sapiosexual1:

After popovic, I fancy Eric Spoelstra. Many of the other coaches with all stars in the team just pick their team and allow the stars express themselves on court. It's not also surprising that Eric Spoelstra is schooled in Popovic's coaching philosophy

What is unique about Spoelstra? Will you genuinely say he gets the best out of his players?

SIRcumalot:
a legit superstar Or Superstars on a team roster,does take the shine off an NBA coach achievements,
except for Pop for some reason.

I give Pop his own credit for his consistency over the years with 5 rings to show for it. He has managed to make the franchise stay relevant over the years and it is greatly commendable. Pop has made use of many HOFers to achieve his visions but for some reason (like you pointed out) people give him his full credit and not Kerr.

Kerr is doing the exact thing: in the last 3 years, GSW has been an elite team in the NBA and the only common factor has been Kerr. After all, Draymond, Lee, Curry and Klay were on Mark Jacksons team and they were not elite- not yet.

sapiosexual1:

After popovic, I fancy Eric Spoelstra. Many of the other coaches with all stars in the team just pick their team and allow the stars express themselves on court. It's not also surprising that Eric Spoelstra is schooled in Popovic's coaching philosophy

spoelstra with whiteside and dragic should be challenging for the 6th - 8th position in the eastern conference to me, but then again, last season, he at least proved himself to be up there, but not number two for me.

Eruditor:


I give Pop his own credit for his consistency over the years with 5 rings to show for it. He has managed to make the franchise stay relevant over the years and it is greatly commendable. Pop has made use of many HOFers to achieve his visions but for some reason (like you pointed out) people give him his full credit and not Kerr.

Kerr is doing the exact thing: in the last 3 years, GSW has been an elite team in the NBA and the only common factor has been Kerr. After all, Draymond, Lee, Curry and Klay were on Mark Jacksons team and they were not elite- not yet.

Golden state was elite with Mark Jackson, I think it is unfair to mark Jackson to say that. He like Kerr I believe could have won more given the chances, Although, maybe not a ring, but somewhat close. This Golden State team almost ran out spurs out of the gym in the playoffs four years ago after beating George Karl team. Though Kerr did made the team what it is today, I believe Jackson would have done the same thing.

Eruditor:


What is unique about Spoelstra? Will you genuinely say he gets the best out of his players?

nothing unique about spoelstra lol

Looool@Kerr made Curry a 2 time mvp looool .

Donlittle:
Golden state was elite with Mark Jackson, I think it is unfair to mark Jackson to say that. He like Kerr I believe could have won more given the chances, Although, maybe not a ring, but somewhat close. This Golden State team almost ran out spurs out of the gym in the playoffs four years ago after beating George Karl team. Though Kerr did made the team what it is today, I believe Jackson would have done the same thing.

Mark tried but I think he lost his dressing room and he could not take them to the level they are at now.

chic2pimp:
Looool@Kerr made Curry a 2 time mvp looool .

Sorry it was Greg Popovich that made him.

Eruditor:


Sorry it was Greg Popovich that made him.

No one made Curry. He made himself.

chic2pimp:


No one made Curry. He made himself.

If he keeps passing up shots an averaging 14ppg will he be MVP? If he keeps throwing behind the back passes that don't hit the target? What about if he did not have the freedom to launch some of his long distance threes? What if he was not the primary scorer for the team (like he isn't this season)?

I see your point however you have to factor in that some coach gave him the freedom that his talent deserved.

Eruditor:


If he keeps passing up shots an averaging 14ppg will he be MVP? If he keeps throwing behind the back passes that don't hit the target? What about if he did not have the freedom to launch some of his long distance threes? What if he was not the primary scorer for the team (like he isn't this season)?

I see your point however you have to factor in that some coach gave him the freedom that his talent deserved.

Those are all "Ifs" and "'buts" scenarios. You simply don't make someone with the talent of a Steph Curry(once in a lifetime calibre talent). What He has done however is help him harness his strengths

Sixers last season: 10-72 Sixers this season :10-25
Na Embiid or who

Eruditor:


If he keeps passing up shots an averaging 14ppg will he be MVP? If he keeps throwing behind the back passes that don't hit the target? What about if he did not have the freedom to launch some of his long distance threes? What if he was not the primary scorer for the team (like he isn't this season)?

I see your point however you have to factor in that some coach gave him the freedom that his talent deserved.

Curry already averaged 22ppg and 24ppg with 8.5apg before Kerr came on board.

Curry already broke 3pts record before Kerr came on board

Curry was an All Star and was in All NBA second team before Kerr came on board.

The Warriors already had potential which Kerr took advantage of.

