I think there are very few coaches that Lebron would respect and will be willing to learn from, and neither Blatt nor Stevens are among them. So I don't think he will necessarily be better. It's just an extremely difficult position that's very hard to be successful at.
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David Blatt is a former NBA coach
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tocov
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It should be noted that coaching in the NBA is much more than just knowing basketball.
It's a million times easier to coach a team of youngsters with no superstar status (in Europe too) and get them to buy in and execute perfectly. But when you have LeBron, Ky and Love on the team, plus several former champions and you need to navigate that ocean and make them buy in and try to 'teach' them things, while not hurting their fragile egos etc. It's a whole different ballgame.
Kbiz
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The one positive change for us, in regards to playoff coaching, is not only the game-to-game adjustments, but also Blatt's knack for in-game adjustments, which was a huge problem for Mike Brown.
All things considered, there are very few coaches LBJ would come in and respect initially. Coach K, Popovich, Carlisle, and Doc Rivers come to mind, only because they've won championships in recent history (Olympic and NBA)
LBJ does his fair share of player coaching each game, which projects this image that LBJ clashes with his coach, which is just not the case. By setting the tone, from an effort level, as well as keeping his players at ease (all LBJ soundbites this year, in particular Game 1 when he was telling ass't coaches that everyone just needs to relax in the 2nd half) LBJ can get the best out of his teammates because of his natural leadership ability. While he may not have the X's and O's knowledge (yet), the way he brings his teammates together and elevates their game, is tantamount to a team's success. When you couple that with Blatt's attention to detail, it should create a pretty naturally-fitting partnership for years to come.
All things considered, there are very few coaches LBJ would come in and respect initially. Coach K, Popovich, Carlisle, and Doc Rivers come to mind, only because they've won championships in recent history (Olympic and NBA)
LBJ does his fair share of player coaching each game, which projects this image that LBJ clashes with his coach, which is just not the case. By setting the tone, from an effort level, as well as keeping his players at ease (all LBJ soundbites this year, in particular Game 1 when he was telling ass't coaches that everyone just needs to relax in the 2nd half) LBJ can get the best out of his teammates because of his natural leadership ability. While he may not have the X's and O's knowledge (yet), the way he brings his teammates together and elevates their game, is tantamount to a team's success. When you couple that with Blatt's attention to detail, it should create a pretty naturally-fitting partnership for years to come.
I think it's just because LeBron is already accomplished superstar player, and Blatt just starts his history in the NBA. I'm pretty sure that in several years the next superstar NBA player will respect Blatt and will be willing to learn from him exactly like today LeBron respects Pop and Coach-K
oracio
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Do you now understand why Mozgov immediately felt at home?
View: https://twitter.com/mcten/status/590697401997996032
View: https://twitter.com/mcten/status/590697401997996032
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/...latt_knows_a_thing_or_17_about_winning_titles
Growing up in Framingham and cheering for the likes of Celtics greats Bill Russell and John Havlicek, Cavaliers coach David Blatt knew what championship basketball was all about.
At the professional level, Blatt has coached 17 champions in various leagues and tournaments, the most recent, a Euroleague title last year for Maccabi Tel Aviv.
None of those championships were the NBA, so critics were interested to see how he would handle his first postseason series against the Celtics.
“I don’t really know if people are aware of just what kind of different competitions I’ve been in based on how they approach my rookie season here in the NBA,” said Blatt, 55, a Princeton graduate. “It’s kind of funny to me. You have to recognize that I’ve been on playoff runs that are national team-oriented. I’ve coached teams that have played 11 games in 15 or 16 days in order to win a medal or European championship.
“They don’t have anything like that in the NBA. That’s extremely difficult.”
That said, Blatt isn’t naïve to the fact it’s a different landscape in the NBA and that his every move will be scrutinized.
“I’ve never coached a seven-game playoff series. I’ve coached five-game playoff series, so that’s different, and this is extremely difficult,” he said. “Every challenge has its own dynamic and its own demands. Like I said before, and I’ll say again, I’m still in the process of learning and of working hard to be the best coach I can be in this league.”
Blatt has the backing of his players, as he’s taken a team with many new to the playoff scene and molded it into his own.
“The one thing I appreciate with coach Blatt is that he’s always going to stay the same,” Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving said. “He’s always going to stay the course. He’s even-keeled. I think we share that same mindset, but also deep inside he’s got a killer mindset as well. He’s prepared all the time. He gets us going and he brings the energy. He just wants us to play hard on both ends of the court. He’s a champion.”
Blatt is also a seasoned veteran when it comes to making quick decisions. Kevin Love might have finished with a solid effort in his playoff debut Sunday, but the forward certainly didn’t start that way.
“He’s been there before,” Love said. “I know he doesn’t like to say he’s a rookie coach, but in this league he is. He just doesn’t hold himself like one. He did a great job of holding us together in Game 1 when we got down by seven or eight points and kept us calm. He called a timeout. We got together and were able to withstand and come out on top.”
As the series shifts tomorrow to the Garden for Game 3, Blatt has the respect of his players in a city that hasn’t seen a pro championship in 51 years.
“He’s been great,” star forward LeBron James, the four-time NBA MVP, said. “He’s prepared us to go out and give us the best chance to win a ballgame. For us as players, we have to go out and do that.”
Growing up in Framingham and cheering for the likes of Celtics greats Bill Russell and John Havlicek, Cavaliers coach David Blatt knew what championship basketball was all about.
