plucky and flashed some real playoff teeth. Carlisle outcoached Rivers, Doncic went toe to toe with Kawhi, and it was a real series. That was pretty cool.
You sound like you've been frustrated with the Mavs being stuck in the first round (at best) since 2012. That's fair!( but other teams have it worse.) I'm just not in any way convinced that this is a coaching problem. Mavs always seem extremely well-coached. I think, if Carlisle did quit, and the first hire doesn't work out incredibly, you might realize how good you had it. I'm a T-Wolves fan, we'd KILL for a coach like Carlisle. We haven't had a good coach since Flip Saunders, and I don't consider him ever being on Carlisle's level as a 2-way coach or a guy who maximized the players on his roster. Having coaching stability is a rare thing and you don't throw that away lightly to enter the coaching carousel. You might end up going through 8 coaches in 6 years like half the teams in this league do.
