Posted by martin:

Posted by islesfan:

No thanks. Anybody who has lost a good team that quickly where he cancels practice and the team decides to practice without him, isn't the right fit for a rebuilding situation.

I wish the Knicks players were professional enough to do this even once during the last month of the season when Isiah kept canceling practices.

more details

A late-night party to celebrate Josh Howard's 28th birthday after Sunday's Game 4 loss turned Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson livid and led him to cancel Monday's practice, two sources confirmed. Johnson, who stressed no partying during the series, was informed before Monday's scheduled practice that Howard handed out fliers to teammates in the locker room before Game 4, inviting them to his party at a Dallas nightclub. The two sources differed on how many players attended, either three or four, including Howard. Which players attended is unclear, although the majority of the team did not. Upon learning of the party, the sources said, Johnson entered the locker room and asked the players who attended to stand up. Infuriated, Johnson lit into his team and then called off practice. He told the team they'd meet on the flight to New Orleans.

http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/613223.html

After Johnson called off the practice, the team then chose to conduct a players-only practice, an odd occurrence, especially the day before an elimination playoff game. Players were unavailable for comment Monday, but at Tuesday's shoot-around several players claimed nothing out of the ordinary about the circumstances that led to the coach-free practice session.

Posted by joec32033:

Posted by TrueBlue:

Posted by martin:

Posted by islesfan:

No thanks. Anybody who has lost a good team that quickly where he cancels practice and the team decides to practice without him, isn't the right fit for a rebuilding situation.

I wish the Knicks players were professional enough to do this even once during the last month of the season when Isiah kept canceling practices.

more details

A late-night party to celebrate Josh Howard's 28th birthday after Sunday's Game 4 loss turned Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson livid and led him to cancel Monday's practice, two sources confirmed. Johnson, who stressed no partying during the series, was informed before Monday's scheduled practice that Howard handed out fliers to teammates in the locker room before Game 4, inviting them to his party at a Dallas nightclub. The two sources differed on how many players attended, either three or four, including Howard. Which players attended is unclear, although the majority of the team did not. Upon learning of the party, the sources said, Johnson entered the locker room and asked the players who attended to stand up. Infuriated, Johnson lit into his team and then called off practice. He told the team they'd meet on the flight to New Orleans.

http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/613223.html

After Johnson called off the practice, the team then chose to conduct a players-only practice, an odd occurrence, especially the day before an elimination playoff game. Players were unavailable for comment Monday, but at Tuesday's shoot-around several players claimed nothing out of the ordinary about the circumstances that led to the coach-free practice session.

LOL That's a coach who's lost his team. Look Jiminy Cricket had a short shelf life with this team.

[Edited by - TrueBlue on 04-30-2008 11:37 AM]

A coach who's lost his team? And if the team won it is a genius coaching move in making the players take accountability.

Sorry, but Dallas has never been built for the playoffs, it's best player has been fighting "softest player in the league" status for like 3 years now and can't seem to lead his team out of a wet paper bag. And I'm talking little lunch bag, not the big shopping bag kind.

Johnson has coached his team to great regular season records and then all of a sudden he can't coach? Sorry but it sounds like a team that doesn't have a leader on the court to me.

Posted by islesfan:

So Avery cut off his nose to spite his face.

That doesn't exactly make me want to hire him.

Posted by joec32033:

Posted by islesfan:

So Avery cut off his nose to spite his face.

That doesn't exactly make me want to hire him.

??

Exactly how do you see it that way?

Posted by joec32033:

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by joec32033:

Posted by islesfan:

So Avery cut off his nose to spite his face.

That doesn't exactly make me want to hire him.

??

Exactly how do you see it that way?

A couple of players partied after game 4 so Avery decides to punish the entire team and quits on them by canceling practice. What was the point in that? It only made him look bad, especially when the players decided to practice without him.

I've been on teams where if one guy misses a free throw in practice, the whole team runs. Where the coach will pick one guy (usually one of the slower guys) and if the guy finishes last in suicides, then the whole team has to do another set. That is about building solidarity and accountability.

By staying out late(however late it was) they put not only themselves but their teammates on the line. The whole team gets eliminated, not just one guy(or four).

Sometimes a coach has to be the bad guy and put it all out there and risk looking like a dumb ass. You see it as the team choose to practice in spite of Avery canceling it on them.

I see it as the team chose to come together BECAUSE Avery canceled practice. To me, that team reacted EXACTLY how any coach would want their team to react to that situation. Avery was facing an elimination game and he needed this team to come together. Sometimes the best way to bring everyone together as a true team is to give them 1 common cause to fight against(or maybe an ******* coach who they want to prove wrong).

