Nate earns an "A" grade from columnist
I'd agree with the assessments for the most part. Does Nate deserve his grade?
about 1 month ago
CMCWizard
12 comments
0 recs |
Comments
Yes
Look where this team was when he got here and look where we are now.
Dear NBA,
Please bring back the real refs. These replacement ones are trash.
by Starvin' Marvin on Oct 9, 2009 9:18 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Wow...
this guy really went against the grain with some of his picks. Such as Larry Brown graded below Scott Brook and Nate. I thought he was a bit harsh on Karl, Van Gundy and Don Nelson.
by JasonT on Oct 9, 2009 9:41 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
AK1984 is going to have some "issues" with this writer...
C-plus…Stan Van Gundy (Magic) regularly over-coaches his team, perhaps in some subliminal competition with his brother.
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
by two4larue on Oct 9, 2009 10:54 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, Charley Rosen is an old, senile hack. I still savor his scathing rants against Don Nelson, though.
Anyway, here’s my earlier ranking of head coaches in the NBA today.
“TOP-FIFTEEN
1. Gregg Popovich (He’s simply the best.)
2. Phil Jackson (While he has a few superstars and Tex Winter’s triangle offense to thank for his vast success, the "Zen Master" nevertheless deserves credit for winning over and over again with few bumps in the road along a bumpy, ego-riddled trail.
3. Jerry Sloan (Longevity is hard to come by in such a volatile industry, but his thick-skinned nature and use of a modern-day UCLA high-post offense has made him a fixture among legendary contemporary coaches.)
4. Rick Adelman (He utterly embarrassed Nate McMillan in the playoffs last season, for using the flex motion and relying on smart defenders like Shane Battier baffled his inferior counterpart into submission.)
5. Stan Van Gundy (His use of the 4-outside/1-inside spread offense in Orlando shows that he can adjust his style to fit player personnel, which some coaches are incapable of doing under any circumstances.)
6. George Karl (A master at pushing the ball and installing a trapping defense, his drawbacks include an abrasive personality and crumbling under pressure.
7. Rick Carlisle (As one of the more underappreciated head coaches, he rarely gets enough credit for running an effective motion offense from a variety of sets — such as 2-3, 1-3-1, 3-2, et cetera — yet, even without the recognition, victories still come his way.
8. Larry Brown (The man is a hothead who loves to turn a roster over like Wal-Mart does with its low-end workers, but nobody in the NBA today can run a transition offense and the secondary break — while also getting his guys to fully commit on the other end — these days.)
9. Flip Saunders (Like a poor man’s George Karl, he has had prior trouble during important situations. Yet, insetad of loving a trapping defense like Karl, he relies heavily on zones.)
10. Scott Skiles (Almost like a poor man’s Larry Brown, he has trouble keeping a job for a long time due to being a bullheaded jackass; however, when given the chance, his ability to coach up guys defensively is surpassed by nobody.)
11. Doc Rivers (The man isn’t the greatest tactician, but he sure can motivate a group and does a good job delegating responsibilities to more intelligent assistant coaches.)
12. Byron Scott (Blessed during his coaching career thus far with great point guards, Jason Kidd and Chris Paul, he’s gotten by with a heavy staple of pick-and-roll sets, although it’s been reported in the past that he’s relied on assistants like Eddie Jordan for installing the offensive sets.)
13. Lawrence Frank (Although a protege of Bobby Knight, he’s more about a heavy reliance on the pick-and-roll offensively — similar to Jeff Van Gundy — rather than the old-fashioned motion offense created by his mentor.
14. Nate McMillan (Although his slow-paced high-low zone offense looks like it came out of a middle school playbook, he still manages to coach extraordinarily efficient scoring teams with that system.
15. Mike D’Antoni (Shockingly to most purists, he’s brought success from his run-and-gun offense with the "seven seconds or less" moniker.)
BOTTOM-TEN
10. Jay Triano (Anyone who happily plays Andrea Bargnani at center is a fool.)
9. Paul Westphal (He only won in Phoenix due to the talent around him.)
8. Mike Dunleavy, Sr. (He’s a worse GM than head coach.)
7. Eddie Jordan (How did this failure of a head coach — albeit decent as an assistant — get another shot? A ripe up-and-comer like Mike Budenholzer, a proven commodity like Doug Collins, or a shot in the dark like Tyrone Corbin would’ve made more sense than Jordan.)
6. Mike Woodson (I’m amazed he’s lasted this long in Atlanta.)
5. Mike Brown (He’ll miss John Kuester to run things for him; plus, LeBron James has carried him.)
4. Alvin Gentry (This retread only got another shot due to Terry Porter’s incompetence.)
3. Lionel Hollins (Why’d he get a third shot as the head guy? He should be a career assistant.)
2. Vinny Del Negro (He’s in over his head, while Chicago should’ve hired Phil D. Johnson.)
1. Don Nelson (He’s an old, washed-up has-been who should be put down like Old Yeller.)"
http://www.blazersedge.com/2009/9/8/1022102/how-strong-are-the-blazers#20960376
Y’know, FOX Sports should fire Rosen and, in turn, give me his job. I’d rather have a gig in radio, however.
Stupid people have stupid ideas.
by AK1984 on Oct 9, 2009 5:09 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Not radio.
We want to see your hair.
*Unless KP has a secret plan that makes this statement incorrect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
by staylost on Oct 9, 2009 6:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
it's always on fire
Like Hades, in Hercules
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
by two4larue on Oct 9, 2009 7:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Too bad the Pacers are one of the least athletic teams in the league.
KP can help them with that, if he wants to acquire Jeff Foster…
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
by two4larue on Oct 9, 2009 11:05 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
This is Charley Rosen
He once said Brandon Roy was a ‘bust’ not long before he became Rookie of the Year. He’s not known for the accuracy of his opinions. In some ways, I think Nate might wish for an ‘F’ from Charley, it would probably be a better sign he’s doing something right.
Always nice to have positive press though.
by Timmay! on Oct 9, 2009 12:42 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Dang, I had almost forgotten about that.
Does anybody have a link to this article, I’d love to read it again.
by MattyDread on Oct 9, 2009 1:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
He wrote a retraction about a year ago.
I’m not sure, but I think FOX may have purged the easily accessible original and the surrounding evidence.
Anyway, Rosen is a hack. Don’t believe anything on his word forever.
*Unless KP has a secret plan that makes this statement incorrect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
by staylost on Oct 9, 2009 1:12 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Indeed, Fox seemed to completely purge it.
They must have known it killed Rosen’s credibility. It was almost like he wasn’t watching the sport he was commenting about.
It’s very hard to track down any trace of the original story now. It was a well-executed purge.
by Timmay! on Oct 9, 2009 1:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
this is why I copy some things
to my own private journal when commenting on news stories. Many places are pretty bad about that.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez
by ratbastird on Oct 9, 2009 3:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs






















