New School Head coaches are Welcome

There as been a spate of head coaches named in the past week. Makes sense ... the NBA draft is bearing down on us and the last thing a GM wants to do is hamstring their new head coach with draft picks they had no input into. I welcome the number of first time head coaches gettin' the nod. The last thing the NBA needs is another retread head coach (Mike Fratello, comes to mind) doing the same things 'cause they have always done it that way ... and gettin' the same result ... mediocrity. You can't fire all the players. Maybe the new school coaches can shake things up.

Iavaroni Rhymes with D'Antoni new Grizz head coach
Mark Iavaroni is the answer. The jeopardy question is "Who was the last guy listed in the starting 5 of the last team to win a major championship in Philly".

• Big Mo
• Lil' Mo
• The Doctor
• Andrew Toney &
• Iavaroni
  

Mark has paid his dues (boy what a cliché) and has been on the shortlist for several openings the past few years. The continued success of the Suns' up tempo style of play has got a lot of teams looking to imitate it. The Grizlles actually started the transition to the run and gun game this year. They where among the lead leaders in scoring. But did not have the horses to pull it off. Their defense was lousy. They couldn't stop anyone in the 4th period because the players where so winded by the end of the game. Iavaroni will continue the experiment. That's good for the NBA.

Billy Donavan cashes in ticket for the big show
The basketball gods have not been kind to college coaches jumping the broom to the NBA in recent memory. But with back to back championships on his resume, there will never be a better time for Billy Donovon to make the leap. Orlando is a 5 hour drive from Gainesville but at least he's in the same state. And he's gotta love the talent he has to work with. I have commented before that Brian Hill was not the right coach for the Magic. They made the playoffs on talent alone and got summarily spanked. The Magic could shake up the eastern conference next year. That's good for the NBA

Bobcats will continue to answer the question 'Sam Vincent who?'
So Charlotte's really is gonna shake up the franchise this time. There will be no Larry Brown homecoming. Since their inception the Bobcats have been coasting on the regions hunger for a NBA team. Bernie Bickerstaff has been just puttin' a new coat of lipstick on this pig year after year. First a new GM and now a new head coach nobody has every heard of. But he's paid his dues (there's that cliché again) according to Micheal Jordon. He wants to prove he's smarter than everyone else. I think we're looking at Micheal's stint with the Washington Wizards all over again. Not the best thing for the NBA, but how could you do worse than the job Bernie was doing.

Jim O'Brien rises from the Dead
Okay, so it was not all new blood this week. But this is good news (depending on your perspective). The Pacer will be stagnant again next year. After turning over most of the players this year they fire head coach Rick Carlisle. Known for his gruff personality and inability to relate to players (that's why Detroit gave 'em the boot after winning 50 games). So what does the Pacers brain trust do ... Let's hire Jim O'Brien ... a head coach with an even greater rep for his inability to relate to players. Heck nobody on the staff even liked O'Brien during his short tenure with the Sixers. Hey Larry Bird ... where can we get some of what you're smokin'?

Again, this move may not be the best for the NBA, but it's great theater.