At the professional level, Blatt has coached 17 champions in various leagues and tournaments, the most recent, a Euroleague title last year for Maccabi Tel Aviv.
None of those championships were the NBA, so critics were interested to see how he would handle his first postseason series against the Celtics.
“I don’t really know if people are aware of just what kind of different competitions I’ve been in based on how they approach my rookie season here in the NBA,” said Blatt, 55, a Princeton graduate. “It’s kind of funny to me. You have to recognize that I’ve been on playoff runs that are national team-oriented. I’ve coached teams that have played 11 games in 15 or 16 days in order to win a medal or European championship.
“They don’t have anything like that in the NBA. That’s extremely difficult.”
That said, Blatt isn’t naïve to the fact it’s a different landscape in the NBA and that his every move will be scrutinized.
“I’ve never coached a seven-game playoff series. I’ve coached five-game playoff series, so that’s different, and this is extremely difficult,” he said. “Every challenge has its own dynamic and its own demands. Like I said before, and I’ll say again, I’m still in the process of learning and of working hard to be the best coach I can be in this league.”
Blatt has the backing of his players, as he’s taken a team with many new to the playoff scene and molded it into his own.
“The one thing I appreciate with coach Blatt is that he’s always going to stay the same,” Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving said. “He’s always going to stay the course. He’s even-keeled. I think we share that same mindset, but also deep inside he’s got a killer mindset as well. He’s prepared all the time. He gets us going and he brings the energy. He just wants us to play hard on both ends of the court. He’s a champion.”
Blatt is also a seasoned veteran when it comes to making quick decisions. Kevin Love might have finished with a solid effort in his playoff debut Sunday, but the forward certainly didn’t start that way.
“He’s been there before,” Love said. “I know he doesn’t like to say he’s a rookie coach, but in this league he is. He just doesn’t hold himself like one. He did a great job of holding us together in Game 1 when we got down by seven or eight points and kept us calm. He called a timeout. We got together and were able to withstand and come out on top.”
As the series shifts tomorrow to the Garden for Game 3, Blatt has the respect of his players in a city that hasn’t seen a pro championship in 51 years.
“He’s been great,” star forward LeBron James, the four-time NBA MVP, said. “He’s prepared us to go out and give us the best chance to win a ballgame. For us as players, we have to go out and do that.”
MaccabiCavs
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King of Swords
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Exactly. And unlike Popovich, Blatt had to constantly tune out the chatter about his job security and deal with a generally hostile media. He also had to integrate three major pieces midseason. Blatt faced a lot of challenges this year, and the team came through them with a brilliant second half.
Give it up, man. Are you seriously arguing Blatt is a better coach than Popovich? After Pop finishes with a better record on a team with less talent?
Thibodeau finished ahead of Blatt on reputation this year, the guy has been the key innovator in NBA defense over the last decade. We'll see what rep Blatt can build up, starting with his face off against Thibs next series.
Paul
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I think he's just looking at it the way the media voters do, that it's not really about who is the most talented coach, it's more based on the circumstances of the year, while also factoring in wins and losses and reputation, etc.
Coach Bud said himself in his acceptance speech that Pop could/should win every year, or something to that effect. But, the voters are always looking at things like adversity or strength of roster when they make the decision. Blatt will have trouble ever winning this award as long as he's with LeBron, because the voters will always be expecting 60 wins just like LeBron has tended to always get with Mike Brown or Spoelstra. It's not fair but I think that's just how it is.
Green Lantern
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Thats the main thing I focus on..some coaches say they make adjustments after each game, which is correct, but you have to adjust during the game, during runs, etc..
You have to do things to counter what the flow is.
If they suddenly go small, do you match that or stay big?
Depends..it's about matchups in the playoffs.
MaccabiCavs
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Coach of the year award is not based on who is the better coach overall but on who had a better year. In no world did Pop and Theabudu had a better 2014-15 than Blatt.
Like I said I could get why Pop is in there out of respect, but Theabudu? Hell no
Cassity14
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Pop coached a team with less talent to a better record in an infinitely better conference.
Eh, I disagree. Pop didn't have to integrate a 80% new team, 4 years removed from their last playoff game, with two stars with no playoff experience at all. Comparitively the Spurs team could essentially coach itself. Blatt's challenge this year was significantly greater than anything Pop had to deal with. And, no, that team does not have worse talent. It has fewer guys with great one-on-one abilities, but there are far more players with the abillity to pass and play within a system there.
teamballer
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Not arguing that Blatt deserves to be above Pop, but saying that Pop did more with less talent is inaccurate to say the least. The first half of the season Blatt had an injured and often sidelined LeBron, a culture-shocked and back injured Love, Kyrie Irving who was carrying over the lottery team mindset, and Dion Waiters who was pretty much sabotaging the team. Beyond these four, Blatt had arguably the worst roster in the league, and due to injuries had to play guys like AJ Price, Joe Harris, Mike Miller, James Jones, Marion, Lou Amundson, etc. as either starters or heavy-minute rotation guys. Once LeBron came back and the January trades were made to complete the roster, the Cavs played at a 67-win pace for the entire second half of the season. Pop also dealt with injuries, but had most of his core for most of the season and a complete roster with championship experience across the board and an already-established system. Pop is by far the most accomplished coach in the league, and certainly more accomplished than Blatt, but comparing the two in the way that you did is very unfair.
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