Job Well Done Mike Brown wins NBA Coach of the Year By Riebeil Durley-Petty
Every gourmet chef has a method for preparing a good meal. In order to make the food as scrumptious as possible you need to have the proper ingredients. Not only to the ingredients have to be right, you also have to judiciously apply just the right amount of spices and herbs to accentuate the flavor. Combine all of those elements and you just completed a gastronomically pleasing meal.
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown may not be a gourmet chef, but he has definitely cooked a masterpiece Cavs fans have enjoyed all year, and the fourth year head coach was awarded for his appetizing spread with the NBA Coach of the Year last week. With his thick rimmed black specs Brown may look better suited as professor at Yale but this year he’s showcased his erudite nature using the hardwood as his personal classroom and the bench as his lectern.
The Cavs had a surprisingly great year. Many would have expected a 55 win season, but very few projected Cleveland putting together one of the best seasons in league history. Cleveland amassed a franchise record 66 wins, a 39-2 home record which ranks second all-time in the NBA and home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Now the prevalent consensus of haters is the addition of All-Star point guard Mo Williams and amelioration of LeBron James defensively and overall unrivaled brilliance are the main reasons for Cleveland’s success. For certain both are pivotal pieces in the Cavs emergence as a frontrunner to clutch this year’s Larry O’ Brien gold laced trophy but Brown has been just as integral.
Brown has received large haterism since the first day he took over the reigns as Cavs head coach. Skeptics demonize him for his seeming perplexed facial expressions at times when Brown’s team makes mistakes or not being a good in game strategist. They criticize Brown for not making good halftime adjustments and merely riding the coattails of King James ridiculous magnificence.
Brown may lack in some areas. He may not have the charisma of Pat Riley. The intensity of Jerry Sloan. Monk like perceptive serene motivational skills of Phil Jackson. Or the raw x and o knowledge of Larry Brown. However, Brown combines a little of each of these properties to create his own coaching style. And for each of the aforementioned current and future hall of fame coaches all of them have had great players as well. Though they didn’t win a title (cause Jordan wouldn’t let them) Sloan’s Utah Jazz had John Stockton and Karl Malone. Riley had Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy with the Lakers and Shaquille O’Neal and Dwayne Wade with the Miami Heat. And Phil had Jordan and Scottie Pippen with the Bulls and Shaq and Kobe in LA.
It’s a misnomer coaches game management is solely responsible for making great teams and winning titles. Great coaches have great players, and great teams combined with the congruency the Cavs have is what makes champions. A disciple of San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Poppovich, arguably the game’s top coach, Brown had always possessed basketball acumen.
Each of his Cavs teams have overachieved in the playoffs. In 2006 Cleveland beat the Washington Wizards in the first round and surprisingly took the defending East champ Detroit Pistons 7 games in the East Semifinals before bowing out. The Cavs shockingly clocked Roc City the following year reaching the first NBA Finals in team history before getting broomed by the Spurs. Cleveland barely lost a 12 round heavyweight slugfest before finally succumbing to eventual NBA champ Boston with Bron and Pierce putting on one the of greatest personal duels in playoff history.
In each series the Cavs were the underdog yet made life difficult for their favored opponent and in some cases pulled off the upset. You can’t dispute with success and Brown’s have been some of the most successful in the league the last few years. Brown’s teams have always had stout defenses. This year Brown has shown maturity allowing his team to have more freedom on the floor disposing the rigid, lethargic half-court offense and letting the team get out and run. Delonte West is given more isolation plays and Zydruan Illgauskas is used in more pick and pop situations to blaze opposing centers with his smooth jumper.
The change in offensive philosophy combined with Cleveland’s smothering D gave them the league’s highest point differential of 9.7. Falling back letting the team clown with their extravagant pre-game intros has enabled Cleveland to crystallize and develop a off the court chemistry that has translated into on court success. Come June it might just get Brown a title like his mentor in San Antonio.
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown may not be a gourmet chef, but he has definitely cooked a masterpiece Cavs fans have enjoyed all year, and the fourth year head coach was awarded for his appetizing spread with the NBA Coach of the Year last week. With his thick rimmed black specs Brown may look better suited as professor at Yale but this year he’s showcased his erudite nature using the hardwood as his personal classroom and the bench as his lectern.
The Cavs had a surprisingly great year. Many would have expected a 55 win season, but very few projected Cleveland putting together one of the best seasons in league history. Cleveland amassed a franchise record 66 wins, a 39-2 home record which ranks second all-time in the NBA and home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Now the prevalent consensus of haters is the addition of All-Star point guard Mo Williams and amelioration of LeBron James defensively and overall unrivaled brilliance are the main reasons for Cleveland’s success. For certain both are pivotal pieces in the Cavs emergence as a frontrunner to clutch this year’s Larry O’ Brien gold laced trophy but Brown has been just as integral.
Brown has received large haterism since the first day he took over the reigns as Cavs head coach. Skeptics demonize him for his seeming perplexed facial expressions at times when Brown’s team makes mistakes or not being a good in game strategist. They criticize Brown for not making good halftime adjustments and merely riding the coattails of King James ridiculous magnificence.
Brown may lack in some areas. He may not have the charisma of Pat Riley. The intensity of Jerry Sloan. Monk like perceptive serene motivational skills of Phil Jackson. Or the raw x and o knowledge of Larry Brown. However, Brown combines a little of each of these properties to create his own coaching style. And for each of the aforementioned current and future hall of fame coaches all of them have had great players as well. Though they didn’t win a title (cause Jordan wouldn’t let them) Sloan’s Utah Jazz had John Stockton and Karl Malone. Riley had Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy with the Lakers and Shaquille O’Neal and Dwayne Wade with the Miami Heat. And Phil had Jordan and Scottie Pippen with the Bulls and Shaq and Kobe in LA.
It’s a misnomer coaches game management is solely responsible for making great teams and winning titles. Great coaches have great players, and great teams combined with the congruency the Cavs have is what makes champions. A disciple of San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Poppovich, arguably the game’s top coach, Brown had always possessed basketball acumen.
Each of his Cavs teams have overachieved in the playoffs. In 2006 Cleveland beat the Washington Wizards in the first round and surprisingly took the defending East champ Detroit Pistons 7 games in the East Semifinals before bowing out. The Cavs shockingly clocked Roc City the following year reaching the first NBA Finals in team history before getting broomed by the Spurs. Cleveland barely lost a 12 round heavyweight slugfest before finally succumbing to eventual NBA champ Boston with Bron and Pierce putting on one the of greatest personal duels in playoff history.
In each series the Cavs were the underdog yet made life difficult for their favored opponent and in some cases pulled off the upset. You can’t dispute with success and Brown’s have been some of the most successful in the league the last few years. Brown’s teams have always had stout defenses. This year Brown has shown maturity allowing his team to have more freedom on the floor disposing the rigid, lethargic half-court offense and letting the team get out and run. Delonte West is given more isolation plays and Zydruan Illgauskas is used in more pick and pop situations to blaze opposing centers with his smooth jumper.
The change in offensive philosophy combined with Cleveland’s smothering D gave them the league’s highest point differential of 9.7. Falling back letting the team clown with their extravagant pre-game intros has enabled Cleveland to crystallize and develop a off the court chemistry that has translated into on court success. Come June it might just get Brown a title like his mentor in San Antonio.
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