… be like Greg Popovich?
I mean… just look at the title of the article. “Popovich has had starring role in Spurs’ successes.”
As for J-Slo… what Jazz successes? They’ve been close, but a push here and games in San Antonio there have kept the Jazz title-less. Popovich has titles. Plenty of them.
Somewhere in New York David Stern is likely cursing to himself. A few years ago, the NBA’s commissioner was asked for his dream championship matchup, and he answered without pause: “Lakers versus Lakers.” With the Lakers and Boston Celtics both enjoying a renaissance this season, Stern is two series victories away from seeing his two most famed franchises return to the league’s biggest stage, and yet Popovich and the Spurs are again standing in the way.
No one would think that about the Jazz. J-Slo’s defensive ideas don’t mesh with his defense-less bigs, resulting in the “hack everyone” defense that does the Jazz in year after year. That, or he tries to get by with No Knees defending Kobe, which is about as effective as only having 4 players on defense. Yet there is no change… not in the (overpaid?) superstars, not in the type of players coming in, and definitely not in the coach.
Popovich has long valued his team over his standing in the league. If Tim Duncan doesn’t like the dress code, then Popovich has a problem with it. If the NBA’s czar of discipline, Stu Jackson, warns Bruce Bowen about his feet without first notifying Spurs officials, then Popovich will criticize the league. If the Spurs have too short of a turnaround between playoff series then Popovich won’t hesitate to blow off the mandated media session and eat the fine so his players don’t have to come to the gym on their day off.
None of this seems like J-Slo… does it? I don’t catch anything in this that reminds me even partially of J-Slo.
With Malice has a great piece up on J-Slo, starting with a conclusion I’ve often reached… the Jazz won’t win a championship under J-Slo. I really hope I’m wrong, but I’ve seen nothing to make me think differently. As he puts it (emphasis mine)…
It’s time. Not that Jerry Sloan’s a bad coach, nor that he’s ‘failed’ at Utah.
Pointedly, he hasn’t.
But the Utah Jazz have taken all they can from him, and still not even competed for a title. The West’s only getting stronger. And the notion of ‘tough defense’ is something that does win championships, but it must be coupled with discipline.
That’s hitting the nail on the head. I’m not saying he’s a bad coach. He’s not. Nowhere close. And I’m really grateful for everything he’s done with/for the Jazz. But at some point, you have to realize that it’s not working. I mean, you can keep saying “next year,” but eventually you have to realize that next year is just like this year… in the end, a disappointment. No matter how well you do, the goal is to win a NBA championship. No matter how far above expectations you go, the goal all the way through the season should be to win it all. And yet again, the Jazz have fallen short.
I really want to see the Jazz win it all. Soon, and often. I just don’t think (based on what I’ve seen) that J-Slo is the guy to coach the team there. I really hope I’m wrong. I just don’t know how long you want to wait to see whether he’s the guy before you look elsewhere. I mean, the Stockton, Malone & Hornacek era came and went. I really hope the Deron, Booze & Okur era doesn’t go to waste as well.
Filed under: Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Jeff Hornacek, Jerry Sloan, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Matt Harpring, Mehmet Okur
