Let us readdress this issue shall we? Nate McDillon :fail:

[The_Lillard_King]

What I believe is getting overlooked when it comes to Nate is the respect he gets from his players. there are plenty of Xs and Os guys out there, there are not a lot of coaches who get instant respect . . . and once the players tune out the coach, it doesn't matter how good of an offensive and defensive coach you are, you are not going to be an effective coach.

How about the fact that when Howard sat down with Nate to talk about the team, Howard first said I want to talk about how much I respect you.

To find a coach who can be "sarge" and still be tight with the players, that is a tough combination. In fact I don't think Nate will last much longer before the players tune him out. Maybe, just maybe, the Blazers are lucky enough to have a main stay like a Sloan or Pop who will always command the respect of the players.

 

[OddEnormous]

What I believe is getting overlooked when it comes to Nate is the respect he gets from his players. there are plenty of Xs and Os guys out there, there are not a lot of coaches who get instant respect . . . and once the players tune out the coach, it doesn't matter how good of an offensive and defensive coach you are, you are not going to be an effective coach.

How about the fact that when Howard sat down with Nate to talk about the team, Howard first said I want to talk about how much I respect you.

To find a coach who can be "sarge" and still be tight with the players, that is a tough combination. In fact I don't think Nate will last much longer before the players tune him out. Maybe, just maybe, the Blazers are lucky enough to have a main stay like a Sloan or Pop who will always command the respect of the players.

Overlooked? If anything it's what people talk about with him. It's certainly not his X's and O's.

I can't say how true any of that is or not other than the Howard quote.

Some probably do respect them. Maybe others don't.

To be honest I don't really care how much they respect him if they don't win playoff games and/or entertain me.

Next year is going to be the tell all year though. Next season this team MUST progress at the very very VERY least to the 2nd round and get it to 6 7 games.

At the VERY least. How exciting that would be eh?

Hoping we get to the 2nd round over a year from now.

How confident do you feel about that?

 

[mook]

Odd that the OP neglects to mention Oden. Greg was clearly making a massive improvement before going down with injury. 8.5 boards/game in 23 minutes? Sign me up! And he was also getting in 7 shots a game (60% FG!), a clear indication that Nate intended to make him more and more a key part of our offense (no matter what he said to the contrary in the first week or so of the season). Not Nate's fault that Oden went down.

I'm also a little stunned at how flippant the OP is about Batum. It's not about PER or even basic stats. Didn't you see him just the other night hold Tyreke Evans to 6 points on 16% shooting? Evans has had single digit scoring nights only 4 other times all season. Or how about the way he bottled up Dirk in overtime in our last Dallas game? Batum is becoming a serious candidate for an All-Defense team as soon as next year.

McMillan really fucked up with Miller early in the year, but I'm over it now.

Roy and Aldridge have stagnated somewhat, but so what? Not everybody gets to be Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan. Sometimes you just have to live with guys stuck being either an All-Star (Roy) or perennial All-Star-Wannabe (Aldridge). (If you find that too depressing, try and remember what it was like hoping for Telfair and Khryapa to amount to something more than a pile of steaming turds.)

If Oden and Batum hadn't got injured, it's pretty clear to me that my preseason prediction of the Blazers being a 60 win team was perhaps even too low. That they still might win 50 is a pretty ringing endorsement of both the team and the coach.

 

[andalusian]

Hoping we get to the 2nd round over a year from now.

How confident do you feel about that?

If we have a healthy Oden for the playoffs - very confident.

 

[OddEnormous]

If Oden and Batum hadn't got injured, it's pretty clear to me that my preseason prediction of the Blazers being a 60 win team was perhaps even too low.

I agree, Nate deserves a 5 year extension for your 60 win prediction they didn't reach.

I wonder if he'd sign it.

 

[OddEnormous]

If we have a healthy Oden for the playoffs - very confident.

The 7 teams above us do not have Greg Oden.

We didn't have Greg Oden in 1977, 89-92 or the 99-02 teams.

If getting to the 2nd/3rd round of NBA playoffs is dependent on Greg Oden, we're in worse shape than I thought.

 

[mook]

I agree, Nate deserves a 5 year extension for your 60 win prediction they didn't reach.

I wonder if he'd sign it.

Glad you agree that this team wins 60 games if Batum and Oden don't go down. First sensible thing I've seen you write in this thread.