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by joec32033:

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by joec32033:

Posted by islesfan:

So Avery cut off his nose to spite his face.

That doesn't exactly make me want to hire him.

??

Exactly how do you see it that way?

A couple of players partied after game 4 so Avery decides to punish the entire team and quits on them by canceling practice. What was the point in that? It only made him look bad, especially when the players decided to practice without him.

I've been on teams where if one guy misses a free throw in practice, the whole team runs. Where the coach will pick one guy (usually one of the slower guys) and if the guy finishes last in suicides, then the whole team has to do another set. That is about building solidarity and accountability.

By staying out late(however late it was) they put not only themselves but their teammates on the line. The whole team gets eliminated, not just one guy(or four).

Sometimes a coach has to be the bad guy and put it all out there and risk looking like a dumb ass. You see it as the team choose to practice in spite of Avery canceling it on them.

I see it as the team chose to come together BECAUSE Avery canceled practice. To me, that team reacted EXACTLY how any coach would want their team to react to that situation. Avery was facing an elimination game and he needed this team to come together. Sometimes the best way to bring everyone together as a true team is to give them 1 common cause to fight against(or maybe an ******* coach who they want to prove wrong).

I understand the whole motivational tactic thing but that one backfired on Avery and only made him look bad. That might work with a young team but not with a veteran team like the Mavs, who for the most part had been together for awhile and were in the Finals 2 years ago.

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by joec32033:

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by joec32033:

Posted by islesfan:

So Avery cut off his nose to spite his face.

That doesn't exactly make me want to hire him.

??

Exactly how do you see it that way?

A couple of players partied after game 4 so Avery decides to punish the entire team and quits on them by canceling practice. What was the point in that? It only made him look bad, especially when the players decided to practice without him.

I've been on teams where if one guy misses a free throw in practice, the whole team runs. Where the coach will pick one guy (usually one of the slower guys) and if the guy finishes last in suicides, then the whole team has to do another set. That is about building solidarity and accountability.

By staying out late(however late it was) they put not only themselves but their teammates on the line. The whole team gets eliminated, not just one guy(or four).

Sometimes a coach has to be the bad guy and put it all out there and risk looking like a dumb ass. You see it as the team choose to practice in spite of Avery canceling it on them.

I see it as the team chose to come together BECAUSE Avery canceled practice. To me, that team reacted EXACTLY how any coach would want their team to react to that situation. Avery was facing an elimination game and he needed this team to come together. Sometimes the best way to bring everyone together as a true team is to give them 1 common cause to fight against(or maybe an ******* coach who they want to prove wrong).

I understand the whole motivational tactic thing but that one backfired on Avery and only made him look bad. That might work with a young team but not with a veteran team like the Mavs, who for the most part had been together for awhile and were in the Finals 2 years ago.

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by martin:

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by joec32033:

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by joec32033:

Posted by islesfan:

So Avery cut off his nose to spite his face.

That doesn't exactly make me want to hire him.

??

Exactly how do you see it that way?

A couple of players partied after game 4 so Avery decides to punish the entire team and quits on them by canceling practice. What was the point in that? It only made him look bad, especially when the players decided to practice without him.

I've been on teams where if one guy misses a free throw in practice, the whole team runs. Where the coach will pick one guy (usually one of the slower guys) and if the guy finishes last in suicides, then the whole team has to do another set. That is about building solidarity and accountability.

By staying out late(however late it was) they put not only themselves but their teammates on the line. The whole team gets eliminated, not just one guy(or four).

Sometimes a coach has to be the bad guy and put it all out there and risk looking like a dumb ass. You see it as the team choose to practice in spite of Avery canceling it on them.

I see it as the team chose to come together BECAUSE Avery canceled practice. To me, that team reacted EXACTLY how any coach would want their team to react to that situation. Avery was facing an elimination game and he needed this team to come together. Sometimes the best way to bring everyone together as a true team is to give them 1 common cause to fight against(or maybe an ******* coach who they want to prove wrong).

I understand the whole motivational tactic thing but that one backfired on Avery and only made him look bad. That might work with a young team but not with a veteran team like the Mavs, who for the most part had been together for awhile and were in the Finals 2 years ago.

and if they are such the veteran team then they should already know better about the partying. And I don't think missing 1 practice after a long hard year was going to get them on track, do you?

It couldn't hurt. But conversely, I don't think trying to teach them a lesson by canceling practice was going to get them on track.