Trending Upward
Posted on Monday, January 30th, 2006 at 8:39 am by Brian Robinson
Guest Columnist Joe Newell was nice enough to write this piece summarizing the start of Bob Hill’s tenure:
Since taking over as head coach after the loss at Indiana, Bob Hill has had 13 games to put his stamp on this team, and its quest to right the ship. We have seen the expected ups and downs that come with this type of transition; a 5-8 record is the most visible yardstick. But the story behind the story of wins and losses is the direction the team is headed; the tenor and chemistry of the Supersonics going forward. My estimation of the team under Bob Hill is that it is “trending upward”.
Prior to, and shortly after the change of Coach there was regular finger pointing and silent and not so silent dissent; we all read of Vladimir’s griping and constant refrain from his agent over playing time. Robert Swift and the NBA D league were mentioned in the same breath. We heard of Reggie asking for a trade, as well as Vitale; grumbling and discontent from Rick Brunson and Danny Fortson. Ray and Rashard have been telling us that they cannot do it all.
I say “trending upward” not because Seattle has won 3 out of their last 4, but because the tenor, the general direction of the team seems “hopeful”, and positive with just about half of the season to go. Winning silences most of the dissent. Therefore Seattle needs to keep on the positive side of the win loss column. This latest stretch of positive games, and the new energy and attitude on the team looks like a godsend for a team that was a ship without a rudder.
Individual performances within the framework of the team system as a whole are the framework for success. Good teams need good players; and in the NBA, most all teams have good players; but good players and good individual performances don’t necessarily put wins in the win column. The system has to be a good one that plays to the player’s strengths, and mitigates the weaknesses. Prior to the coaching change, we still had some good players (or great players) making great plays and having great games, but the wins were not forthcoming. Reggie Evans was showing some great rebounding and scoring numbers; but we were losing at an alarming rate. Ray and Rashard were both putting up All-Star numbers, but we were 13-17.
Things have been different for the Supes as of late. Seattle has put a few good games together against quality teams, even on the road. But it seems to me that our Point Guard has been infused with a new lease on life since the change. Luke has played 12 games under our new coach, and the system seems to really match his skill set. Under Hill, Luke has averaged 37 minutes, 4 Rebs, 7.1 Assists and 15.7 points. This is a great improvement over his roughly 10 pts/6 Assists numbers of last year, and most of this year. True he is playing more minutes, but he is earning them with the stellar play. Over the last 13 games (of which he has played 12), he has been matched up against some of the leagues finest point guards (we are talking about hall of fame, and MVP) in Stephon Marbury, Allan Iverson, Steve Francis, Baron Davis, Steve Nash, Sam Cassell and Chauncey Billups. Throw in Jason Williams, Gary Payton, Mike James and Chris Duhon and you can’t find a stiff in the group. It was against these players that our “homegrown” point guard has excelled.
It would be remiss of me to not mention the maturation and the growth curve of our two young stud centers in Petro and Swifty, and how much of a key they have been; but we didn’t know what we had there. Their ability to contribute was nearly an unknown. Luke on the other hand was a starter on a playoff team last year. To see him step it up in this fashion shows how much the system needed to change to fit his strengths and weaknesses, and those of the team as a whole.
I for one like what I am seeing; so for me I would characterize the team as “trending upward”, just as Luke’s play has been.
January 30th, 2006 at 10:14 am
All good points, just based on what i’ve seen so far, I would give Bob Hill an extended contract. Not only is his system working good for us, but he seems to get into the players heads and make them not only believe in themselves, but also elevate themselves into all they can be. I have no doubt that he will do this for Nick as well. I believe he can for Vladi too, but I don’t know if Vladi will take to it. I’m one of the people that feel that Flip has lost several games for us this season and I don’t share the enthusiasm that he will up his game like the coaches do, he’s too much of a “showboat”, but without the “show”.
January 30th, 2006 at 11:16 am
What I hear from people at practice is that Hill started out on an extremely positive note in both Indiana and San Antonio and by about the third year had completely burned his bridges. He’s got a type A personality that is extremely demanding and starts to rub people the wrong way with long exposure. I’m VERY high on what I’ve seen so far but will probably hold off before I go more than 2 years with a contract.
January 30th, 2006 at 12:37 pm
It seems that coaches in nba thrive under certain conditions and then they cant seem to do it given different team and different goals. Personally I think that Hill is in one of the best situations he could be in. Building from scratch with quality players who had lost believe in their former coach -> accept everything Hill says. But Sonics have seem to need coaches with type A personality and I agree that maybe it wouldnt be wise to commit to him for many years but then Hill has matured very much since then and also it must be easier for him to work if he gets backup from management and players. We’ve been through so many coaches and it seems that the last time we went far in the playoffs we had George Karl making everyone crazy.
I am very surprised at the sudden change of Sonics. And I am still amased of how Hill has commited to Swift and Pedro, specially Swift whom I had more or less counted out until after maybe 2 years. Mostly because Weiss didnt seem to be capable of giving players any indication of their roles. That could be one of the problems taking over from a very demanding coach like Nate.
I am very optimistic for Hill right now. He seems to have a vision of how this team should play and he is able to share that with the players. He is not afraid of doing things his own way and making roles and plays as he seems fit. Isnt this exactly a coach the sonics need right now? and for the next years?
January 30th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
Isn’t it amazing how two people can look at the same evidence, and yet come up with completely different verdicts? Bob Weiss and Bob Hill both in training camp, through the first 30 games. One head coach sees Reggie as our best starter at the 4, the other has little use for him. One coach sees the NBDL for a 7 footer, and the other sees a starter in a playoff push. One sees Vlade off the bench, one sees a starter. One sees Vitale as a starter/contributer, one sees an out of shape player.
There was a movie called ” a fine line between love and hate”; I guess there is a fine line between success and mediocracy.
January 30th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
I guess its not only what one sees but also what you can sell to players. I guess Weiss wasnt succesfull mostly because he wasnt himself set on roles for players and didnt exactly know how the team should play. Hill seems to have definite roles and gameplan which his players accept. My guess is that the players appreciate Hill even more after the relaxed coaching of Weiss. But i totally agree that is very perplexing that Weiss saw and NBDL player in Swift, specially in how he has flourished in Hills system. Reminds me a little bit of Rik Smits of Pacers. He didnt start to play well until he got some touches in offense. It must be very hard to play hard on defense and then run into the post and put your hands up just to see the PG give the ball to Rifleman, Miller or any other of the shooters Pacers had. I remember how his contribution and stats quickly rose after , I think it was Larry Brown?, the Coach let the offense flow a little bit thru him.
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