Derek's Question - How bad is Keith Bogans? When was the last time someone this bad was starting on a team this good?
Right off the bat I'm just gonna say that I disagree with he point that he is a terrible player. 'But his stats are so bad!' Sure. Here is a list of some other starters on the top teams in the league who don't have great stats. Kendrick Perkins, Mike Bibby, Joel Anthony, Ron Artest, Thabo Sefalosha, and Shane Battier. With the exception of Bibby, what do these players have in common? Defense.
Keith Bogans is good for about 20 mins per game and is a tough defensive stopper for shooting guards. He plays tight D, doesn't take shots away from the stars, doesn't foul and doesn't turn the ball over. What more do you want for $1.6 million? His lack of offense isn't even a bad thing because it allows guys like Deng, Rose and Boozer to get into a rhythm early in the game. If Korver started in his place and got into foul trouble, the Bulls' bench wouldn't have much for an offensive threat. His role is maybe better defined by what he did in San Antonio. He started in place of Manu Ginobili for the reasons I've already stated even though Ginobili is clearly the superior player.
One more reason why I don't have a problem with him starting is that we as fans don't know everything that a player brings to a team. Doc Rivers, Stan Van Gundy, Greg Popovich and Tom Thibodeau have all put him in the starting lineup for a reason. I will trust the judgement of 3 Coach of the Year winners...
Geoff's Question - What do you think of Mike Brown as the new coach of the Lakers?
I'm going to be honest when I say I have little evidence to back up my theories on this one but just hear me out.
Let's start with the current Lakers coach, Phil Jackson. Phil has won 11 championships as a coach. That's a lot of rings. He has been listed as one of the 10 greatest coaches of all time. Impressive! Coached the team to the most wins in NBA history. Congratulations.
BUT... Has Phil coached a team without a legitimate MVP candidate every year? No. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Shaq would do well regardless of the system they were put in. Did Phil create his famous Triangle Offense? No. His assistant coach, Tex Winter, invented it but Coach Jackson has adopted it as his own and people think he is a genius because of it. Is he really a calm, quiet, Zen Master or does he just not have much of value to say? Definitely debatable but I'm not convinced that he is anything special.
Why do I mention all this? Because Mike Brown has received many of these artificial accolades himself.
Mike Brown has been successful in most areas of coaching except winning championships. He has 2 of the best regular season records in recent memory (66-16 wins and 61-21 wins) but he has never coached a season without superstar LeBron James. He is known to be a defensive specialist but he owes every bit of that to Greg Popovich whose defensive schemes were learned when Brown was his assistant from 2000-2003.
Ok, lets wrap this up. I think Mike Brown will do well in LA because, well, who wouldn't?? LA has so much talent and experience on the floor at all times. They will do fine regardless of who is there. He has experience coaching an ego driven star and knows how to stop top offensive teams. Sounds like a good fit to me but is he a great coach? We'll see I guess. Is he as overrated as Phil Jackson? Not yet and probably never will be with Kobe Bryant on his way out. Bring in a new MVP candidate and the trend can continue.
I'd love to hear some backlash on this one. Bring it!
Right off the bat I'm just gonna say that I disagree with he point that he is a terrible player. 'But his stats are so bad!' Sure. Here is a list of some other starters on the top teams in the league who don't have great stats. Kendrick Perkins, Mike Bibby, Joel Anthony, Ron Artest, Thabo Sefalosha, and Shane Battier. With the exception of Bibby, what do these players have in common? Defense.
Keith Bogans is good for about 20 mins per game and is a tough defensive stopper for shooting guards. He plays tight D, doesn't take shots away from the stars, doesn't foul and doesn't turn the ball over. What more do you want for $1.6 million? His lack of offense isn't even a bad thing because it allows guys like Deng, Rose and Boozer to get into a rhythm early in the game. If Korver started in his place and got into foul trouble, the Bulls' bench wouldn't have much for an offensive threat. His role is maybe better defined by what he did in San Antonio. He started in place of Manu Ginobili for the reasons I've already stated even though Ginobili is clearly the superior player.
One more reason why I don't have a problem with him starting is that we as fans don't know everything that a player brings to a team. Doc Rivers, Stan Van Gundy, Greg Popovich and Tom Thibodeau have all put him in the starting lineup for a reason. I will trust the judgement of 3 Coach of the Year winners...
Geoff's Question - What do you think of Mike Brown as the new coach of the Lakers?
I'm going to be honest when I say I have little evidence to back up my theories on this one but just hear me out.
Let's start with the current Lakers coach, Phil Jackson. Phil has won 11 championships as a coach. That's a lot of rings. He has been listed as one of the 10 greatest coaches of all time. Impressive! Coached the team to the most wins in NBA history. Congratulations.
BUT... Has Phil coached a team without a legitimate MVP candidate every year? No. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Shaq would do well regardless of the system they were put in. Did Phil create his famous Triangle Offense? No. His assistant coach, Tex Winter, invented it but Coach Jackson has adopted it as his own and people think he is a genius because of it. Is he really a calm, quiet, Zen Master or does he just not have much of value to say? Definitely debatable but I'm not convinced that he is anything special.
Why do I mention all this? Because Mike Brown has received many of these artificial accolades himself.
Mike Brown has been successful in most areas of coaching except winning championships. He has 2 of the best regular season records in recent memory (66-16 wins and 61-21 wins) but he has never coached a season without superstar LeBron James. He is known to be a defensive specialist but he owes every bit of that to Greg Popovich whose defensive schemes were learned when Brown was his assistant from 2000-2003.
Ok, lets wrap this up. I think Mike Brown will do well in LA because, well, who wouldn't?? LA has so much talent and experience on the floor at all times. They will do fine regardless of who is there. He has experience coaching an ego driven star and knows how to stop top offensive teams. Sounds like a good fit to me but is he a great coach? We'll see I guess. Is he as overrated as Phil Jackson? Not yet and probably never will be with Kobe Bryant on his way out. Bring in a new MVP candidate and the trend can continue.
I'd love to hear some backlash on this one. Bring it!
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