No Love: Disrespect for the NBA Coaching Position

2013 seemed to be a significant year for NBA coaches. There were 12 coaching changes in the summer of 2013 with most of the changes being coaches being fired or not resigned. That summer seemed to set the tone for coaches that we see today.

Earlier this year, Kevin McHale, the coach of the Houston Rockets was fired EARLY in the season. Not even a quarter of the season went by. They went to the Western Conference Finals last year and ran into a brick wall called the Golden State Warriors. However, they were off to a disappointing start this year. Then, David Blatt, the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers gets fired. The Cavaliers went to the NBA Finals last year with a team full of key injuries and ran into a brick wall called the Golden State Warriors (you see a trend here?). He got fired right before the All-Star break and the team was first place in the East. The coaches of the two first place teams usually coach their respective conferences for the All-Star Game. The interim coach for Cavaliers coached the All-Star Game having only coached for 3 games this season. These are the types of things that are going on in the NBA.

Five coaches have been fired this year and we are at the “halfway mark” of the season which is right after the All-Star game despite the fact that more than half of the season has passed. I would say that coaches are on a short leash, but a guy like Lionel Hollins, who has been successful as a coach in the NBA before, only lasted 1 and 1/2 seasons with the Nets. That’s another level of short. I would say you would have to win quickly as a coach in the NBA, but David Blatt got fired while his team was at the top of the East. The only logical reason that I could think of that coaches jobs are constantly on the line like this is a lack of respect for coaches in the NBA.

Analytics plays a factor in this, as well. We are in a new era of NBA basketball. Math has invaded the game. General managers are looking for today’s coaches to take into account shot percentages when they are coaching offense. I don’t mean that the general managers want them to tell their players to take high percentage shots. I mean that LITERALLY want the coaches to coach players to take shots that go down at a higher percentage using the advanced statistics that are available to teams. For example, if your team makes threes at a higher rate than layups, today’s general managers are going to look for you to coach your team to jack up threes and turn down layups. This newer way of coaching with an emphasis on numbers and not just traditional offense has resulted in people looking away from older coaches despite having the numbers. Many older head coaches lament this new focus by general managers due to the fact that a coach might have the results and it still might not be good enough. This is why the Memphis Grizzlies fired their successful head coach Lionel Hollins and signed rookie, analytics focused Dave Joerger as head coach. Although, even his job isn’t all too safe. This why the Houston Rockets only score from behind the three point line and close to the basket, nothing in-between.

But, it’s more than that. You cannot tell me that coaches are having their teams at the top of the NBA, still getting fired, and there not be anything deeper going on here. Stan Van Gundy is one of the most well-respected coaches in the league and he just got his first job since getting fired by the Magic at the end of the Dwight era. It seems as if Gregg Popovich, Rick Carlisle, and Steve Kerr are the only head coaches that are untouchable in the NBA and I only say Steve Kerr because the Golden State Warriors might have the best season in NBA history. There is a lack of respect for the coaching position in the NBA.

Job security is important in all career fields. If a person constantly works with the pressure of one mistake costing them their job, they are probably not going to do their job well. In coaching, your job security is dependent on how other people do their jobs. It is supposed to (emphasis on supposed to) be that if the players play well, then you keep your job. However, when you look at head coaches like Scott Brooks from the Thunder, David Blatt from the Cavaliers, Tom Thibodeau from the Bulls, and others, then you see that may not be the case in the NBA. Even if your team isn’t doing well, you have to give a coach time to really implement what he wants to implement with a team. A coach has to get to know their team. One year is not enough to do this. Two years might not even be enough to do this. Look, I’m a Knicks fan and even though a lot of fans wanted him gone, and I’m not saying that they are wrong in saying that or that the Knicks are wring in their decision, I cannot be totally outraged if Derek Fisher didn’t get fired this year or even came back for another year…………… OK, that extra year might be pushing it, but my point is that teams have to allow coaches to work and work freely. In the previous eras, coaches were given time to work. If a coach has a bad year in the 1990’s, or even two, unless it’s historically they’re not going anywhere. They have time to develop an identity with their team and see if they are the right fit for a team. In addition to finding the right fit, giving the coach a few years gives the general manager time to figure out if an underachieving team is underachieving because of the players or the coach.

