Got 'Em Coach

May 17

[video]

The @Lakers have blocked me on twitter.  Honestly, what could I have done to get a professional sports team, that I root for, to block me on twitter? You tell a few hundred thousand jokes about Ramon Sessions being an awful, awful basketball player in big games, and the nerds handling the @Lakers twitter account block you. @GotEm_Coach

The @Lakers have blocked me on twitter.  Honestly, what could I have done to get a professional sports team, that I root for, to block me on twitter?

You tell a few hundred thousand jokes about Ramon Sessions being an awful, awful basketball player in big games, and the nerds handling the @Lakers twitter account block you.

@GotEm_Coach

May 16

The Lakers got worked in Game 1, and the slaughter has just begun (try to remember the good times, fellow Laker fans).  Despite having strengths where the Thunder have weaknesses (inside, half-court offense), this series is a bad match-up for LA because they simply cannot defend Durant, Westbrook or James Harden. And when all three are in the game?  Power vomit.  There’s nothing LA can do. The Lakers’ troubles this season have almost always come on the defensive end.  It’s easy to see.  During a regular season game, in a regularly paced season, a good NBA basketball team should reasonably expect to score 90-100 points.  In the Playoffs, because we’re dealing with the best, scores might fluctuate up a few points, but just as likely, down a few, as team defenses give more effort. Simply put, it’s pretty difficult to beat a team that scores in the upper ‘90’s or above, especially in a accelerated season like this one. The NBA has made it easier to prognosticate outcomes by partitioning games into 4 quarters of play.  Fancy!  If Team A is scoring 23-25 points in any given quarter, they’re on pace for that 90-100 point goal, and Team B’s defense isn’t getting the job done. In Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers gave up 113 points.  Denver had 30 in the first quarter, 24 in the second.  That’s a 108 point pace, except the Nuggets had a whopping 36 in the third, and another 23 in the fourth.  That’s mucho bad.  It didn’t even matter that LA scored 96 of their own.  In Game 1 against the Thunder, the Lakers gave up 119, including 30 in first, 29 in the second, a soul-crushing 39 in the third, and a “lowly” 21 in the fourth, when OKC clearly relented, and rested their starters. Can I pull some sort of alarm? Mike Brown was hired to coach the Lakers, in part, because he was supposed to bring his tough, hard-nosed defense to Los Angeles.  He was going to change the culture.  It hasn’t happened.  Brown’s reputation as a defensive specialist is not without merit.  In ‘06-‘07, the Cavaliers finished 4th in the league in defensive efficiency, 5th in points allowed, 5th in opponent’s true shooting percentage, 2nd in defensive rebounding rate, 1st in opponent’s 3PT%, and lost in the NBA Finals.  That team played Damon Jones, Larry Hughes and Sasha Pavolvic major minutes. In ‘08-‘09, the Cavs were tied for 2nd in defensive efficiency, gave up the least points in the league, were tied for 1st in opponent FG%, were 5th in blocks, and won 66 games, all behind the defensive stylings of Boobie Gibson and noted stopper, Mo Williams. In ‘09-‘10, Brown’s Cavs were Top 7 in all of those important defensive categories, and again had the best record in the league.  His defense is no joke.  To boot, the Lakers have three All-Stars, a former Defensive Player of the Year, and Matt Barnes (if that still means something).  Something’s clearly wrong.  So should Mike Brown be fired for his failure this season?  Let’s examine. From the Orange County Register’s Kevin Ding: Why, almost after almost six months of hearing his voice, are the Lakers still so unable to adhere to one of the three defensive tenets Mike Brown declared the day he was hired: Make multiple efforts on defense, the last effort being that someone must always contest whatever shot goes up. Ding says Brown’s messages are failing to get through to his players.  Is that Brown’s fault?  The players?  Both?  Other media members, and most fans, point to the team’s lack of effort, which at times, is clearly suspect.  But before we render a verdict, let me present an alternate line of thought:  What if the Lakers aren’t good enough to play good defense? Brown espouses the belief that “anyone can be taught to defend.”  Technically, that’s true.  All people do have brains that can take in and process information.  Problem is, we all have bodies too.  Making our bodies do the things our brain knows ain’t that easy. Mike Brown can teach me defense, and I can learn how to play it, but that won’t mean I’ll be any good at it.  The old maxim, “There’s no excuse for lack of effort,” is indisputably true, but there is an excuse for the Lakers’ defensive trouble:  “They’re not good at defense.” The Lakers just don’t have the personnel.  Some players in the league can’t shoot. Maybe LA can’t defend?  Kobe, Ron, Barnes were excellent defenders, who have clearly lost a step. Pau struggles with activity and strength in the post.  Bynum has never had much lateral quickness, his leaping ability is minimal, and his ability to jump a second time is laughable.  Steve Blake is average on his best day, and Ramon Sessions will never have a best day defensively. Should Mike Brown be fired if his team isn’t good enough to play his defense?  Whther my theory holds water or not, there are enough questions surrounding the Lakers’ players, and enough miles on their legs, that I believe it’s unfair to fire Mike Brown based on LA’s performance this season. Oh, but don’t get me wrong, he will be fired.  Likely sometime relatively soon.  And here’s why.  From Kevin Ding, again: Maybe it’s too much to expect the Lakers to be connected to a first-year coach nearly as well as the Thunder to Scott Brooks or the Spurs to Gregg Popovich, and Brown will tell you with regularity how there’s no shame in finished third in the West to clubs whose systems have been in place for years. Hey, Mike Brown, save your breath.  Don’t ever tell me there’s “no shame in finishing third in the West” to anybody.  I don’t care what your reasons are.  Stick all of your excuses in a paper bag, along with your rotten suits, and set it on fire. Lakers fans, the Lakers’ organization, and the Los Angeles Lakers expect Championships.  Nothing less. That’s it. #GotEmCoach

