Sports Commentary
One often-used phrase during the NBA playoffs is "Win or Go Home." While the phrase is used in reference to the playoffs, the same could be said for NBA coaches right now.
Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers smiles during practice in El Segundo, Calif., Saturday, June 14, 2008. The Celtics face the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday in Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals. (AP Photo/Mark Avery)
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Boston Celtics Paul Pierce talks to the media before practice for the NBA Finals basketball championship in El Segundo, California June 14, 2008. The Boston Celtics lead the best-of-seven game series against the Los Angeles Lakers 3-1. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes (UNITED STATES)
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Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, left, works with Pau Gasol, of Spain, during practice in El Segundo, Calif., Saturday, June 14, 2008. The Lakers and the Boston Celtics meet in Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals Sunday. (AP Photo/Mark Avery)
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Los Angeles Lakers', from left, Kobe Bryant, Vladimir Radmanovic, and head coach Phil Jackson, look on during basketball practice in El Segundo, Calif., Saturday, June 14, 2008. The Lakers face the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA Finals Sunday.(AP Photo/Mark Avery)
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Los Angeles Lakers' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, left, works with Pau Gasol, right, of Spain, and Andrew Bynum, during practice in El Segundo, Calif., Saturday, June 14, 2008. The Lakers play the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals Sunday. (AP Photo/Mark Avery)
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Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson talks to the media after practice for the NBA Finals basketball championship in El Segundo, California, June 14, 2008. The Boston Celtics lead the best-of-seven game series against the Los Angeles Lakers 3-1. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes (UNITED STATES)
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Boston Celtics Paul Pierce talks to the media before practice for the NBA Finals basketball championship in El Segundo, California, June 14, 2008. The Boston Celtics lead the best-of-seven game series against the Los Angeles Lakers 3-1. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes (UNITED STATES)
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Boston Celtics Kevin Garnett talks to the media before practice for the NBA Finals basketball championship in El Segundo, California June 14, 2008. The Boston Celtics lead the best-of-seven game series against the Los Angeles Lakers 3-1. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes (UNITED STATES)
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Boston Celtics Kevin Garnett talks to the media before practice for the NBA Finals basketball championship in El Segundo, California June 14, 2008. The Boston Celtics lead the best-of-seven game series against the Los Angeles Lakers 3-1. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes (UNITED STATES)
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Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers talks to the media before practice for the NBA Finals basketball championship in El Segundo, California June 14, 2008. The Boston Celtics lead the best-of-seven game series against the Los Angeles Lakers 3-1. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes (UNITED STATES)
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Four NBA coaches have been fired since season's end, including the 2006 NBA Coach of the Year, former Mavs coach Avery Johnson. There is strong speculation that Phoenix Suns coach Mike D'Antoni is next, Toronto coach Sam Mitchell appears to be safe and there might also be some more surprises coming. In the "What have you done for me lately?" NBA, if you don't make a championship run or make an immediate impact with a young team, your time as coach is very limited.
"Every time a playoff series is lost it's easy to figure out who everyone decides to blame, and that is the coach. Fair or unfair, that's just how it is," said former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy, now a color analyst for ESPN.
Isiah Thomas being relieved of his coaching duties with the New York Knicks wasn't a surprise. He couldn't get his team back to the playoffs, was criticized for trades in his president role, and had some off-the-court problems. Chicago interim coach Jim Boylan being fired wasn't a surprise either.
But what was a surprise is the firing of two coaches who barely got a chance to get used to their clipboards and whistles: Charlotte coach Sam Vincent and Milwaukee coach Larry Krystkowiak. Both were fired after just one season, and if Vincent and Krystkowiak were only given one season to prove themselves, the question I have for the Bobcats and Bucks is this: What was the point of even hiring them in the first place if they had such a short leash? There have been rumors that Memphis coach Mark Iavaroni and Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo could lose their jobs, too, after just one season, but they appear to be safe.
"It's just the dynamics of this league," said Detroit coach Flip Saunders to reporters before Game 6 on Thursday. "Every team has expectations and, right, wrong or indifferent, if those expectations aren't accomplished, then these things (coaches getting fired) happen."
The most stunning coaching change is the firing of Johnson.
Johnson earned a 194-70 record during his tenure with Dallas, was the 2006 NBA Coach of the Year, and advanced to the NBA Finals in 2006. Such statistics surely make one raise an eyebrow as to how such a coach can become a casualty. The former NBA player, however, also had a postseason record of 23-24, and his Mavericks lost in the first round two years in a row.
"Obviously, I'm not happy," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who is close friends with Johnson. "It's our league. It's what we do ... (Johnson is) disappointed. I'm not going to say much more. He's disappointed. He's very disappointed. He's a very good friend, maybe my best friend right there."
Johnson's biggest problem, however, was he didn't see eye to eye with outspoken Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. One source close to the situation said it was good for both sides to move on. The Mavericks also made a midseason trade to get future Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd, and the team never completely adjusted to making such a major move. So instead of giving Johnson a training camp to make things work with Kidd, he got the boot instead.
"It is never easy to relieve a coach of his duties, especially one of Avery's caliber," Cuban said. "He is a talented coach and I want to thank him for his efforts over the last four years and what he has done for this franchise. We wish him well in the future."
D'Antoni has a 267- 172 record in five seasons with the Suns. But if D'Antoni is fired, he will be the scapegoat of a new general manager (Steve Kerr) trying to make his mark on the team.
There were rumors that Kerr and the 2005 NBA Coach of the Year haven't seen eye to eye and that Kerr wants his coach to be more defensive-minded. The Suns seemed to have a shot at the Western Conference's top seed before acquiring center Shaquille O'Neal from Miami, but they wound up falling to the reigning NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in the first round. Like Johnson with Kidd, making a deal to add a star player who changes your playing style dramatically - as is the case with O'Neal - requires at least one training camp to get the best out of the move.
The grass always seems greener on the other side. But if Johnson and D'Antoni are so bad, why are they suddenly a candidate for every NBA opening? Well, it's because they're both great coaches. Sure, they are not perfect, and sure there are some changes that could be made in their coaching styles and approaches with their players. But it would have been much easier to make those changes than to find better coaches to replace them now. If the Suns are smart, they will keep D'Antoni and make the needed changes.
It's now "Win or Go Home" for NBA coaches and even if you win you might still be asked to go home. But even with the tough coaching conditions, out-of-work coaches will be begging for a chance to be the one in the line of fire.
"That means we got to win," Rivers said. "But that's our profession. I understand that, always have and always will. This is a tough profession and it's getting tougher. But I still love it and Avery still loves it, and whoever else has been fired, I guarantee, will sign on again.
"That's what we do and that's the tough part of it and it's always going to be that way and it's never going to change."
Marc J. Spears writes a weekly NBA column for AOL Sports and is the NBA writer for the Boston Globe.
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