Who’s more important: the player or the coach? Really think about this. Gregg Popovich and the whole Spurs organization are what general managers want. They want the perfect coach, the perfect system, and players who take discounts. So, in an era where people have no patience in general, are general managers giving coaches no real time to prove themselves because they are in a rush to look for the next Pop. Or, are they blame deflecting on the coaches anytime a team doesn’t live up to the expectations of the public.

The NBA is a player’s league. If you don’t have good player’s, you cannot win no matter what system you run. Yet, organizations hold coaches accountable for a team not doing well. Part of the reason for this is that general managers choose the players so if they blame the players, they are really blaming themselves. Another reason is that general managers invest a lot of money in players so trading players, even if that may be best for the team, means that the general manager wasted their money by signing this player in the first place, so they rather stick with the player, hope that the team suddenly starts to play well, and fire the coach to look like you’re fixing the problem. These are people’s livelihoods that teams are playing with. You literally have guys like Doug Collins, Jeff Van Gundy, and maybe even Mark Jackson that do not want to coach in today’s NBA because of what they would have to deal with. They rather stick to being commentators. At the end of the day, from what I’ve noticed, these teams usually set their teams development back by firing coaches quickly so to the teams that fire coaches quickly…

All-Star Discrimination: Voting and Centers in the NBA

These are the starters for the NBA All-Star game in this year, which is going to be held in Toronto. The left side is the Western Conference team and the right side is the Eastern Conference team. So, there were many stories that surrounded the All-Star lineup this year. Zaza Pachulia almost started. If you don’t know who he is then you should already see the problem there. Stephen Curry is an automatic shoo-in every year now since he has become the NBA’s most popular player over the last 2 years. Some people are questioning if Kyle Lowry deserves to be starting, but not that many people too mad at him starting and how would it look if the host city didn’t have representative from its team starting the game. Some people are mad that Kobe is in it at all and definitely shouldn’t be starting despite this being his last year due to his performance this year and his team’s poor record. However, those are mostly Kobe haters. Besides that and annual conversation of who got snubbed, there hasn’t been much conversation about who’s starting. When you look at that list, you think to yourself, “I guess all those people deserve to be there. However, when I look at that list, I see one glaring issue: no centers. There are absolutely no centers in the All-Star game. Why is this you may ask? This is due to the voting format.

That is Andre Drummond, the starting center for the Detroit Pistons. These are his stats this year, so far.

That is Demarcus Cousins, starting center for the Sacramento Kings. These are his stats this year, so far. This was actually soon after the All-Star starters were named. So, that is how he responded to not being named a starter.

Andre Drummond plays in the East and Demarcus Cousins play in the West. So, it works out that both could have played and would not be competing against each other for votes. There are other people that got snubbed. There is Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls that’s having a career year. There is Damian Lillard who is having a very underrated year, as well. There is no doubt that everybody mentioned so far will make the All-Star team as reserves. The fact of the matter is that there are only 5 people in each conference that can start. Therefore, to Jimmy Butler and Damian Lillard, oh well. However, for Demarcus Cousins and Andre Drummond, it’s different. They aren’t starting not because there were other people in their conference and their position that were better than them, they aren’t starting because they are centers. Period.

