The news is just too sad to even think about. How can Chuck Daly be gone? It seems like just yesterday when Joe Dumars and Isiah Thomas were wearing those ever so short shorts and winning back to back titles with Chuck Daly keeping everyone happy as the coach.

This story hits home for me after just recovering from cancer myself.

Coach of the Bad Boys and yet a good guy all the time

And his hair was perfect…

And his hair was perfect. Every time I think about Chuck Daly, I think about that old song lyric. Chuck coming down the tunnel, nodding just before going out, and his hair was perfect. Chuck charging down the sidelines, screaming “GIMME A BREAK!” and his hair was perfect. Chuck speeding through a shopping mall, fingering the suits, Chuck grinning through a TV interview, Chuck wearing Armani or Hugo Boss, and his hair — wavy, thick, blown back like a Roman statesman’s — was perfect. It gave him the image of a man in control, always coiffed, always ready.

source

Chuck was the perfect coach for all of the strong ego’s on the Detroit Pistons, be it Bill Laimbeer, Mark Aguirre, Rick Mahorn, Vinnie Johnson, or William Bedford, it did not matter, because Chuck knew how to handle them all.

He used that hunger as a motivator. When the Pistons’ effort weakened, he reminded them endorsement deals weren’t offered to losers. He once famously grabbed a phone from the press table and waved it at a lagging Mark Aguirre, yelling, “Mark! It’s the CBA!” He skipped the bromides about teamwork and spirit. He knew success was the reward, and the reward required work.

Chuck worked. He worried. He could worry the smile off a clown. But he worried funny, if you can do that. He was also as good a manager as you’ll ever meet. He could listen to one player moan, another complain, another whine, and ignore all of them equally. He had one weapon: minutes. He used it artfully, and got five disparate personalities to band together to win a championship in 1989, then came back with an altered cast and did it again in 1990.

Maybe it can be summed up by Isiah Thomas and Charles Barkley.

“He was a mentor, a father figure, someone we all looked up to in everything he did. I can’t explain in words how much he gave me as a player and a man. This is an immeasurable loss for the NBA and the entire basketball world.” — Isiah Thomas, Pistons legend who now coaches at Florida International.

“I never understood how a great man, a nice guy coached the Bad Boys.” — Charles Barkley, who played on the Dream Team under Daly.
source

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Kevin McHale long ago traded in the short shorts for the suit and tie. He was better in short shorts.

Kevin McHale fired Coach Randy Wittman and hired Kevin McHale. My, it is good to be the boss.

Why was Randy Wittman fired? Kevin says the team was off to a slow start and the team was not delivering on defense, as was pledged.

Uhh, what? Are you kidding me?

The young team is 4-15 and has not responded to Wittman’s demands for tough defense and consistent effort. The Timberwolves are in the midst of a five-game losing streak in which the average margin of defeat has been nearly 17 points.

“There were certain goals and expectations that we had for this team at the start of the season, and we have not lived up to them,” Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said in a statement.

“I am disappointed in our record and believe that we have more talent than our record indicates. A change had to be made and with three-fourths of the season remaining, there is still time to make substantial progress this year,” he added.

source

Ok, ok, just let me stop laughing here and make a comment.

Here is the starting lineup: Foye, Miller, Gomes, Jefferson, and Collins

Now let’s remove Al Jefferson, whom most people don’t know anyway and what do you have? Maybe a top flight CBA team?

So if Kevin McHale was in charge of getting the players and he did not get any beside big Al, shouldn’t Kevin be fired?

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Michael Curry will try to right the Piston ship

The NBA is proud to bring a brand new coach to your area. They did it for 8 teams.

Think about that. 8 new coaches.

Ever heard of a brand new coach immediately winning it all? It has probably happened, but not to my knowledge.

Usually you just fired the last coach because the team stunk so bad he could not make them win.

So this year we bring you the 8 trying to make the magic happen.

Michael Curry, Pistons

Curry, 40, was an assistant to last year’s coach, Flip Saunders, who was fired. From 2000 to 2004, Curry was president of the National Basketball Players Association. He’s also a former NBA vice president for basketball operations and played for six teams in an 11-year career.
source

Michael is lucky. He inherits a veteran team with a real honest to god chance to win it all. The team knows him. The GM, Joe Dumars, knows him. Heck, the hotdog vendor in section 133 knows him. Michael Curry was a defensive minded team oriented over achiever as a player. He even used to plan out bike trips and movies for when the players were on the road.

But can he coach? Well, he can as an assistant, but can he as the head coach?

Vinny Del Negro, Bulls

Del Negro, who has no coaching experience at any level, follows interim coach Jim Boylan, who replaced Scott Skiles. Del Negro, 42, formerly was assistant general manager for the Phoenix Suns and played for five teams in a 12-year NBA career.

Scotty Skiles and Jim Boylan is a tough act to follow. Vinny has his hands full with that crew in Chicago. Skiles whipped and beat them to play defense and play as a team. Boylan found out they are lacking depth, size, speed, etc. Good Luck!

Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat

Club President Pat Riley named Spoelstra, a seven-year assistant, to succeed him. Spoelstra, 37, is the youngest coach in the league.

This guy just has the job on loan until Pat Riley sees a good enough team to take over. Sure doesn’t hurt to have Dwyane Wade and the Matrix auditioning for jobs.

Larry Brown, Charlotte Bobcats

Have witnessed Larry up front with my Pistons and he is an amazing coach and complicated man. He is always chasing after something that is missing in his life. Some think he is looking for his father that left him at young age, not literally, but figuratively.

Larry will put them in half court sets and make them play playoff style basketball. If teams listen, they win, but most young players do not want to play that way. Example: Chauncey Billups was close to a triple double one night and Larry pulled him and said “You don’t have a clue as to how to play point guard for me, do you?” Think about it.

Rick Carlisle, Dallas Mavericks

This one will be fun to watch. The Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki were often shooting before crossing half court and now will be playing half court. Rick was the Piston coach before Larry and he alienated so many people that he had to be fired with a winning record. Chauncey Billups used to say they knew exactly what plays would be run in the last two minutes as Carlisle called all the plays. Rick also does not like to double on defense. Can Dirk defend?

Mike D’Antoni, New York Knicks

Mike has his hands full until the Knicks can clean house and find some D’antoni style players. He needs speed and outside shooting to go along with a pass first dribbling point guard, a la Steve Nash. Mike is a great coach and the players love his style. The ball gets shared and the pace is quick.

Can he play enough defense to win a title though?

Must be Michigan week in the NBA or something

Michael Curry, Detroit Pistons
Larry Brown, former Detroit Pistons coach
Rick Carlisle, former Detroit Pistons coach
Vinny Del Negro replaces Jim Boylan former assistant at Michigan State University
Before Jim Boylan was Scott Skiles former player at Michigan State University
Mike D’Antoni was brought in to replace Isiah Thomas former Detroit Piston
The D’Antoni wanted to trade Zach Randolph former player at Michigan State University
Terry Porter, former Detroit Pistons assistant coach
Scott Skiles, former player at Michigan State University
Scott will work for GM John Hammond and he worked under Joe Dumars of the Detroit Pistons.

Terry Porter, Phoenix Suns

A hustling guard as a player and an average coach at Milwaukee, Terry will have some talent to work with, but will drastically change the style for the Suns. Terry is a real believer in defense.

Scott Skiles, Milwaukee Bucks

Scott will have some hungry players in Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson. Maybe not enough talent to win, but that has never been an issue with Scott. He just wants you to bring the desire.

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Here Ron Artest thinks he is a Rocket already and leans into take off position

It does not take a rocket scientist to tell if Ron Artest at his best will improve the Houston Rockets. He will.

Artest wanted to be reunited with Coach Rick Adelman. Rick was his coach in Sacramento when Ron started playing there.

So the trade was made…

A source close to the Kings said Tuesday a trade has been agreed upon sending Ron Artest to Houston for former Sacramento point guard Bobby Jackson, first-round draft pick Donte Greene, next season’s first-round pick and cash considerations of approximately $1 million.

source

Like a lot of NBA trades, one team is clearing out the trash or reducing salary cap or trying to get younger while the other team is picking up an aging NBA star. That is what we will call Ron Artest, an aging NBA star. Please don’t snicker.

The other NBA teams will have to perk up and pay attention to the Rockets. With Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, and Ron Artest in the starting lineup, the Houston Rockets will be a team to contend with in the playoffs. That is right, the playoffs.

Now that brash prediction does not hold if Ron Artest once again self destructs.

To keep Ron from self destructing will be Coach Rick Adelman’s job.

When Artest, a mercurial small forward, was traded to the Kings from Indiana in January 2006, he flourished under Adelman. The Kings went 26-14 down the stretch with Artest after starting 18-24, then pushed the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs to six games in a competitive first-round playoff series.

As recently as this summer, Artest had shared his admiration for Adelman, saying he wished his free-agency year had come that season because of his ability to play well under the veteran coach. It is an ideal reunion for Artest, who decided not to opt out of his contract by the June 30 deadline and almost immediately expressed regret for doing so.

By the way, Donte Green, the 6′10″ forward going to Sacramento, appears to have a bright future as a scoring forward. We will have to keep our eyes on his career.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Hedo Turkoglu misses over Jason Maxiell with game 4 of the Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons NBA playoffs on the line

Image details: Detroit Pistons v Orlando Magic, Game Four served by picapp.com

The Orlando Magic had great chances to win game two and game four of the second round series with Detroit.

In game two, Rashard Lewis had the ball with seconds on the clock and Orlando down by 1. He chose to drive to the hole and put up a funky shot while guarded by McDyess. Rashard sort of tried an up and under layup trying to go under the outstretched arm of McDyess. The ball rolled off of the front of the rim and Dwight Howard missed the put back.

