Some praise for Nate

[Nikolokolus]

LZ Granderson does a nice job of encapsulating all of the adversity this team has endured this season and names Nate COY.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=4989056

"Nate has done a great job of keeping this team together when we had all the reasons in the world to fold the tent," Roy said. "Despite having more injuries than probably any other team, he's managed to stay focused and overcome all of that and keep us right in the thick of the playoff race."

Kevin Pritchard, the team's GM, says McMillan is like a circus performer.

"He's an incredible juggler," he joked. "Guys fall out, new guys come in and he just keeps making adjustments based on who's available, which seems to change every other day."

There is an old African proverb I turn to when facing adversity: Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors. I believe that proverb's sentiment should be used when measuring a coach's worth. When a coach has talented players and most of his key guys are healthy, he should be able to win. But what happens when the talent is not as good or the players are not as healthy? What happens when the seas get choppy?

and ...

It's that ability to balance, communicate and motivate that has elevated McMillan's performance over those of guys like Oklahoma City's Scott Brooks and Memphis' Lionel Hollins. Bad teams with young, healthy talent are expected to get better. Kevin Durant leading the Thunder to the playoffs in his third season is not that shocking. Zach Randolph has been dropping about 20 points and 10 rebounds per game every season since 2003-04. If he didn't have such a bad rep, he would have been an All-Star years ago. That's not to belittle what these coaches have done, but rather to put them in perspective. When you exceed low expectations -- and let's face it, no one expected much from the Thunder and Grizzlies at the beginning of the season -- it's easier to make a good impression. But when you consider one of the key hallmarks of a winning team is consistency and the fact that the only thing consistent about this season's Blazers has been the presence of McMillan, Pritchard and the rest of the coaching staff, well, then I take note.

I'll admit Nate's rotations and stubbornness drive me crazy, and the way he managed the squad at the start of the season when mostly everybody was healthy made me want to pull my hair out, but I'll give him credit where it's due; when his teams are stretched thin and put under duress he finds a way to get wins.

Of course if he does win COY this year it pretty much guarantees he gets fired next season, so at lest MM should be happy

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Good read.

MB mentions this in his blog.
http://mikebarrettsblog.blogspot.com/

 

[handiman]

It's that ability to balance, communicate and motivate that has elevated McMillan's performance over those of guys like Oklahoma City's Scott Brooks and Memphis' Lionel Hollins. Bad teams with young, healthy talent are expected to get better.

So, that means McMillan's coaching was nothing special before this year -- simply following expectations for a young team with talent -- and he's done a better job this season, to the tune of COY nomination, despite the team's decline in performance? Yeah, that makes perfect sense.