Curry is his hard work not Kerr's

sapiosexual1:

I couldnt agree with you less, the quality of the East is really quesy. I mean, how is that the 3rd best team in the West is just a game and half behind the best team in the East even with 3 all stars.
Again, Houston with the 3rd best points difference in the West betters the best scoring team in the East.
I wouldn't even tune in to watch any of the Eastern playoffs, let's just wait for The Cavs in the Finals.

With due respect, the East is more competitive than the West. Think of it as the premier league

The West is the la liga. One conference has more quality, the other unpredictable.

Decale:



With due respect, the East is more competitive than the West. Think of it as the premier league

The West is the la liga. One conference has more quality, the other unpredictable.

What is unpredictable about the East?

Jackson lacked the X and O's and offensive chops to take the Warriors from good to great. That I think is or was his issue. He laid the foundation for the Warriors though. Make no mistake about that. The culture and expectation of winning was Jackson. What Kerr did do was help the team reach its potential offensively. I don't think that is debatable. Is he 2nd after Pop? I am not sure. I haven't seen enough to make that conclusion. And he has openly said he can't coach a terrible team so it is quite clear he is always going to need stars to function

A40:

What is unpredictable about the East?

Teams from 3 - 15 are.

The games aren't linear. Upsets are more prevalent in the conference. The last playoff spot is always a battle between 4 or 5 teams with .50 records or more.

And every single season, they have too many team changes for the playoffs. Today, it's the Bulls qualifying. Next season, they're 10th while Nets, Pistons or Wizards rise.

The West just remains fairly constant. Major changes no go pass 1/2 teams or the standings.

Eruditor:


Carlise just has the IQ of a very intelligent man. As a coach to me, he is just there. Perhaps I am not looking as closely as I ought to.

yeah maybe you aren't looking closely enough, but uhh the thing is how do I place Kerr at number 2 after that woeful performance against Cleveland last year? Some of his rotations were quite bizarre. Perhaps, he is still young to this coaching of a thing.

No doubt if he wins this year, he would be in my top 5

Decale:


Teams from 3 - 15 are.

The games aren't linear. Upsets are more prevalent in the conference. The last playoff spot is always a battle between 4 or 5 teams with .50 records or more.

And every single season, they have too many team changes for the playoffs. Today, it's the Bulls qualifying. Next season, they're 10th while Nets, Pistons or Wizards rise.

The West just remains fairly constant. Major changes no go pass 1/2 teams or the standings.

Say what? Besides the Heat which other playoff team from last season can you categorically say is out of contention in the East? From the West just look at the likes of the Jazz and Rockets and see the kind of improvements they made with a few lowkey additions. Look at Dallas on the other hand languishing at the bottom

You talk about upsets. When was the last time an #8 seed beat a #1 seed in the East. Its happened twice in the West between 2007-2016. You think Lebron would smell 6 straight Finals in the West?

Even now you are not 100% sure the Warriors would get to the Finals but we know even without Kyrie and Love the Cavs don enter Finals

A40:


Say what? Besides the Heat which other playoff team from last season can you categorically say is out of contention in the East? From the West just look at the likes of the Jazz and Rockets and see the kind of improvements they made with a few lowkey additions. Look at Dallas on the other hand languishing at the bottom

You talk about upsets. When was the last time an #8 seed beat a #1 seed in the East. Its happened twice in the West between 2007-2016. You think Lebron would smell 6 straight Finals in the West?

Even now you are not 100% sure the Warriors would get to the Finals but we know even without Kyrie and Love the Cavs don enter Finals

You are mixing quality and competition. How many teams in the West compete for playoff spots every season? Usually 9, sometimes the 8 teams have been decided. In the East, it's different; right now, from 5th to 11 is being separated by 2.5 games. The 8th position is a battlefield.

The quality of a conference just puts the top teams against each other. We already know they're top 7 or top 8. The competition just sets everything crazily different. The 5th placed Pacers may drop to 9th with 4 straight losses. Cavs and Raptors make that conference seem one ticket but other teams bring the energy.

Saying Warriors not sure of making the finals has to do with the other teams quality. Now ask yourself this OKC is 100% sure of playoffs even in 7th but can you say the same for Bulls in same 7th?

Decale:


You are mixing quality and competition. How many teams in the West compete for playoff spots every season? Usually 9, sometimes the 8 teams have been decided. In the East, it's different; right now, from 5th to 11 is being separated by 2.5 games. The 8th position is a battlefield.

The quality of a conference just puts the top teams against each other. We already know they're top 7 or top 8. The competition just sets everything crazily different. The 5th placed Pacers may drop to 9th with 4 straight losses. Cavs and Raptors make that conference seem one ticket but other teams bring the energy.

Saying Warriors not sure of making the finals has to do with the other teams quality. Now ask yourself this OKC is 100% sure of playoffs even in 7th but can you say the same for Bulls in same 7th?

about three years ago it was almost 11, phoenix, jazz lost out by about one game or two games, Dallas won I believe 50 games that year, competition, quality, Western Conference has it

There's absolutely nothing in the east. NOTHING.

