I would try to make this to the point and about basketball as much as possible, no rage, no personal insults, I've already come to terms with us probably losing this series and the way we did, so this is about basketball and why we couldn't win without substituting to an adequate coach.
It's ok to try and fail. To tell yourself, hey, Kanter is injured, maybe we'll try him on Milsap and Aminu on Jokic, failed experiments is fine, you can't succeed without trying and sometimes it doesn't work, but if you're a worthy coach you react to the game. Jokic didn't have his biggest numbers game against Aminu but our team lost by 25, the starters lost their minutes by maybe 30, Kanter was forced to guard Milsap at the 3 point line and we had no rim protection whatsoever, we simply had no chance. Think of how little stops we've got, of how many points they scored against our starters and yet, at no time during the game, did Stotts do the respectable thing, that would show he can actually react and understand what's going on on the court, and switch Aminu back on Milsap and Kanter back on Jokic. You think he would even switch them back for the next game? I'm telling you I would be devestated but not surprised to see the same defensive lineup as in game 5 start the next game and I'm telling you if this happens, the season is over.
This isn't the only thing, it's the little things that you can understand the logic but that aren't really working. It's substituting Harkless for Hood that scores once or twice, maybe on Murray, Hood is a better offensive weapon, but we're left without our best one-on-one and all around defensive player. In the final minutes of game 4, leaving Harkless on the bench cost us the game.
We have a superior team. They have Jokic and Murray and Milsap and Barton but we have more weapons, better players, a much deeper arsenal, but our coach is losing us the series.
I've lost confidence in him, I never had confidence in him. After winning game 3 I thought this could be the most amazing thing if we could win a championship with Terry Stotts. I actually applauded his game management, I said he's growing, he's no longer the worst coach in the league. But more than anyone else he's responsible for choking games 4 and 5. And we deserve better, I think that this year, with the team Olshey assembled (Olshey in my opinion is the best GM in the league), with Golden State not looking that great, with Houston being maybe tough but not unbeatable, that we could actually contend. And we could, if we had a better coach. If we at least had a coach that at least me personally wouldn't feel that I have superior basketball understanding to his. And before you're all on me for saying that and who do I think I am, realise that I don't like feeling that way. I don't like seeing the defensive assignments of game 5, realising they're absolutely killing our chances in the biggest game of the year (maybe of few years) and not trusting my coach to even fix them for game 6. I'm watching my team simply go down the drain before my eyes for this so with all due respect to Stotts, I've been a fan before he became our coach and I'll be a fan after he's gone, if he's jeopradizing my team he's my enemy. I wish, I wish we could do the impossible and win it all with such a coach but if we can't, Neil needs to make adjustments and make sure the team and the players aren't being set up to failure at least for next year.
I tried to make it civil, I understand that my anger and my frustration after our losses insulted some of you and I'm sorry. But please in this thread, the same way I tried to clean up my act, respond to the point, if you reply make it about basketball. Lets hope there's still a chance, at least, please god, that I wouldn't have to tune in for the game and once again see Aminu on Jokic and Kanter on Milsap. If I do, I would watch this final game of the season and then make everything in my power as a fan and here in this forum to make sure this is Stotts last game as the Blazer coach
