Player The Methodical Meritocracy of Maestro Mitch Johnson and his Many Minions

LeBowen

LeBowen

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We're obviously entering a new era and with Mitch (hopefully) being rid of Pop's shackles, he'll be one of the main talking points this season.
In my opinion he's shown a lot of promise so far, but it won't do him much good if we don't get enough wins this season. It's the first one in Wemby era with real expectations.
The rest of the coaching staff has also had a lot of changes, mainly Sweeney and Williamson as defensive specialists, we definitely needed a big improvement in that department.

www.nba.com

Spurs Announce Coaching Staff Additions and Promotions | San Antonio Spurs

www.nba.com www.nba.com

Mitch Johnson - head coach.
Sean Sweeney - associate head coach.
Matt Nielsen - assistant coach.
Mike Noyes - assistant coach.
Corliss Williamson - assistant coach.
Scott King - assistant coach.
Tim Martin - assistant coach/player development.
Jimmy Baron - assistant coach/player development.
Josh Brannon - assistant coach/player development.
Rashard Lewis - player development.
Andrew Weatherman - coaching analyst.
Madison Clower - player development analyst.

 
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My “customer satisfaction score” with Mitch will be largely based on the following:

-point differential. The Spurs of old (and when they were good) would blow out teams early and the bench would be subbed in for most of the fourth quarter. I know it’s unlikely, but if ever the team is in this shape during any year in Mitch’s tenure… he will get an instant A+. This is the easiest sign of a well coached team.

-I listen to almost all player interviews. When every player is in sync about putting the team first over individual accolades, as if reading a script… that’s another sign of a well coached team and Mitch will earn points from me. On the other side of the spectrum, if there are players constantly complaining about playing time, then there is a lack of order in the locker room.

-believe it or not, rotations don’t figure in too much to my score. I think politics take control over the best of coaches, and sometimes it’s 100% long-term strategy over game strategy (e.g., a coach is told by the front office to play joe schmoe because the Lakers want more tape). So I really don’t fault the coach here. I think a team is coached well by the schemes they run and mistakes they don’t make…

-Speaking of mistakes, this is what I’ll be looking for. Mitch will earn positive points from me if the turnovers decrease over the course of the season. It’s a sign that his message and teachings are translating over to his players’ brains.

-I’m realistic. Every team has a ceiling dependent on their team’s talent level. And sometimes, the level of talent is evident in the individual player’s upside, but it takes development to get there. So like what we’ve all been saying, if the Spurs reach 40 wins or over, that is a good bar to meet not because that’s the maximized potential of the team, but because their best players are still taking steps into their development to be the best of who they can be. Something like that shouldn’t affect Mitch’s score.
 
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For me the most important thing will be to see if Mitch has the full authority.
We have two stars and they'll obviously always get their 30+ minutes.
ROTY and #2 pick should also be get at least 15mpg because of their potential start ceiling.
Noone else should be guaranteed anything. We have 12 to 14 players that could get into 10 man rotation and Mitch has to keep everyone on their toes.
If friendship crew starts stinking it up, they have to get benched or even DNP'd if their replacements do a better job.
Everything has to be on merit.

He's obviously shown he's a promising basketball mind, we had 6th ORTG in March and April, that was without Wemby or Fox.
Defense was a huge issue, but a lot of it was on the personnel and we hired two assistants that should fix it.
 
Cutting down the made wide open threes percentage rate would be a good sign they're headed in the right direction.
 
LeBowen said:
For me the most important thing will be to see if Mitch has the full authority.
We have two stars and they'll obviously always get their 30+ minutes.
ROTY and #2 pick should also be get at least 15mpg because of their potential start ceiling.
Noone else should be guaranteed anything. We have 12 to 14 players that could get into 10 man rotation and Mitch has to keep everyone on their toes.
If friendship crew starts stinking it up, they have to get benched or even DNP'd if their replacements do a better job.
Everything has to be on merit.

He's obviously shown he's a promising basketball mind, we had 6th ORTG in March and April, that was without Wemby or Fox.
Defense was a huge issue, but a lot of it was on the personnel and we hired two assistants that should fix it.
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I think #2 and #5 need closer to a guaranteed 25mins guaranteed
 
Castle and Harper should also both be getting 25+ mpg IMO. Anything less, I don't believe is good for their development or the team long term. Most probably won't agree with that, but that's my take on their minutes.
Edit: Are the Spurs ever going to make the interviewer questions more audible? I watched another team's interviews the other day and you could hear the reporter's questions quite clearly.
 
The_Second_Coming_of_VY65 said:
I think #2 and #5 need closer to a guaranteed 25mins guaranteed
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I think they should average out at 28-32mpg for the season, but there will be games when they're not performing and if someone is playing better, they should get extra minutes.

If it was up to me I'd run a 3 man guard rotation and upgrade at least two or even all three of Devin/Keldon/Barnes into a legit PF, but it's not likely to happen.
 
we need to see a huge improvement in basic game management. Challenge the right calls. Give guys the right minutes. Put the right 5 guys out there at the end of a game where you need 2 points. Use timeouts effectively. Things like this.

He was terrible at the basics last year, which I guess makes sense considering his lack of experience and that he was learning from a zombie the last 5 years. But if he can’t demonstrate EXCEPTIONAL learning ability at an exceptional rate, then this was a galactically idiotic decision.

…I think we know how this plays out. We’re disqualifying ourselves from a Cinderella run this year because we picked a guy who will be out coached in almost every competitive setting this season. There was no reason to do this, other than installing a plant for the FO. Mitch had no heat around the league and no track record of success. And frankly just looks like a kid doing pretend time when he’s at press conferences or walking the sideline. There’s no gravitas whatsoever with this guy. And it’s actually in some ways a good thing we didn’t push for Durant, since I don’t see how a JV head coach would be expected to have any authority over him.
 
I'm still getting used to Mitch's sincerity and openness in interviews. Pop really brought the stank in that regard.

Here's a thread title suggestion

The Methodical Meritocracy of Maestro Mitch Johnson and his Many Minions
 
I think Mitch should be judged about the principles he has been vocal about:

- Defense is not negotiable. Pre season has been good in that regard, next year is going to be a test as he has the players to play great Defense. Last year, Defense without Victor was sub par, Castle forgot to play Defense in second half of the year and I did not see much of coaching, benching players missing rotations etc... Hopefully it is not just some random stuff thrown to please fans and the media.
- Respect Pop legacy, here you have some that's not who we are, players development is not just bb, smart organization and smart players, egos in check, being able to bench star players, discipline etc...
- Fast pace, build around strong defense to push the ball and fast transitions. TOs may be an issue in that context, Mitch and Victor will have to figure out how to clean that abundance of TOs we have seen

Mitch does not seem to have stong pov about how the game should be played like say D'Antoni, Daigneault, Kerr or even Mazzula. I believe this roster seems to emulate OKC but it seems to be more circumstantial than planned tbh... Comparaison with OKC is going to be interesting nonetheless.

What bothers me a bit is Spurs have a freak of nature, a dude that can change the game yet Spurs style of play has nothing unique, Spurs have a unique player doing unique things within a quite common play style. I'm curious to read your take on that, am I missing something ? Pop tried dat no more PG everybody is a PG which lead to Sochan experiment... then Spurs went opposite direction with Fox trade, Castle and Harper so are we on a 7'5 with 4 guards around evolution ?
 
As long as the team isn’t being killed by injuries, i just want to see if he can avoid having obviously noncompetitive lineups. Like i don’t want to see Castle, Champagnie, Keldon, Sochan, Olynyk minutes.
 
ginobilized said:
I'm still getting used to Mitch's sincerity and openness in interviews. Pop really brought the stank in that regard.

Here's a thread title suggestion

The Methodical Meritocracy of Maestro Mitch Johnson and his Many Minions
Click to expand...
I like it.
Maybe a bit too soon for Maestro, but let's give Mitch benefit of the doubt.
 
I’ve said it for a year, I just want:
1) A coherent defensive scheme, no more leaving shooters for wide opened 3s to help up a driver when we have Wemby (and now Korndog) in the paint,
2) An offensive scheme that doesn't involve Wemby heat checking every 3 minutes from the logo,
3) Actual, clearly defined roles for players.
4) Development and improvement for players, any players.
 
Just to be free from Pop who hasn't cared about winning in several years should be worth 10-15 wins by itself tbh. I truly hope that he's taken a step back for his sake and the team's sake.
 
I like the incentives. Looks like Sweeney is positioned well as assistant head coach who is known for his defense chops to parlay his position into a head coaching gig (having the DPOY in your hip pocket is nice), and then Corliss get a promotion. So defense should be lit this year, right?
 
Guru of Nothing said:
So defense should be lit this year, right?
Click to expand...
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Shot distribution and egos from hurt feelings are where I need him to excel at
 
LeBowen said:
I like it.
Maybe a bit too soon for Maestro, but let's give Mitch benefit of the doubt.
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Thanks! Maestro is not mine, it was a nickname given to him by his hs coach and one that Brook Lopez called him by in their Stanford days together. Let’s hope it’s his destiny.
 
ginobilized said:
Thanks! Maestro is not mine, it was a nickname given to him by his hs coach and one that Brook Lopez called him by in their Stanford days together. Let’s hope it’s his destiny.
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I remember reading at the start of last season when he took over, his college teammates called him Maestro. So like you said, he was called that long time ago. Can't remember if Brook came up with it or one of his other college teammates. I think Brook said something along the lines of he's one of the smartest basketball minds he's been around. I don't remember a link to the article, though, as I wouldn't mind reading it again to see what Brook Lopez had to say.

I found one of the quotes :
www.espn.com

Inside Gregg Popovich's fight to return to the sideline

Before stepping down, the legendary coach battled to return to where he once was. This is the story of his season and how the franchise handled his absence.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
"Seeing him in the position he's in now is not a shock. He belongs there," Brook Lopez, a former teammate of Johnson's at Stanford, told ESPN.
"Such an intelligent basketball player, the highest basketball IQ I've ever played with or been around," Lopez said. "He sees the game differently. We actually called him "maestro" because of the way he conducts and runs the show."
Click to expand...

That's pretty high praise. Brook said that earlier this year. I can't think of all the teammates Brook's played with, but if he rates him the highest BBIQ wise, that's pretty big praise.
 
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ginobilized said:
I'm still getting used to Mitch's sincerity and openness in interviews. Pop really brought the stank in that regard.

Here's a thread title suggestion

The Methodical Meritocracy of Maestro Mitch Johnson and his Many Minions
Click to expand...
The form is very different than Pop's for sure but Mitch is always saying NOTHING in his interviews.

He sounds like a kid out of PR class to me. (Probably his goal tbf)
 
PanameSpur said:
The form is very different than Pop's for sure but Mitch is always saying NOTHING in his interviews.

He sounds like a kid out of PR class to me. (Probably his goal tbf)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree. He doesn't really tell us anything. Doesn't do it the same way as Pop used to, but he doesn't tell much either. Just does it a different way.
 
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