John Kuester named Pistons head coach

I don't take that as him saying you're a seat warmer. He got rid of Carlisle because the team got sick of him and the players stopped listening, not because he warmed up the seat enough for the next guy. Carlisle hasn't been able to get any other team over the top either, granted he was stuck with the Pacers for a while and they were going nowhere no matter who the coach was. He's just too brash and he wears on players. We all thought it was time for him to go. Plus, its not every year that someone like Larry Brown pops up on the market at just the right time.

One of these is going to get a chance to develop into a championship caliber coach. If he comes in, does a good job in developing the team, but shows that he's not going to get the team over the top, then we look for something better, but whoever it is will get a chance to show that he's got that ability.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wilfredo Ledezma

Which begs the question why Mike Brown has a job in this league, but I digress.

Interesting nugget.

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Mike Brown brings a lot of value as a defensive guy. The Cavs have always been a solid defensive team since he took over. His problem is he's not very creative offensively.

It's really no different than what Thibodeaux did for Doc Rivers, a guy notoriously inept at defensive gameplanning.

looking over the Cavs forums, apparently a long running joke this past year has basically been how Mike Brown just stands there and stares blankly during timeouts while Kuester talks to the players and diagrams plays...

Zekyl made a good point about the 2 assistants. How hard it it to make an offensive plan around LeBron? How hard is it to make a defensive plan around Perkins, KG, Pierce and Rondo?

We need a head coach with proven success, not an assistant coach. Not many are available so he's resorting to these guys.

Joe fucked up, especially with the seatwarming comment

Apparently, it was more difficult than it looks. Kuester in 1 year took the cavs to being the best offensive team in the NBA, when they were between average and dead last previously.

Likewise, Thibodeaux took Pierce, a notoriously lazy defender, and Perkins and Rondo, starters on a team that got steamrolled defensively in 2007, and combined them with one true defensive stud to form one of the best defenses this decade.

To discount that would be just plan ignorant. Nobody was marveling at how good Perkins and Rondo were in 2007. Nobody was calling Pierce or Ray Allen a great defender, either. No expert anticipated the celtics would be the physical bully of the NBA in 2008. To claim otherwise would be revisionist history .

This is like saying the triangle offensive is no big deal because phil jackson used it with Michael Jordan. Every system needs talent, but every talent also needs a great system.

For Pierce's jump in defensive intensity (always had the skill, never really used it), I'd give more credit to KG. Rondo took a huge step when KG got there because it was his natural development and he had a superstar backing him up.

I'm not saying the guy is a bad defensive coach, just that the teams sudden success isn't fully his doing.

Exchanging Mo and Larry does help a little bit.

Larry took 12 shots a game while shooting 37% and 34% from downtown. Mo shoots about 14 a game while shooting 47% and 44% from downtown. Mo also averaged about 18 a game while Larry scored 12. When Larry was on the Cavs, they scored 96 a game while with Mo they score 100.

Delonte also played 38 more games this season compared to last.

Not saying he's a shitty assistant, but the two seasons were different in terms of players.

its Kuester

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4311090

The Pistons are expected to complete the hiring of Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach John Kuester later Tuesday, NBA coaching sources told ESPN.com.

Kuester became the Pistons' top candidate after ESPN analyst Avery Johnson broke off contract talks after more than two days of negotiations.

budget hire

yay!

:our: new coach