Van Gundy - voted least popular coach in NBA

[Franchero MVP 391]

Tonight was a perfect example of why as a player I'd hate playing for Stan if I wasn't one of "his guys".

 

Von Wafer isolates and gets to the rim to bring us within 4. Next possession, jumps the lane to get the steal, outruns two Celtics to the ball, and finishes to get us within 2. Then he misses a 3 next possession and Van Gundy pulls him.

 

Ish had to sit on the bench for the 9 minutes Duhon played and watch Boston outscore us by 16 during those two spans. Think he's happy he has to sit there.

 

And look at the numbers of Ish's three games compared to Uhn's last 3. Not even comparable, Ish is better across the board.

 

What the SVG homers will tell you is that we lost with Ish in the line up. Yeah, those 2 games, in which Ish had put up better stats than Duhon had been putting up

 

OR, we lost because Ryno, JJ, and J-Rich sucked. Naw, that can't be it! :rolleyes:

 

Fire this FOOL.

[Captain Hi-Top 791]

Tonight was a perfect example of why as a player I'd hate playing for Stan if I wasn't one of "his guys".

 

Von Wafer isolates and gets to the rim to bring us within 4. Next possession, jumps the lane to get the steal, outruns two Celtics to the ball, and finishes to get us within 2. Then he misses a 3 next possession and Van Gundy pulls him.

 

Ish had to sit on the bench for the 9 minutes Duhon played and watch Boston outscore us by 16 during those two spans. Think he's happy he has to sit there.

 

And look at the numbers of Ish's three games compared to Uhn's last 3. Not even comparable, Ish is better across the board.

 

Put yourself in JJ's shoes. How long did it take him to earn Stan's trust, get into a position where he was playing minutes, where he earned his time. Think he was happy? He requested a trade. Eventually, he earned his spot and look at him now.

 

There were a TON of people here yelling about Stan all the time and how he sucked because he wasn't playing JJ.

 

Stan was right. JJ wasn't ready, and once he got there, he got on the court.

[Soul Bro 1,419]

Tough reality check for Stan fans. Dude seems to be bright and a tireless worker, but his ability to relate well to players seems to be lacking.

[TheNameIsOrlando 310]

We almost won the *****ing game!! Wtf are you guys complaining about?!?! Hes the coach and gave us a chance to win its on the players to perform. Ish wouldnt of won the game for us!!

[Stu Bronsilino 313]

is there a poll for least/most effective coach?

[A Better DJ & Photographer 457]

Ish may not have won the game for us but it would have been very difficult for him to equal Duhon's stats. These numbers take a lot of experience and expertise in understanding our system!

Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts

C. Duhon 11:29 0-0 0-0 0-0 -19 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 0

I know, sample size... but how many times do we need to see this sample before we realize it's not a good product?

[TheNameIsOrlando 310]

Ish may not have won the game for us but it would have been very difficult for him to equal Duhon's stats. These numbers take a lot of experience and expertise in understanding our system!

Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts

C. Duhon 11:29 0-0 0-0 0-0 -19 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 0

I know, sample size... but how many times do we need to see this sample before we realize it's not a good product?

 

So he doesnt equal Duhons stats and we still lose? Whats your point? We still lose!! It was a good game support the team and stop complaining. (Not just you be everybody every single day)

[A Better DJ & Photographer 457]

So he doesnt equal Duhons stats and we still lose? Whats your point? We still lose!! It was a good game support the team and stop complaining. (Not just you be everybody every single day)

 

I think you missed the sarcasm... it would be really hard to have stats that bad! I have supported this team since the beginning but I don't believe Duhon is qualified to play in the NBA :D

[YaBoyR 62]

I've been trying to tell you guys Stans not as liked in or out that lockerroom like some of y'all thought he was. Good X and O coach but players grow tired of his personality and his whining. 1st Miami, then Orlando, next: ??

[SATOLS 7]

It does matter somewhat whether or not guys would like to play for a guy because when you recruit free agents, they can choose who they want to play for. They can find successful coaches they also like playing for. This has been the second year in a row that Van Gundy has been atop that poll of players (they polled players, not fans or anyone else). You can't tell me that Sports Illustrated managed to hit every troubled child in the league when they did the poll.

 

There is no doubt that Stan is an excellent coach and has made some guys lots better. He has the fourth-longest tenure as a coach with his team (5 years) in the league right now -- the other three are Gregg Popovich (multiple titles), Doc Rivers (title), and George Karl. There have been guys during that time who also had much success but were fired (Avery Johnson, for example, and the Mavs won a title a few years later).

 

But new guys coming to the Magic regularly have had significant adjustment periods coming to the team. Look how long it has taken a lot of them to start playing at the level they were at before they got to the team. Whether that's the complexity of his schemes, a misunderstanding of their roles when they were brought to the team, the players themselves or something else I don't know, but it has been a pattern.

 

One thing Doc is really good at is providing carrots for guys. Phil Jackson did it too. Like I remember when Doc was here and Mike Miller was struggling at one point. He knew that Miller admired Larry Bird. So, he got Bird to autograph a basketball and left it in Miller's locker.

[Zara 74]

Another pattern is that guys play better when Stan turns down the coaching volume during the game (last year's W9 right after the trades, this year while using some untested line-ups due to injuries).

 

Whenever he's like "we're new, we haven't practiced much, it's only gonna be basic stuff called", the team runs the floor 5 times faster and plays with 5 times the confidence and excitement.

 

Whenever he's on normal "i breathe down your neck from the sidelines" mode, he may be flapping his arm after every defensive rebound like a lepidopteron (ie, 'urging' the team to run the floor) yet players drag their feet (or, in Uhn's case, push their arse) characteristically slow and unexcited.

 

Regarding the basic topic of the thread, let's not forget Stan's quote:

"The secret to coaching: get great players".

 

Well, great players are 90% of the time "prima-donnas" - cause hell, they're great.

So where does that put us?

[DanA_TBDP 12]

Put yourself in JJ's shoes. How long did it take him to earn Stan's trust, get into a position where he was playing minutes, where he earned his time. Think he was happy? He requested a trade. Eventually, he earned his spot and look at him now.

 

There were a TON of people here yelling about Stan all the time and how he sucked because he wasn't playing JJ.

 

Stan was right. JJ wasn't ready, and once he got there, he got on the court.

And you can only get ready through playing time.