Response to Marc Jackson's Firing & His Replacement
By Brian Posada
By now the NBA community has digested Marc Jackson was ousted as the Warriors head coach. The only questions remains -- who would be his replacement?
One intriguing name around the league, Steve Kerr, was rumored to be going to the Knicks given his relationship with Phil Jackson. The signing was all but inked.
That was until Warriors Owner, Joe Lacob, came out of no where to convince Kerr the Warriors were a better fit and organization.
Rather than rejoice, fans remain upset with the departure of Marc Jackson. Rightfully so, management let go of a young, passionate, and successful coach who led the Warriors to a .600 winning percentage the past two seasons and made consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Jackson also receives a lot of credit for his team over achieving playoff run in 2012-2013. Largely considered underdogs, the Warriors were one 3-pointer away from going up 3-1 against the mighty Spurs, if not for Ginobli's game saving OT shot which led to their victory. Rather, the Spurs tied the series up 2-2 and stooe game 5 in Oakland deflating the Warriors momentum and impressive run.
Perhaps Jackson's biggest accomplishment was the development of Steph Curry. Experts doubted Curry’s game and whether it would transfer to the NBA. Under Jackson’s tutelage the doubters have since turned into supporters and Curry is a legitimate top 5 NBA pointguard.
In light of Jackson’s accomplishments, it’s clear the Warriors ownership has changed the team's culture. The expectations are extremely high. Losing to the Clippers in the first round was a major dissapointment and sealed Jackson's fate as head coach.
The dissapointment began with the regular season. Despite winning 50+ games, the Warriors finished as the #6 seed and were only a half game away from finishing #7. Not to mention their superstars stayed healthy most of the year. The Warriors never had a shot of homecourt advantage and in a super competitive NBA Western Conference it is crucial. Losing must win games to the bottom dwellers like