Common Sense a Lost Art Among NBA Coaches

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Let me start off  by saying I LOVE NBA basketball, and these playoffs have been great. The talent level is insane; this is the best the league has been since about 1993, talent-wise.

From the youngsters like Rose and Beasley to the old vets like Ray Allen and Tim Duncan and all the great players entering their prime or at the tail-end of their prime, its just great. The pace of the game is outstanding, etc.

I want to commend certain coaches while scolding others right now. The teams you see succeeding most are the teams who's coaches put their players in the best position to succeed...the talent level is so good right now that its almost even between seven seeds and two seeds.

Just two years ago, you would NEVER see a seven seed with as much talent as Tyson Chandler-David West-Peja Stojakovic-James Posey-Chris Paul on the court, or Derrick Rose-Ben Gordon-John Salmons-Tyrus Thomas-Joakim Noah and having Kirk Hinrich and Brad Miller off the bench. Just great stuff.

With a talent level this even, the coaches make much more difference than they did even a year ago.

Playing your best players and lineups make a HUGE difference. I'm a Miami HEAT fan and just two days ago my coach made a decision that will lose the HEAT their series against a very closely matched four-five series opponent the Atlanta Hawks, deciding to go with experience and start Udonis Haslem at Power Forward over Michael Beasley.

This while the Hawks made the decision to start Marvin Williams that will win them that series and was a good decision. Easy, right? Doesnt seem to be for way too many coaches in today's NBA.

We'll go with the bad first: Spoelstra starting Haslem instead of Beasley and choosing James Jones at SF instead of Daequan Cook (because Jones is an inch taller, while Cook is five-times better defender especially man-to-man, is a better rebounder and athlete, better shooter and much better all-around offensive player, he plays bigger than Jones).

Nate McMillan starting Przybilla over Oden and Batum over Outlaw is gonna kill Brandon Roy and the Blazers in their series against Yao and the Rockets league-best perimeter defense. The Philadelphia 76ers starting Willie Green over Lou Williams and also playing Reggie Evans and Theo Ratliff over Mareese Speights.

Even GREAT coaches like Poppovich and Jerry Sloann: The Spurs starting Matt Bonner over Gooden in Game One and Jerry Sloan going with Jason Collins over Millsap.

I understand at times needing it for your bench, which the spurs could be forgiven for without Ginobili. Or focusing on the spacing Bonner provides, etc. I can also understand needing Collins size, sometimes you cant make it work. The pistons bone-headedly tried to play Stuckey-Iverson-rip-Prince-Sheed and that wouldn't work, obviously.

Examples of doing the right thing: There is no better example than the Chicago Bulls and Vinny Del Negro. VDN has done an OUTSTANDING job as a first-year coach.

He understood that he hasn't done this before so he got a very very experienced coaching staff featuring many decade+ assistants and former head coaches even, and he leans on them for help all the time. That's the mark of a very wise man and a keeper for the Chicago franchise.

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