Q12543 wrote:I have not been very pleased with Thibs The Coach this season but even I have to admit it's too premature to fire him. It's just not realistic or smart for a whole variety of reasons.
It's also possible to be critical of a coach, yet not call for his head at the same time. Not everything needs to be so digital!
I'm going to challenge you on this one, Q. What are the reasons it is not smart to move on from Thibs at this point? Several of the Thibs supporters point to these factors, which I think are easily refuted:
Continuity: Yes, this team has had three coaches in three years, and it would be nice to have some continuity. But continuity for continuity's sake is not helpful...it has to be continuity with the right coach, and I think Thibs has demonstrated he is the wrong guy for this team. Continuity with the wrong guy is a prescription for continued under-performance.
Thibs record with the Bulls: Yes, Thibs had a good record with a Bulls team with some very good players. But has the game changed since then, and is his performance with one team really relevant to his ability to coach this team? Thibs has clearly shown me that his coaching style is quite different from other NBA coaches and is not a good fit in today's NBA.
The Wolves' 18-13 record: I like being 5 games over .500 too, but as you have pointed out several times, it doesn't feel like a sustainable record. The schedule has been easy, we are losing games to poor teams we should not lose to, and we are winning too many games just because Crawford gets hot. Is this really a .581 team? The way they are winning right now, I would say not even close,
Those are the primary reasons Thibs supporters say he should stay. I find the reasons he should go to be more compelling:
1) His antiquated offense. Most successful offenses have moved to quick ball-movement motion offenses designed to create layups and open threes, but Thibs continues to emphasize ISO ball and long 2's. We still score points because POBO Thibs (and Flip) have built a very potent offensive roster. But many of us are frustrated with this offense, and think it could be so much more.
2) His aversion to playing his bench. Thibs is an outlier by a significant margin in wearing out his starters, and as I have pointed out time and again, this leads to late game collapses when our starters just don't have the legs to compete. He set an NBA record for most lost 10-point leads last year, and the trend continues this year. Invariably when we win it is because of the rare occurrences where he uses his bench (the recent Kings win) or where our opposing coach also neglects his bench (the Trailblazers game). This Wolves team is very good in the 4th quarter when they are rested...Thibs just doesn't see it.
3) There is evidence he has lost this team. Robson tweeted about this during the last game, and it is evident when you go to games. The body language is terrible, and this is especially unusual for a team than is winning.
More and more the national and local media are criticizing Thibs' coaching style...from the barking, to the burning out starters, to the antiquated offense, to the lack of improvement on offense. Thibs seems to be criticized more and more each day.
My questions to you, Q, are these. Do you think Thibs is the right guy to coach this team, or might there be a better option out there that could get the most out of this roster? What are the reasons you think Thibs should not be fired?