Good Self-Analysis by Dunleavy
by citizen zhiv on Oct 3, 2009 7:25 AM PDT
24 comments
Just saw this elsewhere, Dunleavy from EPincus' Media Day coverage:
"As far as I'm concerned, the indictment on me is that I may not be a very good coach when my players are injured. Give me a healthy team and fundamentally our team is going to be very sound. We'll play very good defense and we'll be very competitive."
Could not have said it any better myself.
It's always refreshing to see clear self-awareness and self-analysis like this. It does, however, raise some questions. Once you arrive at the conclusion that you're struggling or failing at your job as an undermanned coach, once your team is broken, and thus your system is no longer viable, and it's going to be that way for an entire NBA season, don't you start looking at new options?
I happen to think that it's just a conservative mindset. There's probably a fear of innovation and change in the mix too.
Reading this over, some Dunleavy haters might read a fair amount of hostility into this comment. It's not exactly apologetic. "Aren't you a bad coach? Your teams haven't won very many games?" "As far as I'm concerned, the indictment on me is that I may not be a very good coach when my players are injured." My players were injured, and so we lost games, and if you want to say that I'm a bad coach with injured players, I suppose that's fair.
But Club Optimism will take the lucky breaks like winning the lottery and will choose to read this as saying, "you know what, I'm really pretty lousy at flying by the seat of my pants and just throwing stuff out there to see if it works. I wish I could be more innovative and even radical, especially when things are really bad and virtually hopeless. I'd love to be able to entertain the fans. But I'm not Nellie. I'm not the crazy genius type. I'm the General, I just prepare the troops to fight the best I can, nothing fancy. If we don't work the system, even when we don't have the best troops, the system won't work. Sometimes I wish I could change, but in the right circumstances, I'm the guy you want. My team will be consistent, they will defend and compete, they will be prepared. And as far as coaching the Clippers is concerned, we all know that this franchise was a joke before I got here. We've had some great growth and some major setbacks, but we've had some successes too and we're on the right track. We have a great group now, we've had some luck and have made some nice deals, and if we stay healthy we can compete. It's a good mix. It's exciting. And this is what I do well, I can take a roster like this and win with it."
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Zhiv...
I think you may be reading a little too much into that statement.
But I’ll take it because it sure sounds good. 2009-2010 for the win.
This is good?
On the contrary, this quote is everything that is bad about Dunleavy.
Essentially he is implying that last years lackadasical effort was not the result, by any means, of his coaching but rather injuries.
It is his typical arrogant viewpoint – rather than giving a true self-analysis and maybe trying to figure out what he did wrong and what he should change he merely blames an outside factor.
by DariusN on Oct 3, 2009 8:35 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Last year's Clippers had a plethora of injuries and experiments (See: Randolph, Zachory)
You cannot argue this as fact. If this qoute wan’t good enough, then I don’t know what you’d want him to say.
I guess, he could’ve been more truthful and said, “Last year was bad because of injuries and Baron Davis. The guy was lazy and out of shape, and he was a waste of money.”
Yeah, I wish my coach was honest. That would make everything easier.
Sorry but that's ridiculous
MDSr has a sub .400 record in SIX YEARS at the helm of the Clippers. He’s never really done anything as a coach. All you have to do is watch his teams play and you’ll realize that he’s not a good coach.
As Darius said, the guy is arrogant. And he’s also delusional if he seriously believes that it’s never his fault. He is not honest with himself, which is one of the reasons why he’s such a bad coach.
You’re right Falcon – I wish he were honest too – because that would mean he’d actually take the time to figure out how to be better. But that isn’t going to happen.
I used to want MDSr to show some humility. That would make everything easier. Now I realize it’s just a waste of time.
Perhaps the saddest aspect of this is that Zhiv actually thinks the quote means something positive. Hey Zhiv – I’ve got this bridge . . .
"He’s never really done anything as a coach."
He’s been to the NBA Finals, the Western Conf. Finals, and he was the NBA Coach of the Year in 1999. I know you’re going to say that those teams were talented, that he didn’t do anything, that the COY voters are stupid. But let’s make a distinction between your opinion and broad sweeping statements of fact. By reasonable, measurable criteria, he’s done more as an NBA coach than 2/3 of the coaches in the league.
In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. - Elwood P. Dowd
by Steve Perrin on Oct 4, 2009 10:40 AM PDT up reply actions
amen SP...
