dviss1
Emcee Referee
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2011
- Messages
- 29,718
- Likes
- 27,725
- Points
- 113
Old article but the jury is still out:
In NBA, value of ex-big men as coaches an up-and-down affair
Bob Thornton wasn't budging even though Marc Gasol, at 7-foot-1 and 265 pounds, is awfully good at making people budge. But each time Gasol banged into Thornton on the low block, Thornton banged back, his chest and belly offering as much resistance against the Memphis Grizzlies' center as possible.
This went on time and again, about an hour before the Grizzlies' preseason game at Chicago Tuesday night. It was like a pair of powerful, bighorn rams fighting for turf and supremacy, except in basketball post-up position, back to belly. After Gasol, it was Zach Randolph's turn.
By the time they all retreated to the locker room, a game still to be played, Thornton -- twice Gasol's age, Memphis' assistant coach with responsibility for the team's big men -- was breathing harder and sweating more than either Gasol or Randolph would against the Bulls that night.
Thornton is 6-10 and weighs a little more than his playing weight of 225, but that's a good thing when he's pushing back as an on-court teacher. So is the fact that he played professionally for 11 seasons, including eight in the NBA with five different teams. He walked in their size 16 Nikes and they know it.
"It helps a lot," Thornton said later that evening. "There are little nuance things you can take advantage of. Defensively, offensively. 'If a guy's guarding you this way, look at this, because he's definitely overplaying you. He's not paying attention and we can do this...'
"Last year in the playoffs when Zach was getting crowded, we showed him some clips. We said, 'You need to drive more. You need to rip through and attack more.' And it worked. He got to the foul line more."
Look around the NBA. That sort of bump-and-grind action goes on all over the league in warm-ups and on practice courts. Past "bigs" work with current bigs, sharing experiences, handing down tricks of their outsized trade. Many assistant coaches are recognizable as centers and power forwards who played in the league -- Bob McAdoo, Jack Sikma, Herb Williams, Popeye Jones, Ed Pinckney, Joe Wolf, Marc Iavaroni, Thornton.
Now look around again: How many head coaches are big guys? Right. Of the 20 current coaches who played in the league, only one -- Houston's Kevin McHale -- was a classic NBA big (and a Hall of Famer at that). In recent memory, Bill Cartwright, Kurt Rambis, Iavaroni and a few others have held the top job but the list stll is short.
Consider the NBA Coach of the Year award, which has been presented 50 times since it was created in 1962-63. Other than Phil Jackson (1995-96), who played power forward for New York and New Jersey, you have to go back to Johnny "Red" Kerr (1966-67), Dolph Schayes (1965-66) and Alex Hannum (1963-64) to find bigs chosen as their profession's best in a given season.
Generally, NBA teams have been more comfortable with short guys coaching bigs than vice versa.
Nazr Mohammed has been with eight clubs in 15 seasons and has spent practice sessions with coaches of various sizes. "Some teams have used big guys but you also have a coach like Larry Brown, who was very hands-on with his big men," Mohammed said. "[Gregg] Popovich is like that also -- [former Spurs assistant] Don Newman did a lot of the work with the big men, but Popovich was hands-on.
"In Charlotte it was LaSalle Thompson, it was Charles Oakley for a year. I've had different guys. It comes down to the philosophies of the head coach."
"It helps a lot," Thornton said later that evening. "There are little nuance things you can take advantage of. Defensively, offensively. 'If a guy's guarding you this way, look at this, because he's definitely overplaying you. He's not paying attention and we can do this...'
"Last year in the playoffs when Zach was getting crowded, we showed him some clips. We said, 'You need to drive more. You need to rip through and attack more.' And it worked. He got to the foul line more."
Look around the NBA. That sort of bump-and-grind action goes on all over the league in warm-ups and on practice courts. Past "bigs" work with current bigs, sharing experiences, handing down tricks of their outsized trade. Many assistant coaches are recognizable as centers and power forwards who played in the league -- Bob McAdoo, Jack Sikma, Herb Williams, Popeye Jones, Ed Pinckney, Joe Wolf, Marc Iavaroni, Thornton.
Now look around again: How many head coaches are big guys? Right. Of the 20 current coaches who played in the league, only one -- Houston's Kevin McHale -- was a classic NBA big (and a Hall of Famer at that). In recent memory, Bill Cartwright, Kurt Rambis, Iavaroni and a few others have held the top job but the list stll is short.
Consider the NBA Coach of the Year award, which has been presented 50 times since it was created in 1962-63. Other than Phil Jackson (1995-96), who played power forward for New York and New Jersey, you have to go back to Johnny "Red" Kerr (1966-67), Dolph Schayes (1965-66) and Alex Hannum (1963-64) to find bigs chosen as their profession's best in a given season.
Generally, NBA teams have been more comfortable with short guys coaching bigs than vice versa.
Nazr Mohammed has been with eight clubs in 15 seasons and has spent practice sessions with coaches of various sizes. "Some teams have used big guys but you also have a coach like Larry Brown, who was very hands-on with his big men," Mohammed said. "[Gregg] Popovich is like that also -- [former Spurs assistant] Don Newman did a lot of the work with the big men, but Popovich was hands-on.
"In Charlotte it was LaSalle Thompson, it was Charles Oakley for a year. I've had different guys. It comes down to the philosophies of the head coach."
"It helps a lot," Thornton said later that evening. "There are little nuance things you can take advantage of. Defensively, offensively. 'If a guy's guarding you this way, look at this, because he's definitely overplaying you. He's not paying attention and we can do this...'
"Last year in the playoffs when Zach was getting crowded, we showed him some clips. We said, 'You need to drive more. You need to rip through and attack more.' And it worked. He got to the foul line more."
Look around the NBA. That sort of bump-and-grind action goes on all over the league in warm-ups and on practice courts. Past "bigs" work with current bigs, sharing experiences, handing down tricks of their outsized trade. Many assistant coaches are recognizable as centers and power forwards who played in the league -- Bob McAdoo, Jack Sikma, Herb Williams, Popeye Jones, Ed Pinckney, Joe Wolf, Marc Iavaroni, Thornton.
Now look around again: How many head coaches are big guys? Right. Of the 20 current coaches who played in the league, only one -- Houston's Kevin McHale -- was a classic NBA big (and a Hall of Famer at that). In recent memory, Bill Cartwright, Kurt Rambis, Iavaroni and a few others have held the top job but the list stll is short.
Consider the NBA Coach of the Year award, which has been presented 50 times since it was created in 1962-63. Other than Phil Jackson (1995-96), who played power forward for New York and New Jersey, you have to go back to Johnny "Red" Kerr (1966-67), Dolph Schayes (1965-66) and Alex Hannum (1963-64) to find bigs chosen as their profession's best in a given season.
Generally, NBA teams have been more comfortable with short guys coaching bigs than vice versa.
Nazr Mohammed has been with eight clubs in 15 seasons and has spent practice sessions with coaches of various sizes. "Some teams have used big guys but you also have a coach like Larry Brown, who was very hands-on with his big men," Mohammed said. "[Gregg] Popovich is like that also -- [former Spurs assistant] Don Newman did a lot of the work with the big men, but Popovich was hands-on.
"In Charlotte it was LaSalle Thompson, it was Charles Oakley for a year. I've had different guys. It comes down to the philosophies of the head coach."
