Not too long ago we saw the Sacramento Kings part ways with former head coach Michael Malone. He started off the season with flashes but fell below ownership expectations with an 11-13 start in the hyper competitive western conference. Losing 7 of their previous 9 games under Malone before being let go had allot to do with the franchise’s best player Demarcus Cousins being out with viral meningitis. Surely not having your best player on a relatively young team will affect the win loss column in just your second year as head coach?
With Malone out as early as he was I started to think about other organizations and how much coaching really is a factor. Enter the “Heatles” and coach Erik Spoelstra has four straight finals appearances and 2 titles to show for it. Lebron bolts for Cleveland, D Wade shows his age more than ever and now you have a mediocre team at best struggling to stay afloat in the eastern conference. How much leeway does he get with less talent and what are expectations each year?
The New York Knicks are terrible and have been out of the playoffs since we were eating turkey in November. At 5-32 they look like a YMCA team just with former clutch guard Derek Fisher at the helm. Recently fire Fisher chants have been heard at Madison Square Garden in just Fishers first year as a head coach in the league. The Knicks have been bad for awhile but seem to have taken an even further step back even after making superstar Carmelo Anthony a very “wealthy” *Chris Rock voice* man this summer and bringing in Fisher to coach with Phil Jackson in the front office. Not much remains on the Knicks roster but that record speaks for itself. After a commitment to Fisher are they justified in going in a different direction, especially with second year coach Jason Kidd exceeding expectations in Milwaukee without Jabari Parker for the rest of the season showing it can work without big name talent rather quickly?