The Lakers got worked in Game 1, and the slaughter has just begun (try to remember the good times, fellow Laker fans).  Despite having strengths where the Thunder have weaknesses (inside, half-court offense), this series is a bad match-up for LA because they simply cannot defend Durant, Westbrook or James Harden.

And when all three are in the game?  Power vomit.  There’s nothing LA can do.

The Lakers’ troubles this season have almost always come on the defensive end.  It’s easy to see.  During a regular season game, in a regularly paced season, a good NBA basketball team should reasonably expect to score 90-100 points.  In the Playoffs, because we’re dealing with the best, scores might fluctuate up a few points, but just as likely, down a few, as team defenses give more effort.

Simply put, it’s pretty difficult to beat a team that scores in the upper ‘90’s or above, especially in a accelerated season like this one.

The NBA has made it easier to prognosticate outcomes by partitioning games into 4 quarters of play.  Fancy!  If Team A is scoring 23-25 points in any given quarter, they’re on pace for that 90-100 point goal, and Team B’s defense isn’t getting the job done.

In Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers gave up 113 points.  Denver had 30 in the first quarter, 24 in the second.  That’s a 108 point pace, except the Nuggets had a whopping 36 in the third, and another 23 in the fourth.  That’s mucho bad.  It didn’t even matter that LA scored 96 of their own.  In Game 1 against the Thunder, the Lakers gave up 119, including 30 in first, 29 in the second, a soul-crushing 39 in the third, and a “lowly” 21 in the fourth, when OKC clearly relented, and rested their starters.

Can I pull some sort of alarm?

Mike Brown was hired to coach the Lakers, in part, because he was supposed to bring his tough, hard-nosed defense to Los Angeles.  He was going to change the culture.  It hasn’t happened. 

Brown’s reputation as a defensive specialist is not without merit.  In ‘06-‘07, the Cavaliers finished 4th in the league in defensive efficiency, 5th in points allowed, 5th in opponent’s true shooting percentage, 2nd in defensive rebounding rate, 1st in opponent’s 3PT%, and lost in the NBA Finals.  That team played Damon Jones, Larry Hughes and Sasha Pavolvic major minutes.

In ‘08-‘09, the Cavs were tied for 2nd in defensive efficiency, gave up the least points in the league, were tied for 1st in opponent FG%, were 5th in blocks, and won 66 games, all behind the defensive stylings of Boobie Gibson and noted stopper, Mo Williams.

In ‘09-‘10, Brown’s Cavs were Top 7 in all of those important defensive categories, and again had the best record in the league.  His defense is no joke.  To boot, the Lakers have three All-Stars, a former Defensive Player of the Year, and Matt Barnes (if that still means something).  Something’s clearly wrong.  So should Mike Brown be fired for his failure this season?  Let’s examine.

From the Orange County Register’s Kevin Ding:

Why, almost after almost six months of hearing his voice, are the Lakers still so unable to adhere to one of the three defensive tenets Mike Brown declared the day he was hired: Make multiple efforts on defense, the last effort being that someone must always contest whatever shot goes up.

