Most of these guys we've known were in the fold for a while but I like the picks a lot. Here's why...
- You have two former head coaches with playoff experience both as head coaches and as assistants in Jim Boylan and Larry Drew. This is valuable for a first time head coach in the league.
- You have two relatively young guys in Brielmaier and Posey who have come from winning organizations. Brielmaier came up in the Spurs system and can provide insight there and is a good young mind and excellent video guy. Posey has only had one season in coaching(with the Charge last year as an assistant) but was always a smart, tough, defensive-minded player that should help on that end of the floor. He also has two rings. Always good to have some former players mixed in.
- Retained Handy and Potapenko who I think were pretty solid in their roles last year. Handy ran his own training business and is supposed to be a tireless worker at drilling fundamentals into players. Has a diverse background with some overseas time as well. Potapenko is a former Cavalier that I think would be a solid big man coach and was always a tough defender. I think he can help players with post defense and rebounding as he was always solid in those areas. I love that V and Z are both part of this organization now.
I think you have a nice mix of basketball knowledge there with overseas guys(Blatt, Potapenko, Handy), relatively recent former players(Lue, Posey, Potapenko) and essentially three additional head coaches(Boylan, Drew, Lue). Lue hasn't been a head coach yet but advanced quickly under Rivers and will be a head coach in the very near future. I think having a great staff like this that is diverse in knowledge, infused with youth and balanced with experience will be critical to aiding Blatt's adjustment to the NBA game.
Everyone is worried about defense and I'm far less concerned than most on that end. This staff makes me feel even better with where we stand defensively as I believe Lue, Posey and Potapenko in particular can help with defensive fundamentals and know the league well from the player's perspective. Also, Boylan had to pick up some defense as a long time assistant to Scott Skiles(had some great defensive teams).
Most of all, as I've said in other thread, I'm not worried about defense on this team because LeBron James has never played on a "bad" defensive team and it wasn't because he had Drew Gooden, Z, Chris Bosh, Joel Anthony or Udonis Haslem protecting the rim. He's been an underrated team defender for most of his career and he has as much of an impact on that end of the floor as any player in the league, particularly in crunch time. When he joined the Cavs, he took a terrible defensive team and made them average(along with others) as an 18 year old rookie. When he joined the Heat, he took them from a good defensive team to a great defensive team. It wouldn't surprise me at all with the offensive help he'll have here if he doesn't focus on that end even more because I think he really wants to add a DPOY to his resume and be the first perimeter player in 11 years to do so.
Lastly, I have always thought that defense in the NBA is 90% energy and effort. It's tough to put in that full energy and effort playing big minutes and carrying your team's offensive load like Love and Irving have had to do in the past. It's also tough to get "up" to play defense on bad teams. It's been that way with tons of young players for years and hell, veterans for that matter. Not a lot of guys making All-D teams off of lottery teams. These guys will be amped to play D on a team they know will win and will be playing less minutes than they ever have and getting points easier than they ever have. I'd be willing to bet we'll be a Top 10 defensive team this year and wouldn't be surprised if we're Top 5-7.
