Currently on Disney.co... I mean, ESPN.com, there is a Sports Nation poll questioning whether SVG is actually an asset in coaching his team. I'm happy to say, that 80% of America thinks he is, but why is this such a frequent question?
I've watched SVG take the reigns on two different teams, and with each one, he's brought them from zero to super hero. Literally. How often do you coach two different teams highlighted by the fact that their budding super stars are dubbed as super humans (Flash & Superman)? Not a whole lot. Both teams were very different from one another when SVG decided to impose his will, lets travel back in time...
The Heat. Pre-Shaq. Remember those guys? Super underrated team in the last decade that could have made a real splash if they gave it one more year. Rafer Alston, Dwyane Wade, Caron Butler, Lamar 'The Candy Man' Odom and Brian Grant. You know what that sounds like to me? A winning combination. Also, keep in mind that this was while Alonzo Mourning was getting a kidney transfer from his own cousin, these guys had all the pieces. Maybe Alston was a little too And 1-ish at this time, but you had three guys capable of playing 3-4 different spots on the court with Wade, Butler and Odom. Plus, a decent center who could get you boards in Grant.
So, SVG brings these guys to the playoffs, which was impressive in its' own right (despite being in the Eastern Conference), and surprised the crap out of the Hornets, who had the LA Clippers version of Baron Davis. Big time play, aspiring players and a lot of potential. So, you'd think that they'd have a shot of doing even more the next year, right?
Wrong, Motha' Fucka'. Just ask Pat Riley.
Pat decides that these guys all blows ass, and options to trade, oh, like, 7 players to LA to acquire Shaq. Now imagine being SVG. You've just impressed the entire league by coming onto the scene, but instead of working to add 1 or 2 more pieces to a competent team, your boss decides to fire them all and bring in the Closer, and I'm not talking about Kevin Bacon's wife.
So, here's what your left with. Shaq & Wade. Ok, they're amazing, no argument there, but look at everyone else. This easily could have been the Cavs for the last 5 years with guys like Haslem, James Posey, a 40 year old Gary Payton, a defensively inept Jason Williams and 1 good kidney Alonzo Mourning.
SVG's like, alright, "Time to take care of business." Busts through the regular season without breaking a sweat, and gets all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, mind you, he's made an improvement on last year's team with a much better Wade and an overweight Diesel, that looks ready to tip over. They lose to the 'Stons, who go on to lose in 7 to the Spurs in the Finals. Wow, that sounds like some serious top talent that the Heat went up against.
Wrong, again. Pat's got something else to say.
The bastard just fires Van Gundy, coaches the team, and they win the luckiest title in the history of time, being like one of 3 teams to come back from an 0-2 deficit with a little help from Tim Donaghy.
So, did Pat Riley really do anything so surprising? The literal difference here is he won one more game than SVG, beating the 'Stons in 6. Shocker? Not really, Wade played out of his mind.
Now, SVG is out on the street, and the Magic are thinking about hiring Billy Donovan, but he chicken shits his pants and scrams, leaving the Magic to "settle" with SVG. What happens? Well, the team starts to improve, with the #1 pick in Dwight Howard, and they make it to the playoffs, only to get beat out by the 'Stons.
What does management do? Do they trade the entire team for Kobe Bryant? Nope, they decided to add a few key pieces with guys like Turkgolu and Pietrus, and do even better. Make it to the second round, only to lose the 'Stons again. Well, shit. SVG must blow, right? His team improves again, time to can the guy. Oh, wait, the Magic have some sense, make an absurd deal for the free agent, Rashard Lewis (which doesn't seem so nutty right now, does it?) and look what the team does. They get the 3 seed in the playoffs, and improve once again making it to the Eastern Conference Finals to meet up with the Cavs.
Here's where the story takes another turn, as Shaq (I'm fat and suck) O'Neal decides to call out SVG for crumbling into a pile during crunch time. Well, I saw SVG bitch slap the fuck out of the LeBrons, do the unthinkable and make the NBA Finals.
But still. It's not enough. Is SVG really the man for the job? Why do they shoot so many threes? Is Rashard Lewis' goatee real? Does SVG really have a 14 inch dong? It's gotten to the point where its borderline unreasonable to question the dude. Face the fact that Howard is nowhere near the superstar that Wade became (the year after SVG got canned) as a top 5 baller, and he's surrounded by 3-4 three point shooters at a time. That's how the team works. I know it's odd, and sounds like the plan for a Villanova like NCAA squad (who made the elite 8, which I was there to see. WITNESS), but shit, this isn't how things worked in Miami. Remember the Heat?The only guy who could shoot a consistent three ball on that team was James Posey.
You don't have to think that SVG is a great coach, but just look what he's done over his last 5 years of head coaching experience. Is that not EXACTLY what you want out of a new coach? He may get batty on the sideline, but this Magic team could easily be up 2-1 right now, and the series still has two straight games left. I know it's a long shot, and that there have only been two teams to win all three of those Finals home games in a row... Shit, who were they...???
Oh, that's right, the '04 'Stons and the '06 Heat.
Shit comes full circle like that, don't you love it?
"You're Fucking Out. I'm Fucking In."
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