 

[OddEnormous]

Glad you agree that this team wins 60 games if Batum and Oden don't go down. First sensible thing I've seen you write in this thread.

I may not be sensible, but at least I can read.

 

[J~Rush]

I don't understand the McDillon.

 

[OddEnormous]

I don't understand the McDillon.

©Ronald McDillon

Like he's a clown.

 

[Tince]

I've already said numerous times, at the start of last season (after the first 3 games) I bet several friends and acquaintances hundreds of American dollars that he will never win a playoff series with Portland.

I must admit that at different parts of the season last year I thought I would lose that bet. A few of the people I'm involved with asked if I wanted to settle for half price.

I thought about it and refused going with my gut. I just kept telling myself to remember it was the regular season.

Then when I saw the way the team came out of the blocks this season I knew I'd won the bet.

They were a shambles and didn't start playing well until he ran out of options. He wanted to run Miller out of town too don't forget.

Nate will never get us where we want to go.

Either you totally ignored my question or you are admitting that individual improvement is not how you judge the value of a head coach.

 

[RR7]

The 7 teams above us do not have Greg Oden.

We didn't have Greg Oden in 1977, 89-92 or the 99-02 teams.

If getting to the 2nd/3rd round of NBA playoffs is dependent on Greg Oden, we're in worse shape than I thought.

But in a lot better shape than the 7 teams above us that don't have Oden.

 

[OddEnormous]

Either you totally ignored my question or you are admitting that individual improvement is not how you judge the value of a head coach.

I evaluate coaching based on a number of different components. Individual improvement only being one factor BUT one of the most important when it comes to this or any young team. It's not as important for a team filled with vets.

If I tell you I like Ice cream, do I also have to tell you about every other desert I like?

 

[Tince]

I evaluate coaching based on a number of different components. Individual improvement only being one factor BUT one of the most important when it comes to this or any young team. It's not as important for a team filled with vets.

If I tell you I like Ice cream, do I also have to tell you about every other desert I like?

You don't have to tell me anything. I'm just trying to put the puzzle pieces together since the whole story isn't being presented at once.

Could you please list all your criteria so I better understand how you come to such judgments?

 

[OddEnormous]

I'm just trying to put the puzzle pieces together since the whole story isn't being presented at once.

Feel free to trudge through my 1000+ posts.

You'll find all you need to know in those.

(If nothing else you should be thoroughly entertained)

Can't be bothered answering fan mail to be honest.

 

[Tince]

Feel free to trudge through my 1000+ posts.

You'll find all you need to know in those.

(If nothing else you should be thoroughly entertained)

Can't be bothered answering fan mail to be honest.

I figured you wouldn't want it all in one place, and I understand why. Fair enough.

 

[OddEnormous]

I figured you wouldn't want it all in one place, and I understand why. Fair enough.

You're the one following me around.

If care so much about my opinion put it together yourself Sherlock Holmes.

I don't do requests.

 

[andalusian]

The 7 teams above us do not have Greg Oden.

SAS had their #1 center for most of the year (Duncan) - and they are currently neck and neck with us.
LAL had 2 very good centers for most the year (Gasol/Bynum) in addition to one of the best players in the league (Kobe) and great role players (Odom/Artest)
Dallas has 2 beefy centers on the roster (Damp/Haywood) next to one of the best PFs in the league
Denver had a good, beefy center for most of the year (Nene) in addition to a great PG and an elite SF
Utah had Okur for most of the year next to a very good PF and the best PG in the league this year.
OKC had no injuries for the entire year and we are only a game behind them.
PHX had a great year - and they are the only team that did not have much better centers than us for a large portion of the year. Of course, PHX is not exactly a team built to go all the way in the post-season and they play gimmick basketball, especially in this stage in their window.

We didn't have Greg Oden in 1977, 89-92 or the 99-02 teams.

We had an amazing center in 1977 and we had fantastic, experienced teams in the Drexler era - with very good back-courts in addition to Drexler at his peak and Porter who was a better PG at that stage than we have now. so I am not sure what the comparison is about. If this team has a 3 years older Roy next to a 3 years older Batum/Aldridge/Role players core - I would not be surprised to see them getting deep in the playoffs as well. You are comparing apples and oranges here.

If getting to the 2nd/3rd round of NBA playoffs is dependent on Greg Oden, we're in worse shape than I thought.