Decale:



Curry already averaged 22ppg and 24ppg with 8.5apg before Kerr came on board.

Curry already broke 3pts record before Kerr came on board

Curry was an All Star and was in All NBA second team before Kerr came on board.

The Warriors already had potential which Kerr took advantage of.

Curry is his hard work not Kerr's

The same argument can be made of any great (Jordan, Kobe etc.) but I am sleep. I do however cannot guarantee at this juncture that Curry was an All star before Kerr but even if he was, I guess Curry would have been Rookie of the year had Kerr coached him in 09 as against finishing second.

Donlittle:
yeah maybe you aren't looking closely enough, but uhh the thing is how do I place Kerr at number 2 after that woeful performance against Cleveland last year? Some of his rotations were quite bizarre. Perhaps, he is still young to this coaching of a thing.

No doubt if he wins this year, he would be in my top 5

Mehn, I was equally disappointed at the capitulation but it will be lazy to place everything on the coach. Pop also capitulated against a Miami team in 2013 but his response in 2014 was the highlight of the whole seeming debacle and eventual success.

Decale:


You are mixing quality and competition. How many teams in the West compete for playoff spots every season? Usually 9, sometimes the 8 teams have been decided. In the East, it's different; right now, from 5th to 11 is being separated by 2.5 games. The 8th position is a battlefield.

The quality of a conference just puts the top teams against each other. We already know they're top 7 or top 8. The competition just sets everything crazily different. The 5th placed Pacers may drop to 9th with 4 straight losses. Cavs and Raptors make that conference seem one ticket but other teams bring the energy.

Saying Warriors not sure of making the finals has to do with the other teams quality. Now ask yourself this OKC is 100% sure of playoffs even in 7th but can you say the same for Bulls in same 7th?

If Butler and Wade are healthy the Bulls would make the playoffs

The Kings are in 8th place in the West. Can you categorically say they would make the playoffs

Eruditor:


Mehn, I was equally disappointed at the capitulation but it will be lazy to place everything on the coach. Pop also capitulated against a Miami team in 2013 but his response in 2014 was the highlight of the whole seeming debacle and eventual success.

Baba capitulation get levels oh. You no fit compare that Spurs own at all. The Spurs had 2 road games leading 3-2. The Warriors led 3-1 with 2 home games to play. And the Spurs were a much older team

Eruditor:


He is. LOL.

Steve is the 2nd best coach in the NBA. He is just behind Pop. Make no mistakes, all coaches have their own individual flaws. Steve is no exception.

I think he gets flaks because people feel he has a talented squad. But some other coach had handled this team before and did not get to a conference final let alone win it. The present GSW that we all admire is a direct product of Steve's coaching. It is part of why he was given the job. He had drafted a plan to the board of GSW detailing exactly what he could do to make them a championship winning side and he has achieved that. Along the way he has garnered some records that even Phil and Pop are yet to achieve. For instance, Steve notched up 150 wins in a way faster time than both. Also, in 3 seasons of coaching Steve after 35 games had a record of 30-5, 33-2, 30-5 again. It is more than the talents at his disposal- He has a system that is attractive and works.

Many don't know that Steve fought by all means for Phoenix to draft Curry in 2009 when he was their GM. He believed so much in Curry even when the NBA did not. It was no coincidence that he hopped at the opportunity to coach Curry. Like Skip Bayless, Kerr felt Curry and not Griffin should have been drafted first. Guess posterity has proven him right. BTW Steve made Curry a 2-time MVP which Mark Jackson could never have done. Pop (for all his greatness) is yet to make Kawhi that.

They say students are usually a product of the teachers they have had. What do people expect from Steve he was coached by Phil and Pop (perhaps 2 of the best coaches ever). Steve is primed to be in the same mold.

Totally agree.
When I saw all the innovations Steve instantly brought to warriors. My memory instantly went to what Guadiola brought to Barca.
What Steve did to Curry is identical to what pep did to messi.

Efficiency meeting entertainment, Precision meeting quickness.
Usually, it should take a team like 20 to 24 seconds to execute the kind of offence golden state executes. But it takes them like 10 to 15 seconds at times.
This should be the most mobile team iv ever seen. Or one-of.
Against Warriors you just can't tell which player is coming off screens to take the shot.
I think he's a genius.


Even if pop is 1st, I don't think he's that far ahead of Steve. We respect pop due to logivity and having the longest playoffs-streak.
But can we call pop an innovator like Phil Jackson, or Steve or d'antonini?
One thing I had against pop was using several seasons to win a particular championship.

Pop could rebuild the spurs for years towards winning one title. Then stay average/competitive for years, then resurface again to compete for the title.

