Golden State Warriors: Grading Mark Jackson's Rookie Season in Oakland

After spending 17 seasons playing point guard for seven different NBA teams, Mark Jackson ended his career among the all-time leaders in total assists. 

As one of the most intriguing head coaching hires this season Jackson has had his work cut out for him as the head man for the Golden State Warriors. 

Jackson, a first time coach at any level of basketball, inherited a team with a reputation for throwing up shot after shot to score more than their opponents and has only one playoff appearance in the last 17 seasons. 

Maybe it is a bit too early in his career to judge whether Jackson is going to be a successful NBA coach, but the following is an assessment of how he is doing so far in his first time coaching a basketball team.

Offense

Offensive output has never been a problem for the Golden State Warriors as they have tried to make a high powered offense make up for a lack of good defense.

With scorers like Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry who have never seen a shot they didn't like, the Warriors are in just about the same spot offensively as they were last year.

Last season the Warriors averaged 103.4 points per game with a 46 percent shooting percentage. They had an overall offensive rating of 108.2 which was good for 12th out of the 30 teams in the league.

This year the offense is in about the same position with an average of 97.7 points per game and a 45 percent shooting average. The Warriors offensive rating is 104.5 and the team is in 11th place in the league. 

While some of the difference can be attributed to scoring being down league, Jackson does get some credit for helping his team to find a more patient and consistent offense despite the injuries to key players and the decline in output of Monta Ellis.

Leading his team to a top-10 offensive ranking is a good thing.

Grade: A

Defense

As good as the Golden State Warriors are on the offensive side of the ball, they are that bad defensively. 

Despite head coach Mark Jackson preaching defense since his first day on the job, the Warriors have not gotten much better statistically. 

Last year the team allowed their opponents 105.7 points per game and a shooting percentage of 46 percent. As a team they played to a defensive rating of 110.7 which ended up being 26th of the 30 teams.

This season the Warriors are giving up 100.0 points per game and opponents are shooting 44.8 percent from the field. Defensively the Warriors rating is 106.9 and the team is still in 26th place.  

It is unrealistic to think that the Warriors could turn things around completely in the first 22 games, but some improvement would be welcome.

Jackson is working to instill a defensive mindset in the Warriors and the organization has tried to add more defensive minded players like Tyson Chandler and DeAndre Jordan. The team will need to bring in new players to help get them out from among the bottom of the league defensively. 

Until Jackson gets the right players in the system, he is going to be fighting an uphill battle. He needs more time to truly be assessed by this, but is saying and teaching the right things to make some changes. 

Grade: C

Player Relations

One of the biggest strengths that Mark Jackson has is that he has been in the same position that his players have been in, and it was not that long ago.

While other coaches have played in the NBA in a different era, Jackson ended his playing career in 2004 and played against many of the league's current superstars. 

Jackson already has the support of his players which will go a long way in the next couple of seasons as the Warriors find out who they are.

David Lee recently stated, “He's a great players coach and he's done an unbelievable job with us."

Nate Robinson also added, “He's done a great job. Even before I came to his team, they had a couple of games that they could have won...You can see what the coach has installed for us and want he wants us to go out there and execute. He’s doing a phenomenal job with that.”

It is clear that his players are behind him, and his reputation as a great player's coach may help to bring in quality free agents in the future.

Grade: A

Personnel Decisions

It is often difficult for new coaches to know which players to put into the game at what time and to not rely too heavily on their stars.

As far as who plays when is concerned, Jackson does not seem to worry so much about keeping his stars on the court and is willing to play whomever it takes to get the job done. 

Recently he has left the second team in at the end of games and has had to juggle lineups due to injuries. 

Overall, he has done a good job of getting the new additions to the team—Nate Robinson, Klay Thompson and Brandon Rush—to play well and help out the team

When asked recently about playing the second team, or the Dubstitutes as they are known, Jackson said:

"

The bottom line is getting wins and getting the job done, I don't care who does it. I've got nothing but love for each and every one of my guys. I love both units. But in fairness to this team, this organization and this fan base, I've got to put in the guys that are getting after it on the floor.

"

With that and the challenges the Warriors have had with injuries to Stephen Curry and other key role players, Jackson has worked hard to find the right combination of players to put on the court. 

Unfortunately, the combinations he has tried have not yet translated into the all important statistic of team wins. 

Grade: B-

Team Record

At the end of the day this is the statistic that matters the most and is the most important one that teams and coaches are measured by.

Through 22 games this season the Golden State Warriors have a disappointing record of eight wins and 14 losses. 

They currently sit in fourth place in the Pacific Division and trail the first place Los Angeles Clippers by seven games. 

There are four Western Conference teams separating the Warriors from a playoff position and have one of the worst 10 records in the entire league. 

By way of comparison, the Warriors had the exact same record of eight wins and 14 losses through the early part of last season and ended the year in the NBA draft lottery.

Perhaps it is a bit unfair to compare this lockout shortened season with a full year last season, but the team is on the exact same pace that they finished with a year ago. 

At the end of the day so much depends on wins and losses and so far Mark Jackson has not brought any more to his team.

If there is a silver lining this season, the Warriors are one of only a few teams to have beaten both the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat. 

Unless the win total goes up in the next few weeks, many of the other things on this list will not matter much.

Grade: D

Overall Grade

So where does that put Mark Jackson overall in his young career?

The quick answer to this is that it is still too early to tell what kind of job he will end up doing and how things will turn out for him. 

It is no secret that the Golden State Warriors are once again struggling, but Jackson has a better plan to make improvements to the team than previous coaches have. 

He does have a good philosophy and is well liked by his players. If he is successful in improving the defense, the Warriors are going to be a dangerous team. 

It has been a long time since the team has tasted consistent success, but if Jackson can get a better mix of defensive players on the roster it will make a big difference. 

The bottom line is that Jackson needs more time than 22 games into a lockout shortened season without a preseason or training camp to have a fair evaluation. 

If he must have a grade at this point in the year it will not be favorable due to the wins and losses, but he does have a great opportunity to improve it between the rest of this season and the next couple of years. 

Hopefully, he gets the chance to stick around and make things happen. With time Jackson will become a good coach in the league even if it is his first head coaching job. 

Overall Grade: C+