Why Coaching Matters

This is a screen shot of when Andrew Wiggins rose up and threw the Dallas Mavericks' playoff and season hopes into a wood chipper, in tonight's Game 3.

Yes, yes, dunks are worth two points and psychological analysis is meaningless, and Doncic came back and nailed a 3 right after this, and the Mavs got to within 5 before the Dubs finally ended things. None of that matters; this will be the only moment from this game that anyone ever remembers.

It was also called a foul in the moment, which was a crime against art and nature and credit to Doncic for the acting attempt. It was reversed after Warriors coach Steve Kerr refused to let insanity rule the day, while NBA Commissioner Adam Silver tried to restrain himself from removing the shirt from the ref who bought the original flop and dismissing him from the world of professional basketball.

It was part of an insanely good and useful performance by Wiggins, who had 27 and 11 while playing sound defense and generally, well, having moments like this one... and it's part and parcel of why the Warriors are going to be the next champions of the NBA.

Not because Andrew Wiggins is great. But because he really, really, wasn't before he got here.

To the casual fan, Wiggins was available because Minnesota is Minnesota; a dysfunctional organization that makes bad trades (Wiggins came with the pick that became Jonathan Kuminga for D'Angelo Russell and a bag of smelly gym socks, which is to say, a large bag of smelly gym socks). Hyped because he was the #1 pick and overvalued by casual fans for counting stats, he was an active detriment to the Wolves, who suffered with bad and plentiful shooting, a lack of interest in defense, a plethora of turnovers and a career that was going nowhere fast. His Wolves' teams were better when he was off the floor, and when you are supposed to be a star and that happens, you are a fraud. 

The NBA finds and eliminates frauds, ruthlessly. Wiggins at 6'-7" with no natural position and no growth in his skills was about 2-3 years away from bench and foreign work, honestly.

Enter Steve Kerr and the Warriors coaching staff. With work from the player (not all at once -- the org was the perfect mix of patient and impatient with him), they turned Wiggins into their best defensive player not named Draymond Green. With the return of world-class marksmen that meant he no longer had to force shots, Wiggins became efficient in the offensive game. With world-famous players who move the ball and play the game the right way, he doesn't have to be the alpha. Even though -- shh -- they may be turning him into one anyway.  He's still just 26 years old, with his confidence growing, in an organization that's going to get him a ring in a few weeks.

Credit to Wiggins, but also to the Association's best coaching staff. They just don't miss, or give up. And if they stay healthy and cultivate the next generation (Kuminga, Wiggins, James Wiseman, Jordan Poole...), there's really no reason why the winning will stop anytime soon.

Oh, and also this. Ye gads, man. 

Sixers - Heat Game Six: Bye

 > After four games of this series, the Sixers were tied. They had Joel Embiid seemingly getting better, had just won a tough game where James Harden played his best game in the laundry, and had more than a reasonable hope of advancing.

> Then they just... stopped playing basketball. With any kind of fire, interest, passion, ingenuity, anything. And yes, this cheapens the win for Miami, who are well coached and reasonably athletic and don't beat themselves, but, um, still. They just won two games against a team that showed no interest in playing any more basketball this year.

> There will be all kinds of theories about this. How Embiid's injuries were just too much to overcome. How Harden is nursing an injury and has conditioning issues that he can't mask anymore at age 32. That Tobi Harris always fails when it matters, that a slow and dough bench gets you killed, that losing glue guy Danny Green is always deadly, and so on, and so on. None of it really matters. 

> What is true, what has always been true with this organization since maybe Larry Freaking Brown, is that they've got the wrong coach. Rivers does some things well; he doesn't panic when things go the other way, he has good plays out of timeouts pretty often, he can call for a zone with a reasonable feel for the game. But he can't develop young players, can't get away from bench guys that are totally spent, and can't convince his players that he's worth selling out for. That ended with the Celtics, and hasn't ever come back.

> How much of this is Rivers, and how much of it is the talent on the Sixers, is hard to determine. If you want to tell the story that Embiid doesn't show up in the playoffs, I can't really argue with you. He's got reasons, but he's also 28. Tick, tick, tick.

> This game was closer than it had any right to be, because Miami got bored. During a closeout game on the road. Yeah, that happened.

> Embiid was something like 7 for 40 tonight, and PJ Tucker has 20 offensive rebounds that were about as hard to get as taking candy from a baby. A sleeping baby. I'd check the actual numbers, but why make an effort? The guys getting paid to play basketball tonight did not.

