Grading Every 1st-Year NBA Coach at 2014-15 Quarter-Season Mark
First-year NBA coaching report cards are en route.
You are now free to back off the edge of your seat.
Nine first-year coaches are haunting the sidelines in 2014-15. This is not to be confused with nine new-to-the-NBA head honchos. Some are coaching through their first-ever NBA campaign; others are familiar fixtures.
All of them, though, are new to their respective situations.
Most of them are also at least 25 percent of the way through their inaugural season in new digs. That means it's the perfect time to pass early judgment on the job they've done thus far and the campaign-long outlook they've helped foster.
Grades will be based on a team's performance under its new sideline chief relative to expectations. That's the important part. Not every coach can be measured against his squad's ability to contend for a championship. It's not fair to clipboard crackerjacks such as Quin Snyder and Stan Van Gundy, among others.
Subjective interpretations of the immediate future will be prevalent as well. It's how these evaluations work. Telepathy isn't a thing, so we cannot please everyone. We can, however, dive through the data and deliver grades that will be accurate reflections of a coach's present performance.
Let's do this.
Byron Scott, Los Angeles Lakers
1 of 9
Grade: D
Optimistic propaganda has given way to reality: The Los Angeles Lakers are an undermanned, lottery-bound basketball team.
Holding Byron Scott accountable for their bottom-ranked defense and 23-win pace isn't entirely fair. This version of the Lakers isn't built to win; it's assembled to bide time and cap space and preserve the hope that Los Angeles can still seduce premier free agents.
Scott's inability—or stubborn refusal—to adapt to mitigating circumstances is unnerving, though. He's riding a 36-year-old Kobe Bryant—who's on pace to register the fourth-highest usage rate ever—into the ground, and the Lakers offense has become recurring sets of isolations and complete stagnancy. They still rank 28th in passes per game.
It also took Scott nearly one-quarter of the season to deconstruct a defensively inept starting lineup. Jeremy Lin, Wesley Johnson, Carlos Boozer, Jordan Hill and Bryant started 19 of the Lakers' first 21 games, a span in which the team went 5-14. When any one of those five players is on the floor, Los Angeles registers the equivalent of the worst defensive rating in NBA history.
Knowing the playoffs—and even flirting with a .500 record—are out of reach, Scott needs to at least react better when something isn't working. Reining in Bryant, preaching ball movement and experimenting with defensive combinations that might actually hold their own would be a good place to start.
Derek Fisher, New York Knicks
2 of 9
Grade: D
Derek Fisher's suit game is strong. His New York Knicks are not.
Transitioning from player to coach was always going to be a major adjustment for Fisher. Making said transition with a team that clearly isn't assembled to win now and is undergoing a systematic shift only complicates his learning experience.
Few expected the Knicks to be this bad, though. While the ball movement is there—they rank second in passes per game—the execution is not. Pick-and-rolls are no longer an offensive staple, almost 39 percent of their shots come from mid-range, slashes to the basket are infrequent and half-hearted, and they're still entirely too reliant on Carmelo Anthony.
To wit: When Anthony is off the floor, the Knicks are scoring just 93.2 points per 100 possessions, which equates to the sixth-worst offensive rating in NBA history.
Results are equally disconcerting on the defensive end. The Knicks rank 27th in efficiency and run a questionable scheme that encourages opposing teams to jack oft-open three-pointers. Such struggles have earned them the East's third-worst record and left Knicks President Phil Jackson lamenting their performance.
"It's about a loser's mentality," he said, per ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley. "It's not about the skill or the talent level."
It's also about Fisher. His rotations are inconsistent, he's trotted out 12 different starting lineups through 24 games, the Knicks are crumbling during crunch time, and the locker room is host to infighting, per ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard. And though Anthony basically denied the Knicks are turning on each other, Fisher hasn't been the stabilizing presence this plummeting product obviously needs.
Stan Van Gundy, Detroit Pistons
3 of 9
Grade: C-
Reinventing the Pistons was never going to be an easy task for Van Gundy.
Some thought he would arrive in the Motor City perched upon an impeccably groomed steed and wielding a clipboard with all the answers. Andre Drummond would turn into Dwight Howard overnight, and the Pistons would replicate the Orlando Magic's one-in, four-out success from 2009-10.
Instead of an instant turnaround, fans have been treated to the same old issues. The Pistons rank 29th in offensive efficiency, their spacing module is rife with congestion, Josh Smith's shot selection bears resemblance to Nick Young's—sans the conversions—Jodie Meeks has yet to play, and the defense ranks 21st in points allowed per 100 possessions.
