Larry Brown and Don Nelson are old. Nelson played for the Chicago Zephyrs. He played with Bill Russell and Jerry West. Brown has been coaching since players had names like Sleepy Floyd and Foots Walker (1982 New Jersey Nets). He coached in the ABA. Both turned 70 earlier this year and each is now a septuagenarian member of our fine society. In his send-off to sexagerarianism, Don Nelson spent his 69th year living in style. He set his own hours, traveled around the country, had a bit of fun and steadfastly refused to relate to today’s youth. NBA devotees will also note that Don Nelson was the coach of the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors season served as a fascinating case study of how an NBA team would fare without any sort of direction from a head coach. They finished 26-56 and Nelson was fired in the offseason. On the other hand, Larry Brown spent his 69th year tirelessly coaching a mediocre NBA and led them to the playoffs. The Charlotte Bobcat roster had comparable talent to that of the hapless Warriors but finished 44-38. I don’t particularly like Larry Brown (see 2004 Pistons over Lakers) but the man can coach. According to Basketball Prospectus, Brown has the third best composite defensive rating of the thirty current NBA head coaches (behind Scott Skiles and Gregg Popovich). He has accomplished this despite frequently taking control of teams without quality talent (see Bobcats-Charlotte, Knicks-New York and Clippers-Los Angeles). Somehow, he coaxed career years out of Gerald Wallace and Nazr Mohammed while keeping Stephen Jackson (mostly) out of trouble and Boris Diaw (occasionally) out of the nearest Krispy Kreme. The Bobcats were the best defensive team in the league last year. Gerald Wallace is an excellent defender and umm…Raymond Felton won an NCAA championship and umm…Tyrus Thomas was picked 4th in the draft a couple years ago? The credit goes to Brown. In a surprising turn of events, he led Charlotte to their first playoff appearance in franchise history while the UNC basketball team struggled to an NIT berth. Don’t count on a continuation of this topsy-turvy version of North Carolina basketball. More Harrison Barnes, less Eduardo Najera.
The Ghost Of Seasons Present
In the off chance you skipped the above paragraph at the first mention of Don Nelson, I’ll recap: Larry Brown can coach. He coached the Bobcats so well last year that they defended free throws better than any other team in the league! Hmm. Skeptics might point out that this is completely random and unsustainable. I disagree. How could any opponent properly focus on foul shots when a human marshmallow is in the building? Expect regression on defense and an offense that still struggles to score (no more Felton and way, way more Boris Diaw). Larry Brown is too good of a coach for this team to be truly terrible but Michael Jordan has put together a roster that will try his fellow Tar Heel alum’s patience. He has somehow acquired five top-10 picks on this roster without a single above average NBA player in the group. Maybe he really admires the work David Kahn is doing in Minnesota? D.J. Augustin and Tyrus Thomas look like success stories when compared to fellow lottery picks Kwame Brown, Desagana Diop and Shaun Livingston. It is a minor miracle that Adam Morrison was not uncontrollably drawn into the draft bust vortex that is taking shape in Charlotte.
The Ghost Of Seasons Yet To Come
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…” Han Solo from Star Wars
This is more depressing than the progression of Gilbert Arenas’ team pictures. Matt Carroll, Desagana Diop and Eduardo Najera will make more than $13 million next year. Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson will continue to make eight figures per year even when they will be well past their respective primes. The only solace Charlotte fans can take from this salary cap information is that Kwame Brown is signed for just one year. Unfortunately, that’s still one year too many. Can new majority owner Michael Jordan turn the Bobcats around? The Magic-8-Ball says…”outlook not so good.” Since taking control of the Bobcats, Jordan’s lowlights have included a Hitler mustache and trading Tyson Chandler for nothing.
His highlight has been gracing the cover of NBA2K11, rumored to be the greatest sports video game of all-time. In one game mode, players can draft Jordan onto any NBA team and watch their franchise develop with the addition of the G.O.A.T. I can see it now. Fresh off a day of golf, Jordan’s smoking a cigar on his couch and drafting his 23-year old self onto this year's Bobcats. The 2K11 Bobcats bust out of the gate behind Jordan and a stellar defense and are in contention at the trading deadline. Then, the A.I. of the New York Knicks offers Eddy Curry and Wilson Chandler for Jackson and Wallace. Jordan can’t help himself and pulls the trigger. The Bobcats immediately fall out of contention and Jordan trades himself to the Legion of Doom. His team goes undefeated the rest of the way. Become legendary.
No comments:
Post a Comment