> Small but telling moment in this game: with the Sixers riding a 7-0 run in the third quarter courtesy of Shake Milton giving a damn, Jimmy Butler was called for a foul while Milton was shooting a three. Rather than save his challenge for later, Heat coach Eric Spoelstra went for it and got the call, effectively ending the momentum. Part of why Spolestra is, well, a much better coach than Rivers. Along with the fact that his team played hard in Games Five and Six.

> In the first 75 seconds of the fourth quarter, three terrible turnovers, an inexcusably bad officiating call, and a 6-0 Miami run that was absolutely gift-wrapped. The nature of Sixers basketball during most of the last 20 years is that when their last game is played, you are well and truly OK with not watching them play anymore. This team? A LOT.

> I'm sure that Miami had a possession tonight when Embiid left the rim and Miami didn't get a layup. I just don't remember it.

> Here's how bad this team quit: Philly Fan didn't even really boo them. They just left. Why make an effort when the athletes won't?

> Special credit to the refs for not bailing this team out with any kind of call tonight. They didn't deserve it. If you had told me that a team with Harden and Embiid couldn't get to the line during a closeout game at home, nope, not how the NBA usually works. You've never seen a team quit more. Honestly.

> I guess if you want to credit to anyone in blue tonight, Shake Milton tried, and Maxey leaves the season with integrity. Everyone else can just live with the stink of this for the rest of their career. It's the kind of game that makes me want to not watch the franchise anymore, but I'm stupid. See you in October.

> As for the Heat, um, they are going to lose the next series against a team that doesn't quit, doesn't have a coach that doesn't want his job, etc. Good luck to Jimmy Butler, though.

Sixers - Heat Game Five: What The Hell Was That

 > The national media seems to want to make this all about Joel Embiid pouting his way through a low energy road game because he's not going to be the MVP, and the omniscience this shows is kind of amazing. If true, it also shows that the team could not give a rat's ass for its coach, who could not sense this kind of thing coming from a mile away, and, I don't know, benched him and all of the starters or done anything other than what he did, which was watch his team get boat-raced in a decisive game. This team is going to get two days of direct abuse from the faithful and the media, and they deserve all of it.

> It seems a lot more likely that a guy with a busted face, who got his face smashed again in the second quarter, who has a bum thumb and no teammates that seemed able to get him the ball against press coverage, just checked out early. But not as early as his teammates.

> If I was Doc Rivers, I would have pulled all of the starters early. Like, in the first quarter. If you're going to lose, you might as well get a rest day out of it, and make a point that you can show someone up on your way out of town.

> I have no idea why Matisse Thybulle is in the NBA anymore. He does nothing to warrant wearing a uniform, let alone getting playing time.

> There was no point in this game where the road team looked they wanted to be there. So, well, analyzing it and giving more effort than the guys getting paid seems, well, dumb. And when this team doesn't want to play... they really don't make it a secret.

> For Miami, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo and, shh, they are a lot better when Kyle Lowry isn't on the floor. 

> So much for the idea that James Harden was his old self. Not tonight, not even a little.

> Worst game I can remember Tyrese Maxey playing. And that includes his rookie year, when he couldn't shoot.

> When your best player is Paul Reed, you aren't winning basketball games. Unless you are in the G League. But credit to the only guy in the laundry who seems to mind losing.

> I posted this with the team down 29 in the fourth, because, well, why the hell not. Moving on.

Next game is Thursday in Philadelphia, and if this is the level of effort they'll show on the road, feel free to end the season early, guys. Pack Rivers' bag for him.

Sixers - Heat Game Four: James Goddamned Harden

 > With the game and series in the balance and the Sixers unable to get the ball to Joel Embiid, James Harden just started raining down 3s. Shots that haven't been made while he was in the laundry for the most part. Shots after he played his worst quarter of the playoffs in the first. With real fire and passion. It was bad offense and what happens in the fourth quarter in playoffs and scary and glorious, and he probably made himself an unreal amount of money from it. For everyone who has been ready to throw dirt on this guy, you can all go piss off now. A lot.

> Every playoff game, I dislike the opponent a little more. Kyle Lowry is an absolute fraud in every sense of the word, just a man who has no NBA skill left outside of grifting. Trent Tucker's very existence is a foul. I'm glad they got Markieff Morris off the bench, just so Embiid could block him down into the Earth's core. Max Strus looks like every punchable wrestling heel, and his eyebrow game is straight out of a Republic serial. Ye gads, no wonder Miami only has two fans.

> Fine Danny Green night tonight, with a signature deep 3 in transition where he, of course, missed the free throw after. He's a special collection of insanity.

