2013 - 2014 Regular Season Thread

[NickAnderson 14]

^^ JV has been put in a terrible situation. I mean he is a brand new coach with a core of players in their twenties. Sure he needs some work but is it really necessary to have such high expectations in this situation? Give him the benefit of the doubt before you start criticizing him.

[30Assists 342]

I'd just like to point out that Andrew Nicholson is scoring 39.2 points a game.*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_{*per 48 minutes}

[Janders 102]

Sweet...is there a cash prize involved?!!! Just miss the days when there was some level of expectation and the coach was a bit more critical of not only his players but his own decisions. Also all the smiling and positivity after a loss is rather annoying...I'd much rather hear him explaining/critiquing the teams play, his decisions, and areas where we need to improve than how proud he is of the guys for losing again.

I think your expectations may be a little too high. We're going to lose a lot of games this season, and constantly having the coach critique the players after every loss would weigh down a lot on the players to the point that he may lose the locker room. Jacque did a fantastic job last season of motivating our players after so many winless ventures instead of berating their every mistake, and I'm sure that's a goal of his this season as well.

Having a coach like this is obviously a stark contrast to coaches we've had in the past (SVG). However, the players seem to love playing under him (just listen to Glen Davis talk about Vaughn). I just think having a coach that finds ways to be positive no matter the circumstance is important when going through a rebuild.

[BN 44]

Sweet...is there a cash prize involved?!!! Just miss the days when there was some level of expectation and the coach was a bit more critical of not only his players but his own decisions. Also all the smiling and positivity after a loss is rather annoying...I'd much rather hear him explaining/critiquing the teams play, his decisions, and areas where we need to improve than how proud he is of the guys for losing again.

 

Agreed, just add to that list some gallic shrugs and a french accent... and bam, a circus to rival SVG's...

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

I'll post exactly what I posted in the chat.

 

It's impossible to figure out if Vaughn is a good or bad coach because we still aren't sure if our players are any good.

 

It's not uncommon for a coach to play the same 5 players for the last few minutes of the fourth as well as overtime.

 

Why worry about this now? We aren't going to get any answers this season. If our number one goal was to win games this season we wouldn't be playing oladipo at point guard. We're tossing lineups around to see how guys play together and develop young players. It's more important to teach players lessons now (you need to play defense Nicholson; you need to learn how to play with the ball in your hands oladipo) so we can be in a better spot for the future.

 

This is what the season is going to be. We will win games. We aren't actively throwing games on purpose. Just sit back and enjoy watching growth. Second guess the decisions next year when our goals are making the playoffs.

[Miller4Prez66 545]

I'm not a huge fan of Vaughn's coaching so far, but I'm not critical either. It's tough to judge and we're focusing more on developing players rather than winning games. The one thing that annoys me most is Arron Afflalo ISO plays. I'm tired of us giving him the ball and expecting him to make stuff happen like he is Kobe sometimes.

[30Assists 342]

I loved JV as a college player and a pro, and as a coach, he seems good. I still rather have a coach who's coached a team to the championship (and won), but there's not a lot of those. Jackson, but he's not available to us, I wouldn't think. Doc Rivers isn't (and not for a second time, and I'm still thinking his massive success was due to the fact he had that roster to work with). Pop's not going anywhere. Anyone else?

[Mauro Pedrosa 1,033]

I loved JV as a college player and a pro, and as a coach, he seems good. I still rather have a coach who's coached a team to the championship (and won), but there's not a lot of those. Jackson, but he's not available to us, I wouldn't think. Doc Rivers isn't (and not for a second time, and I'm still thinking his massive success was due to the fact he had that roster to work with). Pop's not going anywhere. Anyone else?

Carlisle and Spoelstra are the only other two...

[magicblue 315]

So at the very least, is it fair for me to question whether or not JV is capable of changing his coaching style once the expectations rise? I know his demeanor might suit this team now, but I'm not aware of any coach of a contending team that comes off anywhere near as "soft" (for lack of better term) than JV. In other words, can a players coach of a losing team become the demanding coach of a winning team? In the meantime I'll just stop watching the postgame interviews because they are pretty much the same win or lose, going back to last year of course.

[Ryan the Magic Fan 253]

Man I've been so absent from these forums lately, I forgot how refreshing it was to read actual discussion on this board. I'll stay away from the Vaughn discussion and instead turn back to the players. Is anyone like me and after only two games is already sick of watching Afflalo trying to play like he is Kobe. Even when he was shooting 50 percent last night I still winced with how much he dominated the ball. I really hope they are just giving him so much burn so he can be traded.

[OrlandoFeds 34]

Man I've been so absent from these forums lately, I forgot how refreshing it was to read actual discussion on this board. I'll stay away from the Vaughn discussion and instead turn back to the players. Is anyone like me and after only two games is already sick of watching Afflalo trying to play like he is Kobe. Even when he was shooting 50 percent last night I still winced with how much he dominated the ball. I really hope they are just giving him so much burn so he can be traded.

 

Annnnnd we're back to AA being the scapegoat, wow thought it was gonna stay on o'quinn for a little longer.

[JJZFL 623]

I'll post exactly what I posted in the chat.

 

It's impossible to figure out if Vaughn is a good or bad coach because we still aren't sure if our players are any good.

 

It's not uncommon for a coach to play the same 5 players for the last few minutes of the fourth as well as overtime.

 

Why worry about this now? We aren't going to get any answers this season. If our number one goal was to win games this season we wouldn't be playing oladipo at point guard. We're tossing lineups around to see how guys play together and develop young players. It's more important to teach players lessons now (you need to play defense Nicholson; you need to learn how to play with the ball in your hands oladipo) so we can be in a better spot for the future.

 

This is what the season is going to be. We will win games. We aren't actively throwing games on purpose. Just sit back and enjoy watching growth. Second guess the decisions next year when our goals are making the playoffs.

 

Everything you said is true. But still, there should be some expectation of progress every year. Some sign that the young players and the team are developing and improving. To me, that should be a key milestone for this season.

 

We have a young and athletic team. I don't think it's unreasonable to have an expectation that their defense, for example, will be better this year than it was last year. Even with a bad team, there have to be some standards of performance that you can hold the coach to.

 

I also was surprised about how upbeat JV was after the last loss during the post-game. I'm not sure that sends the right message to his young team. He doesn't have to be critical to be disappointed. He could say something like: "I was really pleased with our effort, but a loss is a loss, and I won't be satisfied until we win, so we have to work harder and keep getting better".