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

[RC_Drunkford]

I have zero issues with Mitch being the coach while he got Sweeney as his assistant. I'd be perfectly fine with Sweeney being the headcoach and he will be somewhere in the future.

 

[NotoriousHOP]

A problem I have with the hire is that if he isn’t a hit, then the FO is going to take about 3-4 years to make the decision to fire him and you essentially wasted Fox’s entire prime while he is on the team.

This. I didn't want to get too crazy here but Mitch is our Kamala Harris equivalent. With more knowledge of course because he isn't a total idiot. But the Spurs Family credo basically made him the Next Up without any effort to see what might be better out there. Coming out of Tank Mode should have caused the team to take a long look at what is best for this team and Wemby's desire to win now. I really want Mitch to do well but he didn't even get a chance to implement "his system" last year because he was supposed to be a placeholder for Pop so he just continued that system. So he is learning on the job and instituting a system along the way. I think our record so far is fools gold but I hope they are learning enough to turn this into real positive traction. I'll feel better when our three point defense improves and the coaches find a better way to counter the league's Wemby Strategy.

 

[brazil]

Spurs are 4th of the teams allowing the less 3s per game attempt with 34 BUT Spurs are dead last when talking about opp 3 % at 39,7% !?. Weirdly enough the best defensive team in the league allows 37,3% (25th in the league) from 3s on 40 attempts (24th in the league)... Spurs suffer less 3 made against them than OKC

I had to check again because it's mind blowing that 2 of the best defensive teams of the league with this kind of 3s stat.. Spurs allow few 3s but yeah we don't make it difficult for opponents to miss while OKC is slightly better at defending (2,4 pts) but allow a bunch.

I did not find any statistic about Victor on/off opponent 3s but would be quite interesting if somebody find it somewhere.

 

[brazil]

BTW I used teamranking.com hopefully their data are accurate

 

[NASpurs]

Spurs are 4th of the teams allowing the less 3s per game attempt with 34 BUT Spurs are dead last when talking about opp 3 % at 39,7% !?. Weirdly enough the best defensive team in the league allows 37,3% (25th in the league) from 3s on 40 attempts (24th in the league)... Spurs suffer less 3 made against them than OKC

I had to check again because it's mind blowing that 2 of the best defensive teams of the league with this kind of 3s stat.. Spurs allow few 3s but yeah we don't make it difficult for opponents to miss while OKC is slightly better at defending (2,4 pts) but allow a bunch.

I did not find any statistic about Victor on/off opponent 3s but would be quite interesting if somebody find it somewhere.

Yeah I've been trying to find them and it's near damn impossible. Maybe someone has more luck.

 

[brazil]

Yeah I've been trying to find them and it's near damn impossible. Maybe someone has more luck.

usually basketball reference has some great on/off stuff but could not find a filter to isolate opp 3 shooting

 

[PanameSpur]

We're winning because we have a very good roster and the most dominant defensive force the game has ever seen.

Mitch is doing fine. He's not winning us games but he's not losing them either with stupidity. He's experimenting a bit, which is fine, but he does need to figure out how to get this team to defend on the perimeter at least decently well.



How many coaches that played the game at this high of a level are winning titles? Kerr? Helps when he has the best shooter in the history of the sport. Well, Mitch has the most doninant defensive player the sport has seen.

Most championship coaches weren't good NBA players or even NBA players at all. Who was Daigneault before OKC hired him in 2020? Who was Michael Malone before the Nuggest hired him? The list goes on, championship coaches have to start somewhere. What they all have in common is having one of the best players in the world and a very good roster to work with.

I'm not saying it's a necessary criterion, I meant that had Mitch had some experience at the highest level, it would have at least mitigate his lack of experience as a coach.

I'm not just referring to basketball knowledge (Xs and Os) but life experience, "been there done that" etc that is so important for a manager to get his players' attention. (especially when things go wrong).

Pop for ex, had no exp at the highest level but had coached and had invaluable life experience that helped his man management.

