What will be different under Saunders?

[kekgeek]

From Dane Moore

Ryan Saunders vs. Tom Thibodeau

- Ryan: 16-22
- Thibs: 19-21
- Offense 2.6 points per 100 better under Ryan
- Defense 6.0 points per 100 better under Thibs
- Fewer 3s under Ryan
- Faster pace under Thibs

Latest Pod: The Differences Between Ryan + Thibs:
https://t.co/kHEHnyvCMe

In before anybody else runs with the "but all the injuries" thing...

We know that it was time for Thibodeau to go. Whether you thought he was a screaming ogre who was destroying players' will to live... or that his botched handling of the Butler situation was so astronomically terrible... or something else... or a bit of all of it.

What we don't know... not a single one of us... is whether Ryan Saunders is good enough to be the head coach next season.

I'm less than thrilled with Saunders and with the direction of the club. But fortunately, we all have ultimate faith in Glen Taylor to carry the organization through this important time.

I feel like we have been on the same page on this throughout. This is not even me defending thibs. I just don't trust Ryan going forward as our coach. The 4 most complained things about thibs was Sideline demeanor/pace/3 attempts/defense. Well in 3 of the 4 we have seen no improvement.

[AbeVigodaLive]

From Dane Moore

Ryan Saunders vs. Tom Thibodeau

- Ryan: 16-22
- Thibs: 19-21
- Offense 2.6 points per 100 better under Ryan
- Defense 6.0 points per 100 better under Thibs
- Fewer 3s under Ryan
- Faster pace under Thibs

Latest Pod: The Differences Between Ryan + Thibs:
https://t.co/kHEHnyvCMe

In before anybody else runs with the "but all the injuries" thing...

We know that it was time for Thibodeau to go. Whether you thought he was a screaming ogre who was destroying players' will to live... or that his botched handling of the Butler situation was so astronomically terrible... or something else... or a bit of all of it.

What we don't know... not a single one of us... is whether Ryan Saunders is good enough to be the head coach next season.

I'm less than thrilled with Saunders and with the direction of the club. But fortunately, we all have ultimate faith in Glen Taylor to carry the organization through this important time.

I feel like we have been on the same page on this throughout. This is not even me defending thibs. I just don't trust Ryan going forward as our coach. The 4 most complained things about thibs was Sideline demeanor/pace/3 attempts/defense. Well in 3 of the 4 we have seen no improvement.

I get that it's hard to change identity in the middle of a season, especially with injuries. So I'm willing to give Saunders a pass here. But I've mentioned this previously... look at Saunders' mentors. Does it say something about what's in his coaching DNA?

Flip was a fun guy. I enjoyed him. And he was the guy on the sidelines during the Wolves only successful period. But let's not forget that they were largely ripped for only winning 2 playoff series despite having a Top 3 NBA talent for most of that time.
He never got over the hump in Detroit after the team won a title without him. Most importantly, he ran a style that is not necessarily in step with the modern NBA. (see the three pointers thing)

Randy Wittman would be ripped more if he wasn't followed by Kurt Rambis... arguably one of the worst coaches in NBA history. He was "fine" in Washington after Saunders, but I heard more criticism than platitudes.

Sam Mitchell. Heck, Sidney Lowe (probably the worst head NBA/college combo coach of all time) was ahead of Saunders on that staff. What's interesting about Mitchell's 4+ run in Toronto, they always shot fewer three pointers than the previous year...

Thibodeau. We weren't happy with his pace or style.

This is not Erik Spoelstra learning from Pat Riley for a decade. This is not even Brad Stevens after an unprecedented college run working with Danny Ainge. This is a really young coach with relatively scarce assistant coach chops on teams with little to no success in the NBA.
I just don't see him with the sort of pedigree tutelage we'd expect from anybody without his last name.


[Note: Look, I'm a provincial rube at heart, so I want to see guys like Tyus Jones and Ryan Saunders here. I want them to succeed. But it might be unrealistic expectations/wishful thinking for them to thrive as a head coach and starting PG.]

[thedoper]

I think the logic that it isn't fair to blame Saunders for this situation is fine, but that in no way means he's the best candidate for our head coach. The real head scratcher to me is that everything seems to point to Taylor wanting to give him the job.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I'm not sure if Saunders is the right guy for the job, but don['t have anyone better to offer either. I've never been very good at evaluating coaches from afar. Now once they are OUR coach, it's a little easier to criticize or compliment. In Ryan's case, it's either he gets the benefit of the doubt or he doesn't because on a pure W-L basis, he certainly hasn't earned the job.

[Coolbreeze44]

You know who gives up more three pointers than the Wolves? The Milwaukee Bucks.

[Monster]

It's interesting to me that Jerry Stackhouse went the college head coaching route. Looking at the teams that may be looking for a head coach it's probably only the Wolves and Cavs that might be considering a younger coach. I haven't paid any attention to the Cavs for months now and the Wolves are like my going with Ryan Saunders. Stackhouse has a pretty good resume better overall than Saunders but probably didn't like his chances of landing a job this summer. If I had to choose which guy I thought would be more successful I'd give the nod to Stack but he ain't no sure thing. Again I think the best option available this summer probably was an up and coming young coach like Stackhouse or...a younger experienced guy in Luke Walton. Is that enough to not give the reins to Ryan Saunders? Idk for better or worse it's fair to say Glen does have more info on Ryan and how he is doing his job than we are. It's also fair to be critical about his judgement of other candidates especially compared to Ryan.

[Porckchop]

Doesn't Golden State or Houston have an assistant coach that's worth a look? That's how it works in the NFL.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

You know who gives up more three pointers than the Wolves? The Milwaukee Bucks.

That's true, but they are very strategic about it. They set up their defense to try to stop the best shooters and protecting the paint, knowing they will give up lots of 3's to second tier shooters. The result is they have the #1 defense in terms of opponent 2 pt%.