He brought a team all the way to the WCSF in 05 06 and brought a heck of a lot of respect to the organization—- CLIPPERS flags were flying from Southern California Cars. With that being said, if you look at the teams in the league that have had success and/or lack of it, you will see their wins and losses are reflected accordingly. It is not MDSr.’s fault that Shaun tore his knee up, Elton tore his calcaneal tendon, and the other myriad of injuries that have plagued this organization. Here are some examples of injuries reflecting record— even though some of these teams may still be good or horrible with or without these players:
Boston— KG
Clippers- Elton, SL14
Phoenix- Amare
Miami- D Wade— won finals then downhill the next 2 years
Washington— Areanas a lock for the playoffs before his injuries
… the list goes on and on.
I agree with MDSr. if you give him health he will give you a good team. If anyone deserves the blame—- especially if there are several injuries this year—- you have to replace the training staff.
No matter what team you play for, there will be injuries. But if you look at the better training staffs in the NBA— Phoenix/Lakers— you will see that the injuries and recovery times are limited.
IF THIS SEASON WE ARE HEALTHY AND THERE IS TURMOIL FIRE FIRE FIRE.. BUT I BELIEVE THAT WILL NOT BE THE CASE THIS YEAR.
GO CLIPPERS!!!
Come on, Steve
Clearly what I said was an opinion. Not sure what you mean when you say he’s done more than 2/3 of the coaches in the league. By most objective criteria he’s not a good coach. It’s really not debatable.
by Jax on Oct 4, 2009 5:46 PM PDT up reply actions
you are right, and I agree but...
keep in mind Baron was also slammed onto his back as well. In addition to his lack of conditioning, an injury like that can linger.
When you have an injury and a poor attitude from your floor genera/leader — it is hard to win games and keep moral up.
Year of redemption
I’m on board with Club Optimism. Players and coaches alike are going to perform better this year. Everyone wants to be part of a strong ship. Our better cohesion will feed upon itself.
He can't really say what he really feels, can he?
Injuries were really only part of the story… but he can’t throw his big free agent under the bus, and say, “Baron Davis came in out of shape, lost focus, and never played very well”. Nor can he say, “My all-star point guard and I never found a way to communicate,” or “I kind of lost the hearts and minds of the players last year.” Or, “Maybe my detail-oriented, controlling personality wasn’t always in our best interest.”
He can’t say any of these things because, while they’re all at least partly true, and they’re all relevant, he would look like an idiot… and he would only be fueling the considerable movement to have him resign or be fired. And, in his view (and in mine) that would be wrong. So he tells Eric Pincus he wasn’t a very good coach with a lot of injured players. But I don’t think that’s great self-analysis, I think it’s something you say to the media because they need something, you need to give them something and you can’t tell them the truth. Not only does the truth hurt. The truth does damage.
Isn't the problem
That the things he can’t say are among the true causes of the problems last year, and that there are myriad other things he can’t say that contributed to the sub .400 record over the last six years? The fact that all of those things are out there is the problem.
Do good coaches have to keep quiet about such things? Coach Pop for example? I don’t think so. Isn’t that the type of coach we want here?
You know it’s time for a change when the coach can’t talk openly and honestly about his coaching.
by Jax on Oct 4, 2009 8:51 AM PDT up reply actions
If you put urself in his shoes...
I doubt you would say anything along the lines of “Yes it was my fault.”
He already knows exactly how much the fans/public dislike him and his coaching, why would he (or anyone for that matter) give any statement to have fans/public say “I told you so! We we’re right, now that we both agree on that…get out!”
(Although he has a contract with will probably not be broken, thanks to DTS’ ways), he still has to say things that will lead to him still having a chance at keeping his job. He could still have the title, but just as if fan chants can pump players up during the game to play great by put positive ideas in players heads….I would guess “Fire Dunleavy” chants could also put negative ideas in players head. It would be like having millions of fans telling 14 guys that their leader is incompetent and to revolt, peer pressure may have those guys thinking the same way, tuning out the coach, and hey…there goes the season thanks to a snowball effect that started with giving the fans more reason to think badly of you.
At one point I do think he said something along the lines of
…the players came in out of shape. Baron Davis was out of shape, unless you count round as a shape, Etc.
…but I think he finished it with, but this year they are better now and thus lead to better results? So it was like constructive criticism, or something like that?
I was there for that
I heard MDsr say this, and I immediately thought of Citizen Zhiv – I knew it would resonate with Zhiv.