I hope I'm wrong, the point is doing projections based on what we know today and I can't be confident when such an important task is being given to a guy with zero experience who has a nepo baby profile more than got his job by merit or exceptional talent.

Let's wait, see and hope Mitch proves me wrong.

 

[PanameSpur]

Spurs are 4th of the teams allowing the less 3s per game attempt with 34 BUT Spurs are dead last when talking about opp 3 % at 39,7% !?. Weirdly enough the best defensive team in the league allows 37,3% (25th in the league) from 3s on 40 attempts (24th in the league)... Spurs suffer less 3 made against them than OKC

I had to check again because it's mind blowing that 2 of the best defensive teams of the league with this kind of 3s stat.. Spurs allow few 3s but yeah we don't make it difficult for opponents to miss while OKC is slightly better at defending (2,4 pts) but allow a bunch.

I did not find any statistic about Victor on/off opponent 3s but would be quite interesting if somebody find it somewhere.

Not sure how to interpret it tbh...

Spurs are among the team that allows the least 3pts but who's opponents are shooting the highest 3pt %?

Did I get that right?

 

[brazil]

Not sure how to interpret it tbh...

Spurs are among the team that allows the least 3pts but who's opponents are shooting the highest 3pt %?

Did I get that right?

yes exactly.. Spurs allow 34 3s per game (4th best in the league) and opponents convert near 39,7% (worst in the league)... OKC in comparaison allow 40 3s per game and opponents convert 37,3%

 

[PanameSpur]

In Mitch's defense, his dad was on an NBA championship team and he grew up with one foot in the league. After 4 years at Stanford, he also played in the G-Leaugue and Europe for 3 years before coaching. These types that don't have the size, athleticism and elite skills are perfect for coaching because they had to understand the game and extract every bit of knowledge from situations to compete at all. Other than the insane substitution blitzkrieg he instituted after our roster was close to full, I give him the benefit of the doubt. It will take a few seasons to fully settle in and find your self as a teacher/coach. The growth/improvement of this team is not only due to the roster. Mitch and his Minions have to be credited in part for this team, dare I say, turning the corner.

All great coaches, in any sports, are a lot more than Xs and Os knowledge in their domain.

Human factor and man management are always key and that is my main point of interrogation regarding Mitch.

He'll have to fail to learn and become good at his job. Every great coach had to go through those stages, no exceptions.

It's an unnecessary price to pay imho

 

[PanameSpur]

yes exactly.. Spurs allow 34 3s per game (4th best in the league) and opponents convert near 39,7% (worst in the league)... OKC in comparaison allow 40 3s per game and opponents convert 37,3%

What would be your explanation?

Is it a too small sample after 10 games to draw a conclusion?

Does that mean the main goal is to protect the paint and play the % on the perimeter?

I can't see the logic with these numbers tbh, It's like being the best and the worst at something ^^

 

[ginobilized]

All great coaches, in any sports, are a lot more than Xs and Os knowledge in their domain.

Human factor and man management are always key and that is my main point of interrogation regarding Mitch.

He'll have to fail to learn and become good at his job. Every great coach had to go through those stages, no exceptions.

It's an unnecessary price to pay imho

All fair points. I guess time will tell.
Was there someone better that we passed on in your opinion?

 

[PanameSpur]

All fair points. I guess time will tell.
Was there someone better that we passed on in your opinion?

I thought Mike Brown would've been a smarter gamble.

He knows the house
He's a defensive-minded coach (key to win)
He knows and has good relation with Fox
He was available

He made a lot of sense and even if he failed it would've been "acceptable"

Micth has too many red flags to me. I don't know him personally, hence the "I hope I'm wrong", he could very well be an exception .... that confirms the rule (^^), in the end

 

[brazil]

What would be your explanation?

Is it a too small sample after 10 games to draw a conclusion?

Does that mean the main goal is to protect the paint and play the % on the perimeter?

