I have been meaning to ask this board about Brooks, and specifically about his comments when they break to huddle, at half-time, and then in post-game comments. It's become a bit of a comedy routine at our watching parties.

Every time the guy talks to his team, he'll say something like this:

"OK guys. You are good. You need to get rebounds. Need to get stops on the defensive end, and then you need to score. That's how you win. I want to see you score more. OK."

And then they break the huddle.

It's ridiculous how generic this guy is. I cannot fathom how he inspires his players.

Not exclusive to Scotty Brooks. This is true of every coach I've ever listened to when they're mic'd up. I think Disney movies have conditioned us to think that some of these coaches are giving JFK-type speeches during the half. I'm always disappointed when I hear what they're actually saying. Everyone from Vinny Del Negro to Phil Jackson. It seems like I can go in there and get them more hyped up than they can.

I'm not even talking about being a hype-man. I have never seen him draw a play or make an adjustment in the huddle. He's got a team of 20-year-olds. At least Carlisle is trying to coach and make adjustments. Brooks just talks in platitudes like he's giving the State of the Union.

dammit HNIC, i was about to post the same thing.

most coaches when mic'd say generic stuff in the huddle. they probably know the mic is on them, last time i checked, and probably don't want to be saying strategies and such over the air. no?

also, just as useless are the courtside interviews before the starts of quarters. Pop and Phil were the best when it came to these. hilarious.

Well Brooks should worry less about sharing his world-beating secrets over the ESPN feed and more about keeping his jock secured, because Carlisle is repeatedly kicking him in the nuts this series.

How many inspirational phrases and speeches do you think an NBA player has listened to over the course of his life (practices, pre-game, timeouts, half-time)? I don't expect coaches to be giving "win one for the Gipper" speeches during huddles. I think these guys are pretty jaded to that kind of stuff.

As an OKC fan, I hate to admit it, but I think you are right, that Brooks just doesn't have much in his bag of tricks beyond the "rah-rah, try hard" type of stuff. While I don't think it's fair to judge him solely on a few clips (partly because I believe ESPN/TNT agrees not to air video of any real strategy), I think the offensive scheme (or lack there of) that he runs out there nightly is more than enough to damn his coaching abilities. Phil Jackson and Greg Popovich have given the same speeches he is giving, but you see a purposeful attack out of those other teams, something missing from OKC on a regular basis.

I am very thankful for where he has gotten this team, I love the passion that he shows and how much he cares for his players and would really enjoy seeing him coach this team to a championship; but I do not believe he is capable of that, and I think he has served his purpose for this organization, which was to shepherd his young players. Now that they are ready for prime time, I believe a proven X-O guy is necessary to win at the highest level.

again, I'm not talking about him being a hype-man. i'm talking about the fact that they've gone to him about 30 times over this series in the game, and he's never even drawn a play on the chalk board. instead, he goes to these weak ass "pep talks"

Nellie used to say that he had 3 fire & brimstone speeches in him for the entire season. He had to be very strategic and pick his spots as to when they could be used.

His theory was if you tried it more than 3 times then the team would completely tune you out. I'm sure after coaching Shawn Bradley for 7 seasons he probably felt like he could give one almost every night.

Reminds me of my high school soccer coach

"Crisp passes, smart plays, and play great defense."

"swing at strikes" - My JV baseball coach

great article taht sums up how I feel about Brooks

quote:

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Something happened to the Thunder's offense in the last 10 minutes of the game, and while the absence of the playmaking Harden was surely a factor, we've seen this before. You remember that old saying about how the prevent defense in football prevents you from winning? That's how I feel about Oklahoma City's attempt to shorten the game by running down the shot clock. Time and again, the Thunder is playing against both the opposing defense and the shot clock, leading to poor possessions.

On top of this, there is a distinct lack of creativity to the Oklahoma City playbook in late-game situations that we've discussed to the point of repetitiveness. Scott Brooks' favorite call late, the Russell Westbrook-Kevin Durant pick-and-roll, has been effectively neutralized by Dallas' ability to switch the pick. Jason Kidd has shut down the bigger Durant every time, including the steal with 1:01 to go that set up Kidd's go-ahead three-pointer. The ultimate failure of the team's playcalling was the last possession of regulation, which resulted in Durant jacking up a three from several feet beyond the three-point line with Shawn Marion in his face and plenty of time left on the clock.

With the other three players on the court reduced to the point of decoys, the Mavericks can load up defensively on Durant and Westbrook. Both of the Thunder's scores in the extra session came when Dallas brought help and secondary options (Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha) made plays. However, those were two of the three shot attempts the other Oklahoma City players got. Most of the time, the Thunder settled on Durant and Westbrook trying to create out of 1-on-1 situations. While most of the attention for their blown lead will be directed at Westbrook, Durant was scoreless in the last 10 minutes, missing all six of his shot attempts--five of them from beyond the arc. Credit Marion with doing an excellent job of using his size to deny Durant the basketball and force him away from the basket.

Basically, Brooks is failing at the fundamental task of a head coach: putting his players in the best position to succeed. Durant and Westbrook are continually ending up in difficult situations and asked to make something happen. When they do, it looks spectacular, but Oklahoma City can't count on those kind of low-percentage plays as the bedrock of its late-game offense.

It doesn't help that Brooks regularly chooses not to take advantage of opportunities to improve his personnel with offense-defense substitutions. After Harden fouled out, Sefolosha was on the floor for the entire final 9:33. Though Sefolosha was having an excellent offensive game by his standards, the shooting of Daequan Cook would have given the Mavericks more to think about defensively.

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Well Brooks has now entered the Westbrook zone, you know where the fans ride your ass so hard that even if you make the right call/decision and something happens or it isn't executed right, here comes the pain.

Personally I think it's all knee jerk reactions. These guys have been in the league at their current positions for 3 years, and have had great successes. If they players can learn from experiences like this, what's to say the coach can't either?

It is an interesting crossroads coming up for the Thunder, especially if these same problems still occur next year. If you win 50+ games next year but get to the playoffs and still have these same struggles, do you continue with your young coach, or get a veteran in?

Those of you calling for Brooks' head already probably wanted to fire Sherman after 4-8.

Brooks deserves every ounce of blame he is getting. No he cannot shoot the ball for KD, Russ, etc, but he is doing them no favors.

I admit I wanted Sherman fired after he continued to trot JJ out there when it was obvious he was holding the team back. If a guy is supposed to be an asset primarily because he can evaluate talent, and yet he cannot properly evaluate talent, then what does he bring to the table.

Sometimes coaches catch flak when their players do not execute, which may or may not be within the coach's control. BUT!! the main thing the coach can control is who he puts out on the court/field. Sherman failed his team by stubbornly sticking with JJ when everyone saw he was damaged goods. And now Brooks is doing the same thing, over and over again. He played Green & Krstic together, which was the worst front line imaginable, even though he had Ibaka and Collison on the bench. And now he is playing Thabo over Harden, when it so obvious to everyone that this causes problems that are difficult to overcome. He stubbornly hides behind the argument 'this team is young, and if you are inconsistent with your lineups, they'll be inconsistent on the court', ignoring the fact that every other coach in the league has the balls to change up something if it's not working.