Troubling still, Drummond hasn't morphed into a more special player than Howard. His scoring is down despite his usage rate traveling upward, his rebounding rate has declined, and he's still hitting under 47 percent of his freebies.
All of this has pinned the Pistons to the Eastern Conference basement, where they are just a half-game better than the deliberately dreadful Philadelphia 76ers. And with the playoffs swiftly moving further out of reach, Van Gundy—also the team president—must decide if it's time to hold a fire sale, capitalize on Greg Monroe's probable departure, collect draft picks and start over.
After all, while the Pistons weren't supposed to be world-beaters, they were supposed to be better than last season, which, as of now, they're not.
Lionel Hollins, Brooklyn Nets
4 of 9
Grade: C
Lionel Hollins hasn't busted barriers during his first season with the Brooklyn Nets. His team is clinging to the final playoff spot in a competence-starved Eastern Conference, and a 23rd-ranked offense and 16th-ranked defense are nothing to tout.
There's something to be said about the Nets' lack of offensive cohesion. Most of their core is over the hill or injury-prone, but they're still stacked with firepower—specifically that of Joe Johnson, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez. Brooklyn doesn't shoot enough three-pointers—a trademark of Hollins' system—and though he's accommodated smaller lineups, the absence of offensive creativity is staggering.
That the Nets are already looking to blow up the roster by moving Williams, Johnson and Lopez, according to ESPN.com's Ohm Youngmisuk and Marc Stein, is also telling. The team was clearly hoping Hollins could do more with the talent afforded to him, and the Nets' underwhelming start to 2014-15 is as much an indictment of his failure to deliver as it is reflective of players underachieving.
"It's always [a] different challenge, and it's always a big challenge," Hollins said, per USA Today's Howard Megdal. "Did I estimate it was gonna be a big challenge? Of course. Because I'm different. And new. And I had to learn all the guys who are here, they had to learn me."
Handed far from the perfect roster, Hollins alone isn't at fault for the Nets' expensive stay in the middle. But the Eastern Conference is bad. A team with this much talent, however flawed, shouldn't be 1-9 against squads .500 or better and slowly, surely ebbing out of the top-five Eastern Conference conversation entirely.
Quin Snyder, Utah Jazz
5 of 9
Grade: B-
At the beginning of 2014-15, it looked as if the Snyder-manned Utah Jazz were primed to drop some jaws, pull off some upsets and take some massive leaps forward. Their defense was bad—horrific, actually—but the offense was innovative and founded upon floor-spacing tenets that buttress many of the NBA's most lauded attacks.
That honeymoon has since ended.
Utah can still be fun to watch on offense, and Gordon Hayward continues to look reborn (in addition to $63 million richer). But the team ranks a middling 18th in offensive efficiency and 29th in defensive efficiency and now figures to contend with the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves for the Western Conference's worst record.
Oh, this is also a group that often looks the part of a bendable, potentially breakable, rebuilder lacking mental fortitude, per Purple & Blues' Greg Foster prior to Tuesday's tilt with the San Antonio Spurs:
"The problems are apparent. The Jazz have lost 8 straight games—many of which they’ve never even had a lead. They continuously get pushed around, only to mope back to the bench with their tails tucked between their legs. They have the swagger of my Dad’s old catcher‘s mitt. Something needs to change.
"
Pulling out a victory over the Tony Parker-less San Antonio Spurs, ending a nine-game losing streak, changes none of this—not that their identity issues are surprising.
The Jazz are a young squadron. Steve Novak, all of 31 and averaging under five minutes per game, is the old head. Growing pains of this severity are to be expected.
Even though Dante Exum and Rudy Gobert may need more playing time, and even though the Jazz defense allows opponents to sink three-pointers (37.8 percent) with the ease and frequency of free throws, Snyder has significantly upgraded the offense, putting a contemporary blueprint in place that provides long-term direction.
Plus, you know, his angry-face game is strong.
Flip Saunders, Minnesota Timberwolves
6 of 9
Grade: B
Relative to expectations, Flip Saunders has done a—ah, forget it. There's no use judging Saunders relative to expectations. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been consumed by injuries and find themselves drowning at the bottom of the Western Conference.
Little, if anything, about their inopportune start can be attributed to Saunders. Their 25th-ranked offense, 28th-place defense and Western Conference-worst record are symptoms of rebuilding and the absences of Kevin Martin and Ricky Rubio.
Saunders has also shown a willingness to roll with the punches. He found minutes for Gorgui Dieng from the jump, and he's riding Shabazz Muhammad's lasting flash of offensive preeminence. Rookies Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine are also receiving extensive playing time.
