Portland Trail Blazers Lacking Mental Toughness: Role of Coach Nate McMillan

Sports media throughout the Rose City of Portland has been focusing its attention on the mentality and attitude of the Blazers.

As both fans and analysts have witnessed, the players have let the game get away from them late in games, resulting in diminished confidence.

Yes, the bench play is bewildering and giving Dallas second chance shots is a sign of disaster. At times it’s been difficult to watch, and many fans turned Game 4 off after such a disappointing third quarter.

Yes, the comeback was historical, but that sure isn’t going to take place regularly.  

The question here is, who’s at fault? Of course the players have to accept their role in the losses, but it’s also a responsibility of the coach to motivate his players.

Nate McMillan has addressed the media at times during the regular season, questioning if he is still getting through to his team. As the playoff series against the Mavs has exposed, he is not.

I keep hearing it’s not the coach’s job to motivate the players or create the intensity. My opinion: you’re dead wrong.

Why? Simple. Consider the finest coach of all time.

Many would agree that the best coach of all time is Phil Jackson. Yes, he has had the best caliber players to coach, but in his success also roots the reputation of the “Zen Master”, the man of mind games.

His degree in philosophy is something you must take into consideration when speaking of his success. Jackson is known for his use of Tex Winter's triangle offense, as well as a holistic approach to coaching that is influenced by Eastern philosophy.

In addition, Phil is the author of many candid books about his teams and his game strategies.

The fact is, Jackson has had a winning record every year as a head coach, and currently has the highest winning percentage of any Hall of Fame coach.

Along with his NBA-record 11 championships, he is the only coach to win at least 10 championships in any of North America's major professional sports.

What instantly sticks out in my mind is the mental toughness of the teams he’s coached—the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers. Both teams have shown strong motivation and the mentality to stick in games for the “W”.

He approaches his teams in a way that most aspiring coaches look up to, and the master of minds is what has made him the coach he is today as he approaches his final season in the NBA.

With this in mind, please tell me again why Coach McMillan isn’t partially to blame for his team’s lack of mental toughness? In his five years as the Blazers head coach he has yet to get his team past the first round of the playoffs.

Yes, many will say that he has done a wonderful job coaching through all the injuries that have disabled the Blazers.

Reality is, the players toughed that out on their own and each player stepped up to the plate on any given night.

It was all or nothing, and an eight-man rotation, when that is all you have on your bench, is not a result of good substitutions and game strategies.

It’s the heart that the players played with to win ballgames. It comes down to this, the coach’s role is creating the playbook, running practice, and most of all providing the team with the mental toughness and motivation that at times is lacking.

When the fire in their eyes fades out, Nate needs to reach his team and ignite that fire that exists in each player.