7 replies to this topic

[Playmaker0017]

Is it just me or has Stotts acted more like a coach with a brain over the past 5-6 games then he has ALL YEAR LONG?!

The team doesn't jack up shots.  It seems like they have been told to limit them.

His substitution patterns aren't as suspect.  No more wholesale subs.  Instead he starts the sub pattern with 3-4 minutes left in the first.  THAT is smart coaching.

He keeps Reef on the floor around 38-40 minutes rather than 35-37.  

He keeps players on the floor if they are performing and/or he will replace them in particular instances.  Nazr at the end of the game over Theo.  

The only thing he needs to improve dramatically is his penchant for playing Glover.

I still think we need a real coach, but it is nice to see him act like a real one.

Play.

[macdaddy]

I'll start with saying I'm NOT a big Stotts fan, but it really seems like after the west coast embarrasement the players finally decided that maybe they should listen to what the coaches were telling them.  Maybe they realized that they won't get traded to a good team if they play like crap.
Of course Stotts hasn't been a head coach very long.  The learning curve is steep when you start something new.  He may be improving in front of our eyes.  I sure hope so.

[pathway23]

I agree about Stotts, I think he is learning. I also think that JT has had as attitude adjustment, I think his attitude had a domino effect that permeated through the team and  everybody ignored the coaching staff as a result. If JT can maintain a positive attitude and continue to play the way he has been playing, and Stotts can get Glover to play smarter, this team might be able to sneak in and get the #8 seed....I don't think we should tank the season to get a higher pick. I think we can obtain a higher pick through a 3 team trade involving JT and/or Theo and/or filler, with the 3rd team being a young team needing vets to take the next step which has a high pick to offer us  (Cleveland maybe)....besides, if we tank the season it makes us less attractive for Free Agents in the offseason...with TB coming off the books and maybe a trade to free up cap space coming up we can pick up some good help this offseason.

[macdaddy]

Pathway I agree totally except I'm just not sure Glove is capable of really delivering on a consistent basis.

[pathway23]

I think Glove's problem is that he thinks he can be the same as he was before he had his injury. I think that injury messed up his potential career, since he hasn't yet learned to adjust to it.

[chillzatl]

I mean I know you don't like the guy and have consistantly blamed him for all their problems. But is it not possible that the players, as dumb as most of them are, have finally picked up on what he's trying to get them to do? I mean he hasn't changed his system. He's still trying to go to Reef, as he always has. But now Reef wants the ball and the players are being successful in getting it to him. Where earlier they were not.

Maybe Reef is on the floor more because he's actually giving 100% out there. He's in another one of those stretches, like he was around week 4 of the season, where he's working hard and hustling and the results are there.

I was say the answer is somewhere in between. Stotts, naturally, is going to become a better coach as time passes. But the players play an equal part in it all. They aren't the smartest bunch.

Either way the results are good. Still no reason to stay with this group of players. But it's good to have something enjoyable to talk about (wins).

[Playmaker0017]

Chillz,

That is my point.  It is nice to be able to say "Stotts doesn't look like a complete idiot" for a change.  Maybe it is the players, maybe it isn't.  

One thing is for sure - his moves make more logical sense then they did at the beginning of the year.  At the beginning things seemed to be chosen haphazardly and he stuck with it.  If he removed EVERYONE from the starting lineup with 3 minutes in the first and put them all back in at 7 minutes left in the second... he stuck with it.  

That is a coach's choice.  It was dumb.  But, he seems to be moving forward.  I wonder if he has been told that he isn't an interim coach.

Play.

[Gray Mule]

Don't listen to the coach  --- Maybe he will be fired.

If we loose, it's all the coach's fault.  Let's do it.

We want to do things our way, not Stott's way!  

With all the bad coach talk, you gotta wonder if the players
thought big losses were the answer to getting him fired.

When it reflected on them and not on Stotts, when they
were made to look so bad, no firing of the coach happening,
they may have realised that it was time to shut the mouth
and go back to work and just maybe listen to what was
being said by Stotts AND his coaching staff.

Maybe none of this happened, not even thoughts of it.
But, still, you gotta wonder.

Any way, whatever happened, the better play recently
sure is nice.

Go Hawks !!!!!!!!!