Originally, the NBA All-Star voting was done by the position. You vote in a point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and center. Then, the NBA realized that most players are able to and do play 2 positions. So, they changed the format to 2 guards, 2 forwards, and a center.  Two seasons ago, the NBA changed their format to the format that we have today. They completely eliminated the center position from the voting process. Now, you vote in 2 back court and 3 front court players. This is why you have 3 small forwards starting in the East. The game of basketball is changing. The Warriors are the face of that change. They don’t shoot threes because the defense makes them. They want to shoot them. Positions 1 to 5 are above average three point shooters. They embrace spacing. And, argument can be made that their best lineup is a lineup in which Draymond Green is starting at the center position and he might be shorter than their starting shooting guard. However, Demarcus Cousins and Andre Drummond are undoubtedly the best players at their position in their conference. Can anybody really say that they do not deserve to be starting in the All-Star game.

Let’s be real. The All-Star game is a popularity contest. The most popular players always start because the fans vote for who they like and the most popular players tend to be the most liked. However, the most popular players tend to be the best players, as well. Their skill level, numbers, and success get them noticed and the better they play, the more popular they become. However, there is an issue here. There is only so much that a good center can do as far as exciting a crowd. Most (almost all) centers cannot handle the ball well enough to break somebody’s ankles. Most centers, although that is changing, cannot hit threes like guards. The traditional elite center has post moves that make them elite at scoring in the paint. The traditional elite center garners the hearts of fans by fooling their defender with posts moves like Hakeem Olajuwon. Traditional elite centers can dunk on you. The absolute, undisputed best centers possess all these skills. Demarcus Cousins and to a lesser degree Andre Drummond do. However, the best guards and forwards possess those skills as well in addition to their ability to cross you up, shoot threes, and make fancy passes. So this AUTOMATICALLY puts the center at a disadvantage in All-Star Voting. Centers can still be voted in because they are categorized as front court players. But, can Andre Drummond, a guy that is incredibly productive but in a limited way, become more popular than Carmelo Anthony, a guy that is productive as well but in a more exciting way. Unless he is dunking, Andre Drummond will not entertain you with his rebounds, but Carmelo shooting over 2 people and making the shot will. I am a Knicks fan. Carmelo Anthony has been playing very well recently (keyword: recently) and has looked like the superstar that he is. However, he does not deserve to be there over a guy who has been the best center in the Eastern Conference all year and if it had not been for this voting format, he would not have been. Carmelo only had 360 votes more than Drummond who was leading him for months. Plus, the effort put forth by his team alone should make him a starter in the All-Star game. Look at this.

And, he still didn’t make it. My point is this. If you are the best in your position, you should start in the All-Star game for your team. This is basically discrimination by the NBA against centers. The center position, despite the lack of scoring from most teams at this position, is still very important to the NBA. Centers are extremely important to a team’s defense. If you can’t rebound well, it makes it extremely hard to win a championship. Their importance to the game alone should warrant them still having a position on the All-Star ballot. It is true that the game is changing and most centers either shoot threes or get rebounds and defend. However, the best centers are still traditional in playing style. You might see Demarcus Cousins take a three point shot here and there, but his game is based off of his dominant post play in the paint. He is not a combo center/forward or whatever you want to call these new age centers. Andre Drummond is not shooting threes. Hassan Whiteside is most likely not going to take defenders off the dribble with elite ball-handling skills. But, they are the best at what they do. Most centers cannot decide to play a back court position if they want to for most of the year. But, Kobe, one of the best SHOOTING GUARDS in NBA history, is a frontcourt player this year. This is another unfair advantage. Demarcus Cousins might have to win the NBA Championship and get the Finals MVP if he wants to make an All-Star team just because he is a center despite being the best one in the NBA and that is wrong.