Kerr's style and innovations to the game would always keep his team as title contenders more consistently than pop did for spurs.

Decale:



Curry already averaged 22ppg and 24ppg with 8.5apg before Kerr came on board.

Curry already broke 3pts record before Kerr came on board

Curry was an All Star and was in All NBA second team before Kerr came on board.

The Warriors already had potential which Kerr took advantage of.

Curry is his hard work not Kerr's

Curry had potentials and good stat line before Kerr came on board.
But Kerr made him a weapon on mass destruction. That's the difference.
Do you really notice the spacing curry's presence makes available in golden states offence.

Opponents have to marking him like 2 to 3 feet away from the arc. Such science is unheard of in basket ball.
And usually, most times a player is useful that early in an offence or that far off from the basket, what happens is that he is not directly involved in the made point. At most situations, he is involved in the pass that led to the assist that led to the points.
But being that far away and directly involved in ending the offence is very difficult. It shows the player has covered a lot of space and usage.
Ending in points shows your usage-rate is at par with your efficiency.

I'm not a fan of golden states.
But iv hardly seen better ball movement in my life.

Decale:



Curry already averaged 22ppg and 24ppg with 8.5apg before Kerr came on board.

Curry already broke 3pts record before Kerr came on board

Curry was an All Star and was in All NBA second team before Kerr came on board.

The Warriors already had potential which Kerr took advantage of.

Curry is his hard work not Kerr's

Curry had potentials and good stat line before Kerr came on board.
But Kerr made him a weapon on mass destruction. That's the difference.
Do you really notice the spacing curry's presence makes available in golden states offence.

Opponents have to marking him like 2 to 3 feet away from the arc. Such science is unheard of in basket ball.
And usually, most times a player is useful that early in an offence or that far off from the basket, what happens is that he is not directly involved in the made point. At most situations, he is involved in the pass that led to the assist that led to the points.
But being that far away and directly involved in ending the offence is very difficult. It shows the player has covered a lot of space and usage.
Ending in points shows your usage-rate is at par with your efficiency.

I'm not a fan of golden states.
But iv hardly seen better ball movement in my life.
Kerr brought this on board.

Decale:



Curry already averaged 22ppg and 24ppg with 8.5apg before Kerr came on board.

Curry already broke 3pts record before Kerr came on board

Curry was an All Star and was in All NBA second team before Kerr came on board.

The Warriors already had potential which Kerr took advantage of.

Curry is his hard work not Kerr's

Curry had potentials and good stat line before Kerr came on board.
But Kerr made him a weapon on mass destruction. That's the difference.
Do you really notice the spacing curry's presence makes available in golden states offence.

Opponents have to marking him like 2 to 3 feet away from the arc. Such science is unheard of in basket ball.
And usually, most times a player is useful that early in an offence or that far off from the basket, what happens is that he is not directly involved in the made point. At most situations, he is involved in the pass that led to the assist that led to the points.
But being that far away and directly involved in ending the offence is very difficult. It shows the player has covered a lot of space and usage.
Ending in points shows your usage-rate is at par with your efficiency.

I'm not a fan of golden states.
But iv hardly seen better ball movement in my life.
Kerr brought this to on board.

nairamaniac:

Against Warriors you just can't tell which player is coming off screens to take the shot.
I think he's a genius.


Even if pop is 1st, I don't think he's that far ahead of Steve. We respect pop due to logivity and having the longest playoffs-streak.
But can we call pop an innovator like Phil Jackson, or Steve or d'antonini?
One thing I had against pop was using several seasons to win a particular championship.

Pop could rebuild the spurs for years towards winning one title. Then stay average/competitive for years, then resurface again to compete for the title.

Kerr's style and innovations to the game would always keep his team as title contenders more consistently than pop did for spurs.

Shuuuu. Ogini na fio? Chale are you serious ni or is this just bants? Even the Kerr una dey praise was under whose tutelage?

Do you know how many head coaches Pop has influenced? Even Phil Jackson does not come close. You need to follow the evolution of the Spurs from bruising gritty and grimy days of the Twin Towers, where they would just pound teams to oblivion to the days of Tony Parker, Ginobili where they played with finesse and continental flair. To the 2014 Final where they produced the most dominant display in history against 3 HOFers

Pop is the Innovator. Oludasile. And the reason International players are thriving in the league. Even this Golden State ball movement pattern na him start am

He won 4 titles from 99-2007. Has never missed the playoffs or done less than 50 wins in a full season. Without ever having the absolute best player in the league. Which dominance pass that one

If you claim Pop is better than Phil sef I might disagree but I no go argue with you. Its an insult on Pop's personality to dey compare am with Steve Kerr. Sir Popovich na him dem suppose to call am abeg. Let's give credit where its due