> I thought Doc Rivers coached a reasonable game tonight, with the sole exception of going back to Embiid too soon in the fourth. The Sixers grew the lead with the big man on the bench, and the offensive sets did not get better with him back on the floor so soon. But then Harden decided, um, screw it, I got this.

> One of the best Tyrese Maxey moments ever tonight in this one, the bullet pass from near half-court late in the clock to get a Tobias Harris dunk. Remember, he's 21 years old. Good Lord.

> For Miami, a Jimmy Butler game for the ages, aided and abetted by Embiid buying pump fakes like they were bitcoin. I get that he's good and a friend, Joel, but let's push him out to the line and make him try that ugly 3 some more, please.

> Another day, another night with a howling miss from the refs. Harris was lucky to escape serious injury from a Bam Adebayo arm to the throat, and nope, not even noticed. Hell of a game you were missing here, gentlemen.

> As for the other Heatles... Lowry had some moments I guess, and Adebayo seems to have lost his stark terror of Embiid. Herro hasn't shown up on the road, and the problem with being a deep team with a lot of competent role players is that, well, stars win playoffs.

> Nice of George Niang to be of some utility tonight, and Paul Reed was his usual mix of positivity, but if you can remember a playoff team getting less from its bench, well... I can't. This will eventually be the Sixers' undoing, but for now, every win is a deodorant.

It's a best of 3 now, and Miami has home court with some strong regression to the mean coming for the last two games of 3-point shooting (14 for 65). But every day past the concussion is a better day for Embiid, and Harden just had his best game in months. I have no idea what happens next.

Sixers - Heat Game Three - Masked and Gutty

 > Joel Embiid wearing a mask and nursing a thumb is still one of the best defensive bigs on the planet, and a major reason why the Heat and Bam Adebayo were cracking backboards all night. If he keep recovering, and 18/11 is a mighty fine floor, this is a series. If he goes out again, it's not. Pretty simple, really. And his defensive energy late, in a game where he probably played too many minutes, was encouraging. 

> This game will be remembered for the fourth quarter of Maxey Time, and if the kid ever put together entire game stretches, he'd be the best guard in the league. Just electric in the open court and adorable everywhere. You can get a little frustrating waiting for him to go off, but he pretty much does every game.

> Another good first half from James Harden, followed by another disappearing act in the second, but when Maxey is going off, yes, James, disappear. He's been getting into pretty regular foul trouble, just another thing that happens when you get older and the refs don't give you nearly as many breaks. I'm hoping the man is managing his conditions and doing what he can to fill the tank, but if ever a man needed to go full plant-based and humorless, it might be James. Which is just a shame, because he's so weird and original in every other way, but it's a very hard game played by athletic maniacs.

> I know this is just what happens in playoff basketball, but how many dirtbags play for the Heat? Between Trent Tucker, who in no way resembled a basketball player, and Kyle Lowry, they made ESPN serenade rockhead plays and dirty bullspit all over the floor, and the pace of this game was interminable. Seriously, eff these guys. If this is what winning playoff basketball is about, we need to officiate this game differently.

> Danny Green remains an absurd collection of positive and negative. Tonight he was good from the arc and insane in lots of other places. You can manage him when he's the former, but he's still the weirdest wing ever, honestly.

> First time in seemingly months where Matisse Thybulle had good moments, but the Heat still rode Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro for vast stretches. If they can get him back to playable it's a help, because it's not as if this team is deep.

> You should not be able to use a borderline straight arm. After six games of watching Pascal Siakam do this nonsense, honestly, enough -- and the fact that the refs got to blow the call twice after a challenge was special.

> For the Heat, just a rock fight of a game, with a near season-low. Some of that is Embiid and some of that is hard effort by the other Sixers, but they still missed a lot of makable shots tonight. They probably aren't thrilled right now, but they also might not be too worried.

> Miami showed one of their weaknesses tonight -- too many soldiers, not enough generals. In a road game where they could have put the hammer down, only Butler and Herro played well, with Adebayo in particular coming up small against opposition. It's nice to have a bunch of guys who can make threes when the luck is running, but when the air gets tight? Not so much. The Sixers' 4th best player, Tobias Harris, was totally fine tonight. The Heat's 4th best player was... I have no idea.

Next game is Sunday night, where the Sixers try to tie the series and put the fear of God into both Heat fans. I think they'll probably spit the bit because they have been a terrible home team much of the year, but it's not hard to imagine Better Joel in two more days after a concussion. See you there then.