The message is clear: Mike Brown's offensive system doubles as "Lebron". Lebron runs the offense and makes the decisions on the fly. Brown's playbook is non-existant.
So why then is Brown a good coach? Because it doesn't matter if his playbook is 'let Lebron do it'. The mistake fans make with Brown and others (like the similarly underrated Mike Woodson) is making the leap from "Coach who doesn't do anything" to "Bad coach". We naturally assume coaches with a large influence on their teams are 'good', while ones without one are 'bad' and frauds letting their stars do the work. In truth there is no evidence for this.
Like anything, coaches can only be judged in one way: Success. A good coach maximizes his roster's potential, a bad coaches limits it. That's it. So the question is, does Mike Brown belong to the former group or latter? Due to the Cavaliers winning so much with a lack of talent past Lebron, certainly the answer is the former. The Cavs let Lebron run everything because that's how their offense is most effective! If it works best this way, why shouldn't Brown deserve credit for recognizing and implimenting this?
Furthermore Brown is a league best defensive coach and helps his lockerroom stay motivated and committed to winning. Unfortunately a defensive system is less identifable to the naked eye and the Cavaliers excellent chemistry can again be attributed to Lebron
The Cavs are on pace for their second straight 60 win season with Mo Williams, Anderson Varejao, and Delonte West representing their best players after Lebron. Many credit Lebron for this massive success - one would presume without him the Cavs would be the league's worst team. But Brown has been terrific as well. I cannot imagine the Cavs running a more effective offense than this without a true 2nd option, nor a better defense. So if Brown is maximizing his team's offense and defense, why shouldn't he be considered one of the league's best coaches? Very few coaches in the league make their teams better. The most you can ask is to maximize your team's roster and potential. The vision of a coach who swoops in and wins games by his playbook and holds as much impact as an all-star player, is a myth. The most effective coaches are more babysitters than anything else.
Put it this way: If the Cavaliers won 66 games last year with a bad coach, how many should they have won with a good one?
One of the few posters on the Raptors board that is both informed and reasonable. Cheers on the blog.
ReplyDelete