Josh Gordon, Spliffs, and the Intensity of the NFL

Josh Gordon was dismissed from Baylor University in 2011 after failing a test for marijuana. He was selected in 2012 by the Cleveland Browns. In 2013, he was suspended for 2 games by the NFL for another failed drug test on which he blamed prescription cough medicine. He then pleaded guilty for a DUI charge and was suspended by the NFL for the whole 2014 season. Then, the NFL altered its substance abuse policy and allowed him to play after his suspension was reduced to 10 games, but he was suspended for the last game of the season. He was then suspended for the whole 2015 season for testing positive for alcohol, which he was not allowed to drink due to the fact that he was entered into the NFL’s substance abuse program after his last suspension. He claims that he was drinking on a flight during the off-season and he didn’t know that the restrictions applied to the off-season, as well. He has committed a lot of drug related violations in his young NFL career and in the last 2 years, he has spent more time not playing than playing in the NFL. However, despite all of his violations, his tone has remained the same. He believes that HE DOES NOT HAVE A PROBLEM. He believes this so much that he recently has applied for reinstatement by he NFL. He claims that he does not have a problem and I feel that many NFL players believe that he doesn’t either considering the amount of drug violations there have been in the NFL in recent years and that he has only gotten suspended for marijuana, which is not a very addictive drug. This article showed the amount of drug violations there was up until September 2014. Most of those suspensions were for performance-enhancing drugs (not condoning them but its obvious why an athlete would want to use PEDs) and marijuana. With the exception of the alcohol suspension from last year and maybe the cough medicine incident (or maybe not), it is safe to say that the reason that Josh Gordon has gotten suspended so much is because of marijuana. When on the field, Josh Gordon is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. So if he doesn’t have a problem, why does he keep putting his career on the line for it.

American football is a gladiator sport. If you are an offensive player, particularly quarterback, running-back, or wide receiver, guys are going on the field with the intent of hurting you, maybe not to the point of injury, but just enough to knock the ball out of your hands or knock you so hard you can’t hold on to the ball. As a matter of fact, there are claims that rugby, a sport that looks like football without pads, is safer than American football. Yet, they are treated as if they play a sport with just as much intensity as every other major sport in America. Every NFL game, somebody gets hurt. So for those that happen to get repeatedly hurt due to playing style or position, do you continuously give them painkillers and other dangerous prescription drugs? It seems as if the players are continuously taking matters into their own hands whether they decide to smoke synthetic marijuana which is not a banned substance under the list of banned substances in the NFL but worse than real marijuana or take their chances by smoking the real thing and hope that they do not get tested soon.

Josh Gordon has been labelled as an addict, an immature kid (by others as well as himself), and another potential great who’s career was plagued by drugs all before the age of 25. It seems as if in his mind, he’s being treated unfairly by the NFL and general public. It is a fact that a lot of other 25 year olds in America smoke weed. I don’t think that anybody reading this will dispute that. However, most other 25 year olds don’t have millions at stake to lose if they are caught smoking it. The argument is that he is just careless, however, if there is really an epidemic of painkillers, which can have much worse effects and are more addictive than marijuana, given to the players by team doctors and if most players choose to smoke marijuana instead because it is safer, and these players play a sport in which they are beat up once a week, is he really being careless or doing what he feels he has to do to be able to play in the NFL?

NFL, do you suspend a player if there is marijuana detected in his system but he plays for the Denver Broncos? There’s a change in American culture when it comes to marijuana. States all across the country are on a path towards legalizing it if they have not already. Yet, the NFL does not want to follow this trend despite portraying itself as America’s unofficial pastime. Despite how they actually feel about the drug, that seems wrong of them. However, they can do what they want. The health benefits of marijuana are undeniable. It has gotten to the point where researchers are looking into ways for people to use marijuana for health benefits without the high. However, the NFL needs to realize that players are not going to wait for researchers to figure it out and they aren’t going to let random tests stop them from their pain relief.

I have never played professional or even collegiate football. The furthest I have gone in my football career is middle school. I do not smoke marijuana, either. However, I do know that since I have not played at a high level that I cannot judge a NFL player because of his alternate and safer method of pain relief. The perception of American football is changing. From ex-players suing the NFL over neglecting to inform them how dangerous the game is to ex-players wishing they never played and predicting the NFL will go extinct, people are looking at the NFL differently. People are realizing that football is just as much of a game on the field as it isn’t off the field. The NFL needs to realize that and take that into account with its policy. Many want to label Josh Gordon irresponsible, but that may be irresponsible of us as NFL fans. Josh Gordon could very well, be irresponsible and just wanted to get high and had no medical need for marijuana. However, the fact that there’s a possibility that he may have needed marijuana to play football means that we might be right in jumping to conclusions.