But I had the same thought Citizen Darius did – isn’t this a cop out? A way of not taking responsibility for the last two seasons? It sounds at first a little like he’s taking responsibility, but only in a non-responsible way. It’s like those bogus job interview questions – “What would you say you’re worst quality is?” “Well, I guess I’m a workaholic.”
In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. - Elwood P. Dowd
This is laughable - just read it again:
“As far as I’m concerned, the indictment on me is that I may not be a very good coach when my players are injured . . .”
He can’t be serious. Unfortunately he is.
"the indictment on me"
Seriously. He’s not admitting anything in that statement. He’s just saying that’s what other people think. He doesn’t even say whether he agrees with that “indictment” or not. He could be thinking that he did do a good job of coaching for the amount of injured players he had to work with.
I’ve always felt like CMDSr may have a sound philosophy and gameplan. But his penchant for always trying to matchup to the other team, calling plays over and over again to try and exploit a single matchup, constant hovering on the sideline, barking out instructions everytime down the court, mind boggling substitutions at the most critical times of a game…
These quotes just seem to solidify in my mind that he is an arrogant, has-been player that’s trying to extend his fantasy of playing in the NBA by controlling his players as if he was playing himself. His in-game coaching is arrogant, distracting and diverts players attention away from the game far too often.
Has he changed his stripes for 09-10?
Good post Zhiv
I hadn’t read that quote until now, and I think it’s definitely worth the discussion.
It feels like Dunleavy is openly admitting that he can’t win without his top talent healthy. He’s right, he can’t. But you know what? Neither can 90% of the other coaches in the league. The NBA is one of the most talent driven leagues in all of professional sports. I would only have a problem with this quote if Dunleavy hadn’t gone out and solidified the depth of the team this summer. As far as I see it, this is Dunleavy “the coach” recognizing one of his downfalls and admitting he needs healthy talent on the floor to be successful, and Dunleavy “the GM” going out this summer and bringing in the depth to help aid the cause.
DJ - his point would be ok if that's the reason he's been losing
Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
by Jax on Oct 4, 2009 8:44 AM PDT up reply actions
Excuses
Self analysis should not start with an excuse.
MDS system did not fit the talents he had on his team. Rather than forcing his system to his players, he should have adjusted his system to fit the talents he had.
In developing a team, a good system is needed- a system that is tried and that worked.
Then selecting the player that would fit the system is next. He already had six years doing this and miserably failed even when his players were healthy. Time to look again at the system and the kind of talents he have. Do they fit?
The playbook.
CMDsr’s playbook did not fit with the talent on the team, but that does not mean his playbook is a bad system. In fact I think he has a pretty decent system, and until history says otherwise…a running system doesn’t have a good championship track record. I think that all the players can play in an iso system and be successful….but not most of the time. The team is BETTER fit for a running system, but they can’t run all the time. Similar to the comments on the Followup on Training Camp thread…the team can run/should run. But they are perfectly capable of running the half-court, thus should still practice it…to a point. CMDsr should teach BD his playbook and trust his Point Guard to make the right decisions, “Is it better to run this one or slow it down and setup?” Whether CMDsr can be less controlling to allow that or if BD is trust-able enough is big question. I have no objections to CMDsr being in charge of ATO’s (After Time Out) plays.
On defense, I have no arguments (other than Daniel Ewing) on CMDsr’s part.
Interesting comments
It’s a bit of cryptic statement. There are different ways to read, especially when you only see it in print, as opposed to hearing him say it, as SP did. The fact that SP thought about the Club Optimism interpretation (Dunleavy is a solid coach with a healthy, stacked roster, but lousy when his team has injuries or personnel turnover) when he was actually saying it might suggest that he was actually making this point. But it really is probably more reasonable to infer that Dunleavy was being defensive and simply blaming injuries and making excuses.
But it still doesn’t really matter. A little self-analysis and responsibility would be nice, along with an attempt to explain the past. It’s not like there aren’t things that he can say, and explanations that he might make, that would be positive statements about last season. He’s in a position now to defend the Randolph trade, etc. But if he could dig in and talk about some of the things that he might have tried, and reasons why he didn’t try them, and perhaps examine why he retains such a conservative approach in the face of catastrophe, it sure would be nice.
The good news is that we’ll get to see the team play, and watch the decision-making in real time again. Club O. has its fingers crossed.
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