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djsunyc
Posts: 44927
Alba Posts: 42
Joined: 1/16/2004
Member: #536
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- how are you coach?
i'm dying but otherwise i'm alright.
- what happened this year?
you got to look at me first. i've had a hard time convincing people to play a certain way. they made some changes. jerome + sweets + tim + q + steph was the plan and that team may have won some games but in the long run it wasn't in the best interest. so they made some changes and they just haven't worked out right now. most of the year they were unsettled on who to play. you have a coach that believes to play a certain way and it's tough to get everyone to buy into that. but they do have some young players that are getting better and they have some good assets now. they should've been playing hard since day 1, not just the past few games.
- why hasn't it worked out? mismatch of talent + coach? not on same page?
i've been everywhere and inherited players. isiah already picked the team before he got here. he wasn't opposed to getting eddy curry but he would've done it again. he would take eddy over anybody in the draft, even if the pick is #1 or #2. he had the heart problem but believes he will get better. zeke built the team the way he wanted, but it was different from how he would've built it. there was nothing he could do about the players that he had in place so it's his responsibility to make it work. but if zeke doesn't listen to lb and get his kind of players this summer, it may be a problem but he doesn't see that happening. they talk all the time and he knows what lb wants. but lb has been trying to get these guys getting better. sometimes he proud of how they played, sometimes he's confused but that's on me.
- jalen? francis? how do you like those moves?
there are other things i thought we need to explore but just didn't turn out. there were a number of guys out there that we could've gotten and isiah really tried but they may have had to give a little too much so they decided to wait till the summertime b/c they do have alot of assets. about jalen - getting a first round pick and a SF that can pass the ball, and combine that with antonio not wanting to be here, the young kids needed somebody that could pass the ball and spread the floor so that's a good thing. he's helped them and we got an early draft pick. he has an expiring contract so if things don't work out that will be valuable. in terms of stevie, we gave up penny + trevor. he thinks stevie is a gym rat and wants to get better. they didn't have depth in the backcourt so he will make it better. they may not have been his first choice or isiah's but in the long run, it will help us out.
- jalen + francis + marbury, ideal mix?
sas knows lb better than most and know the kind of players i like. there was a honest effort to try to get those players but there were some things they couldn't do. i'm not looking back, i'm looking ahead. jalen is getting better and stevie is a good kid. he doesn't see a problem fitting with jamal + steph. he coaches a team with guys that defend and share the ball. we don't have that here but he has to make that happen. that's his job. it's not happening as quickly as he liked and he's embarrased so there's nobody to blame but me. he never had to beg guys to play hard and how to guard. and in alot of cases he had to coach effort and that's frustrating. he's had guys that feel like they had to play a certain way for themselves and that's frustrating. but things are starting to change. he's comfortable with that and that he, isiah, and mills know what needs to be done.
- catch 22? malik involved in good play but when it reaches it's potential, malik's not going to be around? why is lee not getting playing time?
malik IS going to be around. david lee is not a PF in the future. i want him to be a SF. i don't get caught up with him not playing right now. it's like a college practice and he's getting better. he's trying to teach him how to handle the ball and play the perimeter. he's looking at it like a pitcher called up to the majors too soon. 9 guys that can play - 3 guards bringing the ball up, and one that can play both spots. 2 sf - athletic, ball on the floor, guard perimeter and post, 4 big guys that can guard the post, a center that rebounder, block shot, defender, 2 vets - to help out and be good lockerroom guys. that's the team he's trying to build.
- ever want to leave?
no. when i took the job all he asked isiah was to listen to him. he thinks he's done that. he knows some of these guys can play and some don't. i'm embarrased about the way we play and can't see fans rallying around us. at times we don't share the ball, don't play hard and that's my responsibility.
- how much responsibility does it lie on steph?
when you lose like we do, you can point fingers everywhere. at times he's played as good as he could possibly play. since the injury, he's had some real setbacks. he also thinks steph isn't completely convinced that the way i coach is not his best interest. and that's hard for me. i know steph wants to win and they talk. before he got hurt, he was as proud of him as anybody he's ever coached. the last few games, stats aren't great but he's proud of the way he's played. i'm going to be relentless and the things he's believed in is not rocket science. play hard, play together, try together, and try unselfishly. it's hard being the best player and the team is playing bad but it's not on him, it's on all of us.
- back to the roster? that center about block shots and rebounds is not eddy curry?
i think eddy's getting better. i work with him everyday. is he reboudning and controlling the paint and block shots like i want? no. in detroit, they had 3 guys that were like our center. say they get a big forward or a long 3 man that can do that, then maybe you can look at him in a different light. he's 22 and unbelievable athleticism. you have to guard him and it's my job to make him understand his priorities.
- is he tough enough?
how many 22 year olds at center have come into the league to dominate? if the draft is in june, and eddy is coming out as a 22 year old, he goes first. we got to surround him with people that will help him and i have to coach him better.
- when the buck stops with lb, why do you feel that way? sometimes the players seem demoralized and lack inner toughness. do you have to lay off of them?
steve, i coach execution. you're not supposed to coach effort. he sees guys put their heads down when things go bad. but some people get used to losing and don't know how to fight back. we've fought back the past few games. and you want to surround yourself with people that won't let that happen. as a coach you have to teach them to live in the present and that doesn't happen overnight.
- how's your health?
i'm fine. only thing that makes me sick is the way we play. i'm going to make us do better, i can promise you that.
[Edited by - djsunyc on 03-09-2006 1:28 PM]
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3/9/2006 5:43 PM