Let Them Live! Celebrations in the NFL and MLB

In the NFL, and many sports, it is customary to celebrate a scoring play. In the NBA, people tend to do such things after making a three point shot or a slam dunk. In the MLB, people tend to throw their bat up in the air while the ball is going over the wall for a home run, sometimes. In the NFL, it’s been the touchdown celebration (I would say touchdown dance but I wouldn’t classify a spike as a dance).

Touchdown Celebrations have been part of the NFL for as long as the NFL has existed and you can tell from how old some of the clips were in that video. The most famous dancers in NFL history might be  Elbert “Ickey” Woods of the Cincinnati Bengals and Deion “Primetime” Sanders who is well-known for playing on the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers among other teams in the NFL and MLB. It’s natural to want to celebrate an achievement. It’s human. So it makes sense that it happens in most professional sports. However, not all celebrations are taken to very kindly and that is for a variety of reasons.

This is Jose Bautista. He is one of the best players in the MLB. If you did not watch the MLB playoffs last year or are not familiar with baseball, this is what you have to know. The Toronto Blue Jays vs. The Texas Rangers was one of the best match-ups in the whole MLB postseason and that bat flips are “not welcomed” in baseball. I put that in quotation marks for a reason. This wasn’t just a bat flip, however. This was an intense bat flip. This bat was flipped so hard it almost disappeared like Bobby Shmurda’s hat. Jose Bautista plays for the Toronto Blue Jays and hit a hard home run, in Toronto, in a close and heated playoff series. The fans love it. Yet, this is a problem in the MLB.

This is Cam Newton, NFL MVP candidate and Carolina Panthers quarterback. He has been doing this simple dance after a big play, particularly a touchdown, for most of the season. This move is a popular dance moved today called ‘the dab’. He did it one day after a touchdown and as soon as he did it the Titans got upset, some fans got upset, and he has been doing it ever since and plans to continue doing it all the way to the Super Bowl. If I had to guess, the biggest reason that he is doing it right now is because to quote DJ Khaled, “They don’t want him to enjoy life, so he’s going to enjoy life. Just know.” My question is: why is everybody so uptight though?

I understand why a Rangers fan would be upset at Jose Bautista and why everybody in the NFL that doesn’t play on the Panthers would be mad at Cam Newton right now, but for many people in our society to have a problem with those who celebrate their own success is wrong to me. It’s their success. There is a limit to the amount of celebration is considered appropriate and I agree with that, as well. This is why you have penalties for excessive celebration in the NFL. However, I believe that that limit is when the celebration either disgraces the game or shames the opponent, although an argument can be made that the opponent allowing the celebrating team to get into a position where they believe that they can celebrate is shameful in itself. Notice how I have not talked about the NBA. The amount of signature celebrations that are in the NBA are kind of crazy, in a good way. The NBA got it right. They know that celebrations only enhance the NBA brand because they add more entertainment value to the product, which is the game. The MLB doesn’t approve bat flipping because of “the tradition of the game”. They call it upholding tradition, but I call it being stuck in the past and the MLB has had issues with that for a while now, but that’s a whole different blog post. However, it’s important to acknowledge that it is not illegal, just frowned upon. The bat flip energized the stadium and the fans watching at home. It added to the game. It wasn’t in disrespect to the opposing team. The NFL is slightly hypocritical with how they view the celebrations because it’s a problem when Cam Newton hits the dab but not when Odell Beckham Jr. hits the whip. Maybe it’s because Cam is viewed as cocky, but I feel he can do what he wants right now because he’s winning and, again, the casual fan loves it, Panthers fans love it, and the kids love it. He’s doing it for them and not the team that he is beating. Bottomline: If you want to stop a player from celebrating, beat them. As long as the player isn’t doing this…