I am willing to bet that with a bit of experience, lesser injuries and some luck in the matchups this team gets out of the first round even without Oden. But, since you asked if I am confident in it - the answer is - that with a healthy Oden - I do not think there is any real question that the Blazers are getting out of the first round next year. Would not surprise me if they do it without him next year - and with some luck, maybe even this year.

 

[WillG]

©Ronald McDillon

Like he's a clown.

And someone who is a clown is a dill.

 

[WillG]

I agree with pretty much most of what OddEnormous has said of McMillan.

The sheer talent level of the young players we managed to pick up, and their subsequent initial growth upon acclimatizing to the NBA, has masked Nate's ineptitude.
Especially his in-game coaching.
The Blazers will improve when they get a coach that extracts the best from these players and doesn't kill their enjoyment of the game in doing so.

 

[Ed O]

This team succeeds in spite of Nate's coaching. We've rode the natural talents of the players as far as we can go. We need a real coach to get to the next level.

Nate waited too long to start Miller.

Nate fucked around with Oden as part of the offense at the beginning of the year.

Nate went with the stupid three guard lineup.

He made a series of mistakes that cost us games, IMO. We would be battling for 2nd seed, rather than 7th, if he would have made different decisions on these fronts, IMO.

I'm not sure that he deserves credit or blame for players having better or inferior years... other than playing time, I dunno if coaches can really do much to help players improve.

I'm also not sure that Nate can't take us to championships... I just have lingering doubts about his ability to make good decisions.

Ed O.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I'm also not sure that Nate can't take us to championships... I just have lingering doubts about his ability to make decisions.

Ed O.

Fixed.

 

[<-=*PdX*=->]

I like Nate McMuffin.


People really need to realize that Nate is not the guy that is going to take this team to a championship. He is excellent at coaching up talent and he is a good coach, don't get me wrong, but he is not a championship caliber coach. I just don't see his offense and tempo ever winning a title. We get far too predictable and it is painful at times. Don't start to flame me with comments saying I hate Nate, thats not true, he is a good coach but IMO his time here was to get the talent ready to compete (which he has) and now it is time to bring in a guy that is going to take this team deep into the playoffs.

 

[Stevenson]

Right, that's why he was an assistant coach on the Olympic team. That's why he's in the running for coach of the year.

 

[Tince]

I keep reading a lot of complaints, but they rarely have a viable solution attached to them.

Nate sucks? Then who are we going to get to replace him? Saying "anyone is better" isn't a solution.

I remember when Adleman was a good coach, but wasn't good enough, so we got PJ.

I remember when Dunleavy was a good coach, but wasn't good enough, so we go Mo Cheeks.

Now, Nate is a good coach, but he isn't good enough. So for all those people who want him out, you better keep your trap if/when our next coach is way worse. We have a top 5-10 coach in the league, and to my knowledge, nobody better is available, so I'm not ready to run the guy out of town.

 

[Tince]

Right, that's why he was an assistant coach on the Olympic team. That's why he's in the running for coach of the year.

The people that know basketball aren't general managers and Olympic team committee members, they are fans on message boards. Duh!

 

[DaRizzle]

*edited*

 

[jlprk]

Nate is a mechanic. He's expert at making a piece of crap purr on the freeway at 45 mph. But give him the key to a fine car already in great shape, and he'll drive it like something he salvaged from the junkyard--steady and slow, with lots of discipline that he thinks it requires.

Up to about .550 he is just what we needed. But no matter how fast our ponies become, Nate will continue to hold the reins to 2nd gear.

Kevin McHale is unemployed and knows the Celtic championship fast break, showtime 80s style. He's also an excellent big man coach for Aldridge, Oden, and Batum. But Pritchard will never hire a former GM as Coach to become a possible rival. It would have to come from above him.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Nate is a mechanic. He's expert at making a piece of crap purr on the freeway at 45 mph. But give him the key to a fine car already in great shape, and he'll drive it like something he salvaged from the junkyard--steady and slow, with lots of discipline that he thinks it requires.

Up to about .550 he is just what we needed. But no matter how fast our ponies become, Nate will continue to hold the reins to 2nd gear.

Kevin McHale is unemployed and knows the Celtic championship fast break, showtime 80s style. He's also an excellent big man coach for Aldridge, Oden, and Batum. But Pritchard will never hire a former GM as Coach to become a possible rival. It would have to come from above him.

Yep, he would be high on my list. He is a crappy gm, but a pretty damn good coach.

 

[Nikolokolus]

*edited*

Hey! What did you call me, a-hole?