Greatest Of The Three Point Era: Coaches

[[Q]]

i have no idea if benji was planning on doing this, but i thought it was pretty much the next topic that was going to come up.

some things to consider:
- Resume: W-L records, championships, Coach of the Year awards, etc.: this is a valuable indicator but must be taken with a grain of salt (e.g., should we penalize Jerry Sloan for not having the collective likes of MJ, Pippen, Kobe, and Shaq on his team?)
- Talent Development: A somewhat subjective measure, but by definition, coaches must be able to improve the personnel they are working with.
- Xs and Os: How well was this coach able to exploit matchups and personnel changes to affect the outcome of games? Were they adept at making in-series playoff adjustments? Was their team the best prepared each time they went out on the court?
- Motivation: Did the coach get the most out of his players? Did he get the most out of them in the games that mattered the most?
- Leadership: Another intangible. Was this a coach whose presence demanded attention? Did players seem to follow him simply because he was a leader of men. This element ties in closely with motivation.

1.Phil Jackson- you can say "oh he's had jordan, pippen, kobe & shaq" and he's kind of an "easy" pick, but he's done pretty well. i do question his inability to win in 2004 with the Heat-like super team, although it could probably be attributed to Malone's injury more than anything else.
2.Pat Riley- ok similar to the knock on Phil, he got the Showtime Lakers, but he managed to win against some really tough (and stacked) Celtics and 76er teams. Also, made the Knicks a perennial contender and made the Heat a relevant team and eventually own them their first championship
3. Jerry Sloan- How he never won a coach of the year award, i will never know.
4. Greg Popovich- somehow, the Spurs keep winning/making the playoffs every year
5. Chuck Daly- besides a short stint in Cleveland, he produced big-time winners in Detroit and had a winning record year in and year out. He also seemed to be a great father figure for Dennis Rodman, who looked like he lost his mind once Daly left.
6. Rick Adelman- I really think he should've won the title in 03 but Webber's injury was too much to overcome. Also, the controversial 02 series with the Lakers also lingers, but he's won with almost every team he's had. even with 2 years coaching the lowly warriors on his resume, he still boasts a 60% win percentage.
7. Hubie Brown- you can tell by his commentating (well, maybe in his TNT days) that he knows A LOT about the game and is able to explain it well in layman's terms to the audience. He helped the Grizzlies to their first winning season ever and had some good years with the Hawks & Knicks.
8. Don Nelson- his sheer win total plus his role in playing small-ball lineups gets him a spot on here
9. Larry Brown- I really hesitated putting him up here, but he has a really long resume
10. Lenny Wilkens- he's won a ton of games, also won a championship just before the 3 point line was introduced

wanted a spot for Dr Jack Ramsay, but his success came just before the 3 point era

[benji]

The current coach of the Nuggets would like to have a word. A former Rockets coach and a former Sixers coach are also trying to make an appointment.

Most of K.C. Jones' success came after the advent of the three pointer and he fits with the first two guys.

[Mavs4Life]

1. Phil Jackson
2. Pat Riley
3. Greg Popovich
4. Don Nelson
5. Chuck Daly
6. Larry Brown
7. K.C. Jones
8. George Karl
9. Rudy Tomjanavich
10. Rick Adleman

[benji]

Surprised you didn't post your current coach.

[Mavs4Life]

I thought about giving him an Honorable Mention, but Carlisle just dosen't stand up to the other coaches.