Fire Stotts Eventually (1 Viewer)

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How good do you think Terry Stotts is a s a coach?

  • Top 5

    Votes: 9 5.8%
  • Top 10

    Votes: 44 28.6%
  • Top 20

    Votes: 35 22.7%
  • Needs to go!

    Votes: 51 33.1%
  • He's the very best!

    Votes: 2 1.3%
  • Lets hope he continues to improve.

    Votes: 13 8.4%

  • Total voters
    154
Could a better coach improve the defense slightly at the margins? I'm sure that's possible. Could a better coach turn this defensive personnel into a top-15/top-10 defense? I think that's not possible. I think that at full strength, playing at maximum efficiency, they could muster a defense between 15 and 20. But they're not playing at full strength, so I don't think even the best defensive coach would get a lot more out of them. Maybe a little more.
After seeing what Thibs is doing in NY, or this guy in Indy who has unlocked Myles Turner, or even Pop hiding his worst players perfectly, I'll just disagree with you on this one.

Also, I'm increasingly coming around to the idea that our consistently top offensive rating is in spite of Terry, not because of him.
 
After seeing what Thibs is doing in NY, or this guy in Indy who has unlocked Myles Turner, or even Pop hiding his worst players perfectly, I'll just disagree with you on this one.

Thibs didn't look so great in Minnesota, defensively. And Popovich may be doing a nice job of hiding his worst defensive players this year, but last year they were a shitshow defensively and they were below average the year before that, too.

But I'm fine with agreeing to disagree. Unless you're talking about a coaching genius, I think coaches matter very little in comparison to the roster quality and make-up. And even coaching geniuses can look pretty bad with personnel that simply doesn't work, as noted above.
 
terry stotts has continuously led the blazers to the playoffs and even led them to the western conference finals, dame lillard who is a franchise player likes him and the same can be said about his teammates and then the injuries, he always have to deal with injuries to his players... im sure he would love to have his players healhty, like we all would, but he will always have that valid excuse

i simply refuse to believe that we have so bad players on the defensive end and while theyre not great, they would do better if our coach would know how to use them properly... thats what coaches are for, to develop their players, teach them to be better players etc... if your team is getting killed from the 3-point line, its not cause your players are inept, but cause your defensive scheme is not good
 
This is how I think of Stotts: when you think of the talent that has come through Portland, accounting for injuries and all the rest, have the team results (regular season and playoffs) matched, over-performed or under-performed the overall caliber of that talent? And I'd say that at worst, it's matched. You could even argue it's over-performed as I don't think the Blazers were ever talented enough to be expected to reach the Western Conference Finals (aside from 2014-15, when injuries ruined their chances). But you could also argue they under-performed in at least one series (against the Pelicans), so I'd be fine with "matched." The overall talent level has generally been mediocre/okay and the team has generally been a playoff team, but not a contender.

So that means (if you agree with that assessment) that he's one of the vast majority of coaches that is merely a steward--enough of a coach to make sure the talent performs to its caliber, but not so great a coach as to get his allotted talent to perform as more than a sum of its parts. I don't think the Blazers have been harmed by having Stotts as their coach and their next coach is statistically likely to also be one of the many stewards, but I think it's perfectly fine to ditch him in an attempt to find one of the rare coaches who proves to be more than that.
 
As a counter, when the team last had decent defensive personnel (Wes Matthew, Nic Batum, Robin Lopez with a reasonably engaged LaMarcus Aldridge), they had a top-ten defense.

And that isn't juggernaut defensive personnel--that's three good/excellent defenders, one competent one and then a decent number of sieves (a young Lillard, Barton, Crabbe, McCollum and Affalo who has never been particularly good defensively). To me, that says that if you give Stotts at least the fundamental tools for a solid defense (a couple of good defensive wings, a good defensive center and one more okay defender) he can produce a strong defense.
I've thought a lot about this recently, and I think it comes back to the game passing Terry by. Back in 2013-2015, the game was still open and uptempo but small ball hadn't become the dominant style of play quite yet. To me, the jump in overall style of play by the league came after the 2018-19 season. Traditional centers like Whiteside and Kanter became very difficult to play because teams were looking for that mismatch on the perimeter. The floor is now littered with players capable of consistently knocking down open shots. Pace and space has taken the league over and I just don't think Terry knows how to defend it.

I know we were without Nurk against the Warriors in the WCF but does everyone remember Stotts implementing and sticking with the drop coverage on Steph and Klay in Game 1? The fact that strategy was even discussed showed me we needed a more modern defensive mind.

We allow players to get hot and continue to allow them looks throughout the game (Curry's 62). We allow teams to operate their offense with no resistance, providing them with their desired mismatches (LAC game this year, PG + Kawhi worked easy switches onto our smaller guards). And we simply do not know how to rotate or closeout on defense, especially on the perimeter. There's just no communication on D.

Either hire a true defensive coordinator or bring in an entirely new staff altogether.
 
I've thought a lot about this recently, and I think it comes back to the game passing Terry by. Back in 2013-2015, the game was still open and uptempo but small ball hadn't become the dominant style of play quite yet. To me, the jump in overall style of play by the league came after the 2018-19 season. Traditional centers like Whiteside and Kanter became very difficult to play because teams were looking for that mismatch on the perimeter. The floor is now littered with players capable of consistently knocking down open shots. Pace and space has taken the league over and I just don't think Terry knows how to defend it.

That sounds like an argument against Olshey more than Stotts. Stotts didn't put Whiteside and Kanter on the roster--is Stotts supposed to just not play the half of his roster that's badly constructed for the modern game? This gets back to what I was saying before--the roster is poorly constructed to play a modern defense. It's impossible to say what Stotts would do defensively if he had an Anthony Davis type center (by which I mean a faster and more agile center, not an Anthony Davis caliber talent) rather than a Jusuf Nurkic type center.

You mention him dropping Nurkic against Curry and Klay and yeah, that seems silly. But if he had Nurkic show, it would have been a colossal mismatch on the switch, which would also have looked ridiculous. You could hedge with Nurkic but A. that also takes a fair amount of mobility and B. it requires the screened defender fighting over it and Portland's guards die on the screen constantly.

Could Stotts stand to mix up coverages more? Yeah, I think so. But any coverage he deploys in that situation is going to look bad because it all comes back to the same point: Portland simply doesn't have the personnel to run a modern defense well.

That's not to say Stotts is a keeper of a coach, but if we misdiagnose everything to be Stotts' fault, we're overlooking other significant problems that are holding the team back. To me, the priority problem is Olshey and his (in)ability to construct a proper roster for this era. A better strategist at coach would be great, but feels like the luxury priority after a GM who can provide such a coach with the tools he needs to succeed.
 
No there is no improvement on defense. How hard is it to get some experienced staff to work on defense? I guess it's just not considered a problem or not a priority. At this point there are no other options. Bottom of the barrel on defense yet again, bottom on assists and surprise surprise, very little chance for getting to the second round luck to make the playoffs.
 
worst nba coach in 50 years. Stotts should not be high school coach. Pathetic ridiculous idiotic piece of shit. Fuck you stotts will hate you forever
 
Feel like I’m starting to get both feet on the Fire Stotts train. Even with the injuries and lack of star power it’s glaringly noticeable how nobody that plays for us ever gets better defensively and always seem like they don’t understand the mentality or basics of playing good defense. There’s no one else to blame more than the couch. It’s been too consistent year after year.

The one common denominator outside of our blest player in franchise history is the coach. We need new eyes and energy from a coach. Just gotta hope Dame gets on that same page.
 
No chance he goes though. I really think dame, stotts and oshley will exit together. Dame could easily retire in 3 years. By then his body will be beat to hell and he will then be the equivalent of Dominique Wilkins. Great hof'r on a perpetually average or shitty team. Loyal to the end.
 
How is this a real quote?


I asked Stotts on Monday how he holds his players accountable for poor defense.

“I think in general in the NBA game, reducing playing time is not the answer for the most part,” Stotts said. “Sometimes with young players you can do that. After every game we usually have a film session pointing out teaching points, things we could do better, things we did well.”
 
higher expectations, and they had lost two straight with some pisspoor defense.

Isn't it a shame for us though that the expectations for Bucks are that high? Yes Giannis is extremely good, but we are talking about whole different level of expectations between us and the Bucks. I think we never put up even a fight against them.
 
