Does LeBron need a better coach to win?

[HMcCoy]

Re: Does LeBron need a better coach to win?

This is an interesting theory, because basically three coaches have run the NBA in the past twenty or so years: Jackson, Popp and Riley. Diversity in winning amongst coaches is the exception, not the rule.

Meanwhile, league history is littered with a bunch of teams perceived to have the talent to win--Kings, Blazers, Mavs, Suns--but they couldn't get over the hump.

Was that hump great coaching? Was it great players? Both? I'm sure the answer will be argued endlessly.

Regarding the question at hand, I'm not sure the series has the same winner if the Cavs and Magic switched coaching staff.

Ironically, those teams were always eliminated by the coaches you mention...

[kingwill53]

Re: Does LeBron need a better coach to win?

well Bron needed front court help...and I believe they just got the best big man of our lifetime....If they don't win it this year its not the coaching staffs fault at all...It's because he is immature at times...and that the east aint no joke

Lets not forget that the magic, celts, and still possibly the heat all have(or will have) improved from the previous season. Along with the hawks, bulls, and the wiz(they have a sexy team and if Gil comes back at 100% it could be a team to be reaconed with) all will be nuciences come playoff time

And theres the west....

[kingwill53]

Re: Does LeBron need a better coach to win?

Ironically, those teams were always eliminated by the coaches you mention...

and lets not forget the egos on those teams too....

[BiggD]

Re: Does LeBron need a better coach to win?

I think its more he needs the right coach... He is a gifted player no doubt but he comes across immature(which i dont blame him for).. Thats were you get a coach in thats seen it all before and isn't afraid to make adjustments in game 6 of the eastern finals.

For the record i'm not a fan of Mike Brown

[BoA]

Re: Does LeBron need a better coach to win?

If Glen Rivers can coach a team to a title, than Mike Brown can certainty do it.

Surround LBJ with some more talented secondary pieces, and this conversation doesn't exist IMO.

[X*Cell]

Re: Does LeBron need a better coach to win?

Pat Riley won his first year coaching with the Lakers
Phil Jackson won his second year with the Bulls
Gregg Pop won his third year with the Spurs


I wish the coaches had a track record before their stars arrived but it just isnt the case, so we may never know

Yeah, Pat Riley didn't even act as an assistant coach for a whole season before being called up by Buss to replace Westhead. Great move btw, to keep Magic in LA. Before that, Riley was a broadcaster.

Jackson led the 1984 Patroons to a CBA championship and coached in Puerto Rico but a lot of NBA teams avoided giving him coaching positions because of his counterculture behavior. Later, he deservingly became an assistant with the Bulls and a lot of his great coaching techniques can be attributed to his fellow assistant Tex Winter who taught him the triangle offense.

Gregg Popovich had experience assistant coaching in college since 1973, and started gaining experience as a head coach way back in 1979. He became a close friend of Larry Brown's and even volunteered as an assistant for Brown's Kansas JayHawks team in 1986. Pop finally emerged into the professional atmosphere in 1988 as Larry Brown's assistant in San Antonio. He even served a brief stint with the Warriors when he, and RC Buford were let go by former owner Red McCombs. Then he came back as a GM and VP in 1994, and then took over as head coach in 1997.

Pop has had the most experience coaching beforehand, but it is arguably true that Jackson and Riley got a lot of their experience playing in the NBA. Either way, you just have to look deeper to see their track record.

[J.R. Locke]

Re: Does LeBron need a better coach to win?

It is all about matchups. The Cavs had no one to defend Rashard Lewis. That was the difference in the series. Once he got going that was it.

Coaching is the most overrated thing in basketball. You set a rotation, maybe you insert a guy for energy and hope for the best.