Ding says Brown’s messages are failing to get through to his players.  Is that Brown’s fault?  The players?  Both?  Other media members, and most fans, point to the team’s lack of effort, which at times, is clearly suspect.  But before we render a verdict, let me present an alternate line of thought:  What if the Lakers aren’t good enough to play good defense?

Brown espouses the belief that “anyone can be taught to defend.”  Technically, that’s true.  All people do have brains that can take in and process information.  Problem is, we all have bodies too.  Making our bodies do the things our brain knows ain’t that easy.

Mike Brown can teach me defense, and I can learn how to play it, but that won’t mean I’ll be any good at it.  The old maxim, “There’s no excuse for lack of effort,” is indisputably true, but there is an excuse for the Lakers’ defensive trouble:  “They’re not good at defense.”

The Lakers just don’t have the personnel.  Some players in the league can’t shoot. Maybe LA can’t defend?  Kobe, Ron, Barnes were excellent defenders, who have clearly lost a step. Pau struggles with activity and strength in the post.  Bynum has never had much lateral quickness, his leaping ability is minimal, and his ability to jump a second time is laughable.  Steve Blake is average on his best day, and Ramon Sessions will never have a best day defensively.

Should Mike Brown be fired if his team isn’t good enough to play his defense?  Whther my theory holds water or not, there are enough questions surrounding the Lakers’ players, and enough miles on their legs, that I believe it’s unfair to fire Mike Brown based on LA’s performance this season.

Oh, but don’t get me wrong, he will be fired.  Likely sometime relatively soon.  And here’s why.  From Kevin Ding, again:

Maybe it’s too much to expect the Lakers to be connected to a first-year coach nearly as well as the Thunder to Scott Brooks or the Spurs to Gregg Popovich, and Brown will tell you with regularity how there’s no shame in finished third in the West to clubs whose systems have been in place for years.

Hey, Mike Brown, save your breath.  Don’t ever tell me there’s “no shame in finishing third in the West” to anybody.  I don’t care what your reasons are.  Stick all of your excuses in a paper bag, along with your rotten suits, and set it on fire.

Lakers fans, the Lakers’ organization, and the Los Angeles Lakers expect Championships.  Nothing less.

That’s it.

#GotEmCoach

[video]

May 15

BREAKING:  JaVale McGee is turning Filipino Move over, Nate Robinson.  Step aside, DeMarcus Cousins.  Take a knee, Tim Tebow.  JaVale McGee is joining the family. Antipolo City representative Robbie Puno has filed House Bill 6169, which would naturalize JaVale McGee, making him a Filipino citizen, and eligible to play for the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team Puno, in his bill’s cover letter, cited McGee’s “remarkable track record in the United States’ professional basketball scene” as consideration for his inclusion in the SMART-Gilas program. “Remarkable” is certainly one way to describe his “track record.”  Let me be the first to say, “Welcome, JaVale!  We’re glad to have you, your dunks, and your antics.  We’re proud to soon call you an honorary Filipino.”  #KUYA Follow @GotEm_Coach

BREAKING:  JaVale McGee is turning Filipino

Move over, Nate Robinson.  Step aside, DeMarcus Cousins.  Take a knee, Tim Tebow.  JaVale McGee is joining the family.

Antipolo City representative Robbie Puno has filed House Bill 6169, which would naturalize JaVale McGee, making him a Filipino citizen, and eligible to play for the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team

Puno, in his bill’s cover letter, cited McGee’s “remarkable track record in the United States’ professional basketball scene” as consideration for his inclusion in the SMART-Gilas program.

“Remarkable” is certainly one way to describe his “track record.” 

Let me be the first to say, “Welcome, JaVale!  We’re glad to have you, your dunks, and your antics.  We’re proud to soon call you an honorary Filipino.”  #KUYA

Follow @GotEm_Coach

(Source: sbnation.com)

THE BEST I think we, as a nation of basketball fans, consistently take Chris Paul for granted.  He’s a Top 3 player today, in my opinion, and has been the best point guard for years, in what should be all of your opinions. The lead guard position is the most difficult to gauge from our television sets, because being a good point guard is much more about leadership, and controlling tempo, which cannot be recorded by any statistic.  I can tell, you want stats.  Fine.  Try these: The fewest assists Chris Paul’s had in a game (playing a minimum of 30 minutes) is 3.  Paul’s only had 9 games of 3 assists in 7 years (515 games). Chris Paul has only had one game in his 7 year career with less than 3 assists (NOH vs. PHI, ‘07).  He had 2 in 28 minutes. Over his career, Paul averages 18.8 points (47.2 FG%), 9.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and almost 2.5 steals per game in the regular season. In the Playoffs, Paul averages 21.6 points (48.5 FG%), 10.2 assists, 5.4 rebounds, and still over 2 steals per contest. All of that’s great, but here’s the real reason I love Chris Paul, and the secret that makes him so good: he’s a nasty little cuss.  According to the NY Post’s Peter Vecsey, when Chris Paul was a high school senior, all he wanted to do was go to the University of North Carolina. “I loved the Tar Heels,” he said, smiling that beatific smile, something he does most of the time, on and off guard duty, keeping the population off balance so no one knows what’s on deck. “I grew up following North Carolina. It was 13 miles away from my home in Lewisville. Since I was a little kid, that was the only school I wanted to play for.” As the story goes, UNC’s coach Matt Doherty, told Paul there “might be a spot for him after the season.” “But there’s definitely room on my team for you as a walk-on,” Paul recalls Doherty generously informing him. After taking his high school team to a the state semifinals and a 26-4 record Doherty finally offered Paul a scholarship. “I had waited patiently for that day to come,” Paul said somberly, his smile having run away from his face. “I wanted to know I was good enough to get one. As soon as it was offered, I called coach [Skip Prosser] and committed to Wake Forest.” I like my basketball players the way I like my elderly drunks: pissed off. #GotEmCoach

THE BEST

I think we, as a nation of basketball fans, consistently take Chris Paul for granted.  He’s a Top 3 player today, in my opinion, and has been the best point guard for years, in what should be all of your opinions.

The lead guard position is the most difficult to gauge from our television sets, because being a good point guard is much more about leadership, and controlling tempo, which cannot be recorded by any statistic.  I can tell, you want stats.  Fine.  Try these:

All of that’s great, but here’s the real reason I love Chris Paul, and the secret that makes him so good: he’s a nasty little cuss.  According to the NY Post’s Peter Vecsey, when Chris Paul was a high school senior, all he wanted to do was go to the University of North Carolina.

“I loved the Tar Heels,” he said, smiling that beatific smile, something he does most of the time, on and off guard duty, keeping the population off balance so no one knows what’s on deck. “I grew up following North Carolina. It was 13 miles away from my home in Lewisville. Since I was a little kid, that was the only school I wanted to play for.”

As the story goes, UNC’s coach Matt Doherty, told Paul there “might be a spot for him after the season.”

“But there’s definitely room on my team for you as a walk-on,” Paul recalls Doherty generously informing him.

After taking his high school team to a the state semifinals and a 26-4 record Doherty finally offered Paul a scholarship.

“I had waited patiently for that day to come,” Paul said somberly, his smile having run away from his face. “I wanted to know I was good enough to get one. As soon as it was offered, I called coach [Skip Prosser] and committed to Wake Forest.”

I like my basketball players the way I like my elderly drunks: pissed off.

#GotEmCoach

IF YOU CAN MAKE IT HERE… It’s a wild ride in New York City.  Bring your best under the brightest lights, and the city will build you up.  If you don’t, they’ll nail you to a cross. The Knicks’ 2011-2012 season in the New York Post. #GotEmCoach

IF YOU CAN MAKE IT HERE…

It’s a wild ride in New York City.  Bring your best under the brightest lights, and the city will build you up.  If you don’t, they’ll nail you to a cross.

The Knicks’ 2011-2012 season in the New York Post.

#GotEmCoach

May 14

[video]

Good season from the Nuggets, highlighted by the Best Alley-Oop of the Year.

Good season from the Nuggets, highlighted by the Best Alley-Oop of the Year.

He didn’t need to befriend every good player in the league or link up with anybody who became a free agent. Rose hasn’t found that he needs a nickname or carefully crafted image. He’s a doer, a leader, charismatic in a way perhaps only Chicagoans understand — without smiling and clowning and dancing and posing, kind of like a young Dick Butkus. He has represented Chicago in a way even Michael Jordan couldn’t. Jordan is an adopted son, Rose a native son. #GotEmCoach

He didn’t need to befriend every good player in the league or link up with anybody who became a free agent. Rose hasn’t found that he needs a nickname or carefully crafted image.

He’s a doer, a leader, charismatic in a way perhaps only Chicagoans understand — without smiling and clowning and dancing and posing, kind of like a young Dick Butkus. He has represented Chicago in a way even Michael Jordan couldn’t.

Jordan is an adopted son, Rose a native son.

#GotEmCoach