Quick bringing the heat today on Terry. I mean, unmatched coverage and writing about the Blazers in the market. The Athletic is a must.

https://theathletic.com/2361405/202...-championship-team?source=user-shared-article


The defensive struggles make me wonder what kind of questions are being asked today in Seattle, or worse yet if there are any questions at all? Is being a fair-to-good team enough for Allen and vice-chair Bert Kolde? Or is excellence the goal? Can Stotts coach defense? Or has this nine-year era run its course?

We don’t know the answer to those questions because Allen has yet to address the media since taking over as chair when her brother passed in October 2018.

But I would bet that most season ticket holders would want to know exactly what they are signing up for when it comes time for their ticket representative to run their credit cards. Are they paying to watch a bunch of good guys who usually scratch and claw into the playoffs, and most often are ousted in four or five games? Or is there going to be an honest push for that shiny gold trophy, and the excellence that pursuit requires?

I know one person who expects that excellence: Lillard. But the more snapshots we see of Lillard’s life, from his 30th birthday celebration to the birth of his now three kids, we are reminded that the unbeatable opponent — time — is not on the Blazers’ side. Lillard is under contract through the 2024-25 season, and I believe Lillard when he repeats year after year that he doesn’t want to leave, that he wants to win a title in Portland. Loyalty is a core value to him. But the more I watch him, the more I hear him talk, the more I sense he is starting to feel the weight of the burden that comes with carrying the franchise.

I believe Lillard is still on board, and to my knowledge he still supports Stotts, and he shows that with comments such as on Monday, when like all good leaders he showed he is more in the business of accepting responsibility than pointing fingers.

In training camp, Stotts brought in former Chicago head coach Jim Boylen to help him implement a change to his pick-and-roll coverage. Instead of dropping the big man to protect the rim and entice a mid-range shot, Stotts changed to a more aggressive tactic that featured the big man playing up, theoretically to force the ball out of the guard’s hands quicker.

It proved too much, too soon for the team, as they were waxed in preseason games at Denver. So Stotts retreated and said he would mix and match his new and old system. Then two weeks ago, when two games with Memphis were postponed by the league, the Blazers were afforded time for three practices, which Stotts used to largely work on implementing a zone defense. Like most zones in the NBA, it worked well as a wrinkle to disrupt rhythm, but not well enough to serve as a long-term answer.

At least publicly, Stotts has the support of his players. Lillard has long endorsed him, saying that as long as he plays in Portland, he wants Stotts to be his coach. McCollum and Enes Kanter have also made public statements supporting Stotts. Those endorsements bolster his reputation as a players’ coach, which Stotts in the past has reluctantly accepted because he knows it can have negative connotations such as being soft, or unable to hold players accountable for mistakes.

Covington, who is in his eighth season, said “we watch a lot of film” and that Stotts is “constantly harping.” Covington also pointed to a lack of practice time as a reason why the team is not sharp defensively.

“The games come around too quick,” Covington said. “So we don’t really have time to practice some things.”

Of course, it’s the same for every NBA team, and there is only one team worse than Portland. Interestingly, Covington and Lillard have different takes on the value of the defensive metrics.

“Them just defensive ratings, man,” Covington said. “We can’t keep getting involved with numbers, we just have to go out and play. If we get caught up in that, then you kind of take the game of basketball away.”

Lillard, however, sound as if he holds the stats in higher regard.

“I think when you look at our rating, our ranking defensively, that number never lies,” Lillard said. “But I think if you are somebody watching the game, I think it’s pretty self-explanatory that it’s not our effort or how much attention we are paying to it. I think it’s just a matter of us being able to sustain certain levels of that defensive intensity and focus, and communication.”
 
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No chance he goes though. I really think dame, stotts and oshley will exit together. Dame could easily retire in 3 years. By then his body will be beat to hell and he will then be the equivalent of Dominique Wilkins. Great hof'r on a perpetually average or shitty team. Loyal to the end.

Exactly. It will require some Earth-shaking event. Someone dies like Olshey, Stotts, or Jody Allen. No, that alone won't do it. How about all 3 die together in a skiing avalanche. Or a huge hurricane destroys the Moda and the team can't play for 5 years while the city is rebuilt. Or the U.S. fights North Korea, which allocates its one rocket bomb to Portland, Oregon.

Olshey and Stotts will not go peacefully. I've been on this issue for too many years to be an idealist.
 

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