If there's anything to actually knock about Saunders' approach, it's his apparent unwillingness to blow things up just yet. Corey Brewer was supposedly made available via trade, according to ESPN.com's Stein, a rumor Saunders quickly rebuffed, citing the 28-year-old's importance to Minnesota's rotation, per The Associated Press' Jon Krawczynski.
Still, plenty of people thought Saunders was liable to milk veteran production in hopes of winning as many games as possible. Injuries have forced his hand, and the temptation to favor proven performers over prospects will linger so long as said proven performers do.
For now, though, Saunders, exasperated facial expressions and all, is allowing his inexperienced Timberwolves to slog through the motions. There's little else to ask of him at this point, though truer tests await as the team reaches full strength and he's faced with opportunities to unload impact players for prospects and cap space.
David Blatt, Cleveland Cavaliers
7 of 9
Grade: B+
First-year head coach David Blatt deserves credit for surviving the Cleveland Cavaliers' early-season tumult. He's new to the NBA yet managed to steadily steer his team beyond the panic zone a 5-7 start created.
Roughly one-quarter of the way through their first season together, the new-look, star-stacked Cavaliers have left their season-opening malaise behind them. They have the league's fourth-best offense, have evaded defensive implosion and own the East's fourth-best record.
The team's ability to climb the defensive ladder is an especially impressive feat. The Cavaliers don't have a legitimate rim protector, and there are times when LeBron James' defense is more Dion Waiters than LeBron James. But Cleveland ranks 15th in efficiency, a standing that, while bolstered by playing five bottom-10 offenses over the last eight games, remains adequate.
Some of Blatt's coaching methods are, admittedly, unsettling. The Cavaliers don't move the ball especially well, he developed a temporary fondness for playing Joe Harris during crunch time, and Kevin Love is too often relegated to James Jones duty—a shooter that hovers idly in the corner, anxiously hoping James or Waiters or Kyrie Irving defers to him.
Even so, Blatt has done a fine job ensuring the Cavaliers don't wilt under the skin-searing spotlight. Staying out of James' way when he gets in a command-the-huddle zone is also wise practice for a coach whose learning curve can greatly benefit from an open mind and ear.
Jason Kidd, Milwaukee Bucks
8 of 9
Grade: A-
Leaving Brooklyn has looked good on Jason Kidd.
Not only do his Milwaukee Bucks have a better record than the Nets team he left behind, but Kidd has taken the second-worst defense from last season and turned it into a top-10 points-preventing unit. He's done so without the roster undergoing a seismic defensive overhaul, mind you.
Somewhat inadvertently, the Bucks have fixed themselves to the East's playoff picture. They're playing nearly .500 basketball (11-12), which, within their conference, puts them in contention for a top-six record.
"There is a sense of peace in Milwaukee," Grantland's Zach Lowe writes, "a feeling that after years of lurching around NBA purgatory, the Bucks have stumbled upon a long-term path they’re happy to stroll.
Part of that feeling comes with an asterisk.
The Bucks have enjoyed the league's second-easiest schedule and are just 1-9 against teams above .500. Their offense is among the 10 worst, and Kidd actively chases victories by benching youngsters Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker late in games. He's also more partial to playing veteran Zaza Pachulia over John Henson.
With the Bucks so obviously invested in building toward the future, Kidd will have to tone down his win-now tactics. But there's no diminishing the hope-hauling results he's helped generate out of the gate.
Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
9 of 9
Grade: A+(+++++++++++++)
Steve Kerr could not have asked for a better start to his NBA coaching career.
Inheriting an elite Golden State Warriors team has no doubt facilitated his rise, but the possibility of failure was always there. The players didn't have to embrace him the way they did former coach Mark Jackson. They could have struggled to grasp his offensive system: a passing-packed, triangle-motion hybrid. This marriage could have become a trying process.
It's been a season-long honeymoon instead.
Golden State has emerged as a two-way juggernaut. Kerr's crew has the league's top defense, ranks sixth in offensive efficiency and has recorded a top-four assist rate (63.8) that is nearly five percentage points higher than last season's mark (59.1). The Warriors may also own the NBA's best record.
(They do, 19-2.)
Basically, Kerr is cooking on the sidelines. And in addition to serving scorching-hot cake on both ends of the floor, he's baking some humble pie.
"We have the best record in the league. That didn’t happen because our staff showed up," Kerr said, via the Bay Area News Group's Diamond Leung. "It’s happened over the course of several years, and a lot of people deserve credit for that, including the previous staff.”
Sideline performances, from both veterans and newbies, don't come more complete than the nigh-flawless job Kerr is doing for Golden State. He, along with his dominant Warriors, are worth the hype they've incited.
*Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference and NBA.com and are accurate as of games played Dec. 10, 2014.
