In many half court sets, Edey’s short comings feel like a lack of basic coaching because there was little improvement over 70 games. Is he still supposed to be this raw? Losing the ball frequently near the basket is not about pace. Great article, so thanks
I'll just say can play various lineups & go 11-12 players deep, &, still stick rigidly to substitution patterns for star players. And, Desmond Bane is an example often cited of moving away from strengths. He is taking fewer 3s this season than in each of his previous 3 seasons, and this is his greatest strength. One could argue this is an adjustment to have him more on ball, especially because Ja, the superstar PG & playmaker, is often not available. But, on a team that has historically struggled to shoot the 3P in a 3P-dominated NBA, many have wanted Bane to get back to being the 3P GUY he was coming into the NBA. Also, Zach Edey shooting 3s and not being prioritized for scoring near the basket as much as he should has also been an issue.
You make good points about wins mattering. At the end of the day, both Kleiman & Jenkins are responsible. And, one of the big things I think came up is that Kleiman seems really high on Edey, & he envisioned him playing more of a role than Jenkins was allowing him. And, while Tuomas Iisalo is a PNR savant, Jenkins was moving away from PNR (although in the last weeks there were indications he was moving back towards it), & Jenkins was moving towards more of the space & isolation scoring focus of Noah LaRoche where Iisalo's PNR focus would have played to the strengths of both Edey & Ja. And, reports indicate the Grizzlies bought Iisalo out of his Paris Basketball so they probably wanted to give him some run as a head coach, especially when recent reports suggest other teams are brainstorming him to be their head coach. Of course, it would have been nice to give Iisalo more time & not have to take over in such a high pressure/stakes situation. But, hey, we don't make these decisions so we can only form opinions based on what we hear/read which, in my case, come from journalists dedicated to covering the Grizzlies & longtime Grizzlies fans. And, they can articulate some of these things, I'm sure, far better than I.
Many small things, when taken together, are why Jenkins was let go. This was no surprise to Grizzlies fans who have watched the same issues unfold season after season: (1) always playing chemist & being in experimentation mode with lineups; (3) sticking too rigidly to substitution patterns & not going with the hot hand; (4) coaching based on what he wanted to happen or expected to see and not what actually was going on; (5) moving away from players strengths & often asking them to operate in roles/skills outside what got them into the NBA (growth is one thing, but abandoning strengths is another); (6) running a defense (or, allowing an offensive coordinator/coach to run a defense) that really only concentrates/overhelps on the paint/2FG & leaving the 3 wide open; (7) not helping the team develop a true team identity; (8) trying to play the nice guy/be a people pleaser & not disciplining guys or holding them accountable when necessary (although I think that improved a bit this season esp earlier this season re Ja Morant & Desmond Bane prioritizing defense); (9) not being able to implement coaching strategies that win games, etc. All these things are what caused him to be let go. Of course, Zach Kleiman is also responsible for poor drafting & allowing/putting too many cooks in the coaching kitchen in an effort to address the Grizzlies historically poor half court offense. This likely created confusion & a situation where a people pleasing type personality was trying to make everyone happy. And, of course, human ego played a role. Kleiman may have wanted one thing, while Jenkins may have wanted another. At some point, they stopped seeing eye to eye on things. The end result was Jenkins & 2 other coaches leaving.
1. he played too many lineups AND 3. he was too rigid with his lineups? Do you not recognize how that is paroxical?
4. You coach to instill a base pattern and try and improve. If you're constantly trying to adapt to what is "actually going on" you're never going to get through an NBA season. That's just not how the NBA season works.
5. What strengths did he ask them to abandon?
6. They were literally an elite defense up until about mid-January and had a bad two months. that's it.
7. What identity should he have developed? Most GMs will tell you identity comes down to the best player.
In many half court sets, Edey’s short comings feel like a lack of basic coaching because there was little improvement over 70 games. Is he still supposed to be this raw? Losing the ball frequently near the basket is not about pace. Great article, so thanks
Great article.
I'll just say can play various lineups & go 11-12 players deep, &, still stick rigidly to substitution patterns for star players. And, Desmond Bane is an example often cited of moving away from strengths. He is taking fewer 3s this season than in each of his previous 3 seasons, and this is his greatest strength. One could argue this is an adjustment to have him more on ball, especially because Ja, the superstar PG & playmaker, is often not available. But, on a team that has historically struggled to shoot the 3P in a 3P-dominated NBA, many have wanted Bane to get back to being the 3P GUY he was coming into the NBA. Also, Zach Edey shooting 3s and not being prioritized for scoring near the basket as much as he should has also been an issue.
You make good points about wins mattering. At the end of the day, both Kleiman & Jenkins are responsible. And, one of the big things I think came up is that Kleiman seems really high on Edey, & he envisioned him playing more of a role than Jenkins was allowing him. And, while Tuomas Iisalo is a PNR savant, Jenkins was moving away from PNR (although in the last weeks there were indications he was moving back towards it), & Jenkins was moving towards more of the space & isolation scoring focus of Noah LaRoche where Iisalo's PNR focus would have played to the strengths of both Edey & Ja. And, reports indicate the Grizzlies bought Iisalo out of his Paris Basketball so they probably wanted to give him some run as a head coach, especially when recent reports suggest other teams are brainstorming him to be their head coach. Of course, it would have been nice to give Iisalo more time & not have to take over in such a high pressure/stakes situation. But, hey, we don't make these decisions so we can only form opinions based on what we hear/read which, in my case, come from journalists dedicated to covering the Grizzlies & longtime Grizzlies fans. And, they can articulate some of these things, I'm sure, far better than I.
Many small things, when taken together, are why Jenkins was let go. This was no surprise to Grizzlies fans who have watched the same issues unfold season after season: (1) always playing chemist & being in experimentation mode with lineups; (3) sticking too rigidly to substitution patterns & not going with the hot hand; (4) coaching based on what he wanted to happen or expected to see and not what actually was going on; (5) moving away from players strengths & often asking them to operate in roles/skills outside what got them into the NBA (growth is one thing, but abandoning strengths is another); (6) running a defense (or, allowing an offensive coordinator/coach to run a defense) that really only concentrates/overhelps on the paint/2FG & leaving the 3 wide open; (7) not helping the team develop a true team identity; (8) trying to play the nice guy/be a people pleaser & not disciplining guys or holding them accountable when necessary (although I think that improved a bit this season esp earlier this season re Ja Morant & Desmond Bane prioritizing defense); (9) not being able to implement coaching strategies that win games, etc. All these things are what caused him to be let go. Of course, Zach Kleiman is also responsible for poor drafting & allowing/putting too many cooks in the coaching kitchen in an effort to address the Grizzlies historically poor half court offense. This likely created confusion & a situation where a people pleasing type personality was trying to make everyone happy. And, of course, human ego played a role. Kleiman may have wanted one thing, while Jenkins may have wanted another. At some point, they stopped seeing eye to eye on things. The end result was Jenkins & 2 other coaches leaving.
OK so wait,
1. he played too many lineups AND 3. he was too rigid with his lineups? Do you not recognize how that is paroxical?
4. You coach to instill a base pattern and try and improve. If you're constantly trying to adapt to what is "actually going on" you're never going to get through an NBA season. That's just not how the NBA season works.
5. What strengths did he ask them to abandon?
6. They were literally an elite defense up until about mid-January and had a bad two months. that's it.
7. What identity should he have developed? Most GMs will tell you identity comes down to the best player.