I can't see the logic with these numbers tbh, It's like being the best and the worst at something ^^

Regarding sample size, for the Spurs difficult to say as last year is not much of a reference without Victor for a long period of time but last year Spurs were allowing quite a lot of 3s from opponent (25th). For OKC, last year they were 22th for 3 attempts allowed at 39 per game very close to the 40 of 25-26 but they were elite at defending them (best in the league at 33%) whereas so far they are not defending it well (37%).

As for the explanation maybe OKC is encline to let the 3s flying rather than allowing penetration. For the Spurs I believe sample size is too small to see a trend in terms of volume imho the only trend I see is that we suck at defending it

 

[LeBowen]

I thought Mike Brown would've been a smarter gamble.

He knows the house
He's a defensive-minded coach (key to win)
He knows and has good relation with Fox
He was available

He made a lot of sense and even if he failed it would've been "acceptable"

Micth has too many red flags to me. I don't know him personally, hence the "I hope I'm wrong", he could very well be an exception .... that confirms the rule (^^), in the end

Mike Brown isn't a great coach. Wouldn't have been the long-term solution.
We don't know if Mitch is, but I'd rather take a gamble with an unproven coach than hire a known mediocrity.

 

[Shmurs]

Mitch’s credentials are fine. He played enough high level ball and spent time doing meaningful coaching as an assistant.

But he doesn’t appear to be a person with much gravitas and were handing a team with expectations over to a guy who has no actual professional achievements and should best be known for his ability to lose a lot of games.

It might still work out. But he would have to be a psycho like mazula or a whisperer to autistic young adults like daignault is (but our personnel doesn’t match). It would be very strange for this to play out like it did in Boston, but shit I guess the last 2 champs proved that there isn’t a defined playbook for this.

…but there were grown up coaches available in an offseason where we blew up our roster makeup and strategy. It was not the prudent move to put a home grown guy in charge.

 

[ambchang]

What would be your explanation?

Is it a too small sample after 10 games to draw a conclusion?

Does that mean the main goal is to protect the paint and play the % on the perimeter?

I can't see the logic with these numbers tbh, It's like being the best and the worst at something ^^

Part would be sample, but also because, like everything on this team, Wemby.

With Wemby on the court, the opposition shoots a higher %age of attempts (253 out of 615 attempts are 3s, which translates to a 3PAr of 41.1%, or around 14th in the league compared to 6th in the league we have now) at 37.5% (still would have only ranked 26th in the league out of 30 teams). They shoot worse because we have players who can guard them tighter, but attempt more because it's tougher to drive into the paint (or they had to kick it out to the perimeter for open threes when we inevitably collapse to over help).

With Wemby off the court, the opposition shoots a lower %age attempt (87 out of 255, which translates to a 3PAr of 34.1%, or best in the league) at 46% (by far the worst in the league). Teams get to choose their offence like an all you can eat buffet, they can drive inside for an open layup, OR they can kick it out on wide open three point shooters.

Given we have the 7th slowest pace in the league, it suppresses our 3PA and as such we have the lowest 3PA with the highest 3% against. At least that's my hypothesis.

 

[PanameSpur]

Mike Brown isn't a great coach. Wouldn't have been the long-term solution.
We don't know if Mitch is, but I'd rather take a gamble with an unproven coach than hire a known mediocrity.

I'd have said that a decade ago, but he's failed and has gotten a lot better and coaches depend on the roster they have. He did great at SAC with an average one.

I'm not so concerned about day to day or RS games but the real bb starts in the POs and Mike Brown has seen and won a lot at that stage.

Anyway we'll see, I have to say that for a few dumb rotations Mitch also did great things up until now, Pop would've insisted with Sochan and Mitch seems very pragmatic/not affection driven, he must also have something to do with the grit the team has shown bc teams always end up at the image of their coaches.

Let's hope we get as much PO exp this season and manage to mitigate Mitch's lack of experience, that will for sure have a cost at some point.

 

[PanameSpur]

Part would be sample, but also because, like everything on this team, Wemby.