Why did Orlando choose that particular play?

In game four, Hedo Turkoglu had scored several points in a row and he was red hot. Orlando again had the ball in the waning seconds down by one.

Down by one with 8.9 seconds left, Hedo Turkoglu bled the clock at the top of the key, then drove into traffic and missed a lay-up at the buzzer.

It seemed a curious decision.

“I was reading the situation,” Turkoglu told the Sentinel. “I didn’t want to rush and force a bad shot. Maybe I was holding it too long instead of going right away. I’m just upset that I couldn’t help the team. I think we can all say this one is our fault.”

Coach Stan Van Gundy shouldered some of the blame.

source

Some of the blame? Stan Van Gundy should be taking more than some of the blame.

The play was strange in several ways. First off, Hedo had driven to his left about 50 thousand times in a row. Tayshaun Prince was guarding him, an excellent one on one defender. Hedo faked to his right with the same right footed jab step. Tay took the fake and Hedo was off to the races. Maybe the Pistons wanted him to go left, who knows.

Then, Jason Maxiell was waiting for him, just like the Pistons knew the play. Go left and run into Maxiell. Hedo put up a funky shot and from there the game is history.

Second off, the Magic have a play with a high post of Dwight Howard. You remember him? Yeah, he is the center on the Orlando Magic known as Superman. He used to be a main cog in their offense until game 4.

Hedo would come off of a high screen by Dwight Howard and have several options. It is their bread and butter game breaking play. Two times now they could have used it to win games and instead called for one on one drives by three point shooting forwards.

Stan? What are you thinking?

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Knock knock.

Who is there?

Isiah.

Isiah who?

Exactly!

Isiah not Knick no more.

Please give me the Knicks coaching job, because if Isiah could stink as much as he did in New York and still hold onto his job as long as he did, then it will be mine for life! Think of it, Madison Square Garden, all the great fans, the money, Spike Lee, etc.

Thomas was fired as the New York Knicks coach Friday after a season of listless and dreadful basketball, a tawdry lawsuit and unending chants from fans demanding his dismissal.

Thomas lost a franchise record-tying 59 games this season, and along the way seemed to lose the support of his players, who didn’t always play hard for him the way they did last season.

source

Knicks history

As a youth, the Celtics, Knicks, and Lakers were on my television set every Saturday or Sunday. Usually one game per week. And even though my loyalties were with the Detroit hapless at that time Pistons, my love was to watch the Knicks. They had Dave DeBusschere (from Detroit), Bill Bradley, Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Dick Barnett, and later Earl “The Pearl” Monroe.

The 1970’s Knicks were a fabulous team and team was the word. Team is what they stood for, often throwing several passes and making several cuts before taking a single shot. The game was almost choreographed in nature. It was a thing of beauty.

This year’s version of the Knicks was loaded with players that do not stand for team. Maybe it is a function of the modern age, but me first is the new Knick motto and that is why Isiah had to go.

Isiah kept going after talented players, but they were all of the Me first variety. Stephon Marbury is the quintessential Me first player of all time. (Squibster note: Marbury is actually one of my favorite players to watch, but please do not send him to my Pistons).

There is not enough room to go into the litany of mistakes by Isiah, but it does not matter anymore.

The Knicks need a new coach and need to find the word Team again.

NBA Basketball special comment How could Isiah be kept on so long?

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Tracy McGrady hopes to lead Rockets to the NBA playoffs in Yao Ming’s absence

T-Mac rolls.

The Rockets fire!

How can this be?

Houston Rockets 106 New Orleans Hornets 96

This was a victory without Yao Ming over a top flight team. A contender. Although there may be some caveats to discuss on this game.

The big issue has been the lack of victories over teams that were any good, with or without Yao.

The recent victory over the Dallas Mavericks does not count, because of the absence of Dirk Nowitzki. Sorry, my rules.

Tracy McGrady could not be happier.

With two wins in three meetings with the Hornets this season, the Rockets have the third-best record in the conference. Only the Los Angeles Lakers and Spurs are ahead of Houston and that was motivating McGrady more than the winning streak before the game.

“The third spot,” said McGrady. “Once I heard that this morning, I was like, ‘OK. Let’s get it done.” source

Will the Rockets fail to fire?

We have to be a little careful here. The doubters are everywhere. Even in this game there were some missing components for the Hornets.

Both teams were short-handed on the front line.

David West, the Hornets’ second-leading scorer and rebounder, missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle. Rookie Carl Landry, a key reserve during the Rockets’ winning streak, sat out with a bruised knee. source

Geez, what do the Rockets have to do?

For most analysts, that would involve a couple of hard fought victories over some contenders. Why Houston is held to this high standard remains a mystery to T-Mac and Coach Rick Adelman.

“Now, the mental challenge is there are no letdowns as we continue on,” coach Rick Adelman said. “We’ve got to stay on the same level.”

The Rockets are enjoying the win streak, but the playoffs are the goal.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will the Houston Rockets make the playoffs?

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed