Now that the Oklahoma City Thunder have been knocked out of the playoffs, its time for them to make a coaching change if they ever want to have a chance to win the title with this group. I know that Russell Westbrook is out and if you read my other blogs you would see I ranked him as the second best point guard in the league. So I do understand what a huge loss it is for him to be out of the playoffs. The fact is that I have been calling for him to be fired for a couple years now and now it has been shown that he is not a good coach.
Why Should He Go?
Ok, so it seems from the outside that OKC has done better and better every year under Scott Brooks, and with a key injury this year its not his fault they aren’t winning it all or getting to the finals. Wrong. Lets look at it from the other side. You have three young up and coming stars in Durant, Westbrook, and Harden. They are all in their early twenties and are just learning the game and learning how to win. So year by year they get better in the regular season and get further and further into the playoffs. How many teams with players that young make the finals? Very few. So you have to ask what Scott Brooks did to help them achieve more than they should have. And I say nothing. I see him adding no value. In fact I think he is somewhat of a joke. Last year during the season, they would have him miked up and he would say over and over, “We are a defensive team,” and the team basically laughed at him. They gave up the most points in the NBA, and were clearly an offensive minded team. Second, what do they run down the stretch and in big spots? Nothing. They spread the court with Westbrook, and he dribbles and goes one on one. During this time Durant stands at the top of the key with his guy all over him with his hand up calling for the ball. If Westbrook passes it to him, then guess what he does? Goes one on one. There is no creativity, nothing new or different, to get his team a great look. Look at coaches like Doc Rivers and Gregg Popovich. Down the stretch they run great plays to get great looks. Off the top of my head I can think of a play where Pop had Ginobli inbound to Duncan at the elbow and pretend like he would run behind him for a 3 and then backdoored for an UNCONTESTED LAY UP in the last 10 seconds of a game. I can think of Doc Rivers having Garnett at the top of the key, and Paul Pierce posting up. While this is happening, Jeff Green loops around Garnett, and while Garnett appears to be looking at Pierce for a post up, Pierce actually sets a back screen for Green for a WIDE OPEN LAY UP to WIN THE GAME.
Next, lets look at what has happened since Westbrook went down. What adjustments have Brooks made since the injury? I see nothing. I see them running their awful one on one offense where they hope that Durant can score on 1, 2, or 3 defenders every possession. If I was him, I would have been running Durant off downscreens and double screens and pinch screens, instead of having him bring the ball up on every possession and trying to create vs multiple defenders. Also, how about making him a decoy? How about you run him off a bunch of screens and hit Collison or Ibaka on a slip for a layup. Never have I seen that. And with Westbrook out, it means that Durant has to score more, defend more, rebound more, and lead more. And Brooks is having him bring the ball up as well. This is a terrible idea. Bringing the ball up makes you more tired, and it brings the defensive focus to you. They are all in help side watching the ball and their man. If Durant were off the ball and came off screens then they couldn’t focus all their attention on him, they would have to focus on the ball.
Lets look at their personnel. PG-Reggie Jackson vs Michael Conley-advantage Conley. Kevin Martin vs Tony Allen-advantage Martin. Kevin Durant vs Teyshaun Prince-advantage Durant. Serge Ibaka vs Marc Gasol-advantage very slightly to Gasol. Kendrick Perkins vs Zach Randolph-advantage Randolph. Bench-slight edge to Memphis. With all of this the difference comes down defense and how personnel is used. Memphis’ defense is waaaaaaay better than OKC’s. Serge Ibaka now stands on the perimeter and shoots jumpers even though he is one of the most athletic players in the league. There are just so many things that are wrong.
Who Should Be Hired?
Phil Jackson. Jerry Sloan. Jeff Van Gundy. No one else. Offer Phil whatever he wants and find yourself in the NBA finals next year.
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