With Wemby on the court, the opposition shoots a higher %age of attempts (253 out of 615 attempts are 3s, which translates to a 3PAr of 41.1%, or around 14th in the league compared to 6th in the league we have now) at 37.5% (still would have only ranked 26th in the league out of 30 teams). They shoot worse because we have players who can guard them tighter, but attempt more because it's tougher to drive into the paint (or they had to kick it out to the perimeter for open threes when we inevitably collapse to over help).

With Wemby off the court, the opposition shoots a lower %age attempt (87 out of 255, which translates to a 3PAr of 34.1%, or best in the league) at 46% (by far the worst in the league). Teams get to choose their offence like an all you can eat buffet, they can drive inside for an open layup, OR they can kick it out on wide open three point shooters.

Given we have the 7th slowest pace in the league, it suppresses our 3PA and as such we have the lowest 3PA with the highest 3% against. At least that's my hypothesis.

Let's wait and see if the trend continue but yeah it could make sense.

Also impossible data to have, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's a higher level of focus bc of a higher level of importance those 3s have for teams to stay close or get back in the game vs the Spurs, because the paint in closed.

Until we understand for sure, I'm cool to be in the same camp as okc tho ^^

 

[KobesAchilles]

That's the case with any coach they would have hired

True however there are more proven commodities out there than a complete gamble on the unknown as far as coaching goes

 

[Exstatic]

I myself am sick to death of the NBA coaching retreads carousel. Doc Rivers needs to be exiled to prevent another team from ever hiring him when he inevitably loses the Milwaukee job.

Mark Dagnieault, Steve Kerr, Eric Spoelstra never had NBA coaching experience and led teams to titles.

 

[brazil]

Part would be sample, but also because, like everything on this team, Wemby.

With Wemby on the court, the opposition shoots a higher %age of attempts (253 out of 615 attempts are 3s, which translates to a 3PAr of 41.1%, or around 14th in the league compared to 6th in the league we have now) at 37.5% (still would have only ranked 26th in the league out of 30 teams). They shoot worse because we have players who can guard them tighter, but attempt more because it's tougher to drive into the paint (or they had to kick it out to the perimeter for open threes when we inevitably collapse to over help).

With Wemby off the court, the opposition shoots a lower %age attempt (87 out of 255, which translates to a 3PAr of 34.1%, or best in the league) at 46% (by far the worst in the league). Teams get to choose their offence like an all you can eat buffet, they can drive inside for an open layup, OR they can kick it out on wide open three point shooters.

Given we have the 7th slowest pace in the league, it suppresses our 3PA and as such we have the lowest 3PA with the highest 3% against. At least that's my hypothesis.

Awesome thanks Amb that’s the data I was looking for.. also good point regarding pace of course. Thing is spurs have to do a better job at guarding those 3s.. allowing 40% is really really bad. Despite of that we are winning games but there is so much room for improvement

 

[Bill Brasky]

How the fuck is anyone questioning the coach at 8-2?

 

[wemvp]

True however there are more proven commodities out there than a complete gamble on the unknown as far as coaching goes

Actually I feel the opposite. Bringing in a Malone or someone with a lot of HC experience probably would mean a coach that had his system and his ways. That might have not worked with the completely new unknown talent that is Wembanyama. As long as Mitch is flexible in how to use Wemby and is able to manage the egos and personalities in the locker room he'll do well. The worst thing for this young talented team is a coach that will be too rigid and try to make them something they are not. With Mitch they get a coach that can grow, adapt, and overcome with them.

 

[Shmurs]

How the fuck is anyone questioning the coach at 8-2?

Because it’s not 48 and 32. There’s a long way to go and we’re 1-1 against good-ish teams so far with certain things standing out as concerning.

The compliments to Mitch so far are that he’s better than a 75 year old who was losing on purpose because he’s doing things like “running plays” and “not giving out minutes based on hair dye”.

Good enough so far. But it’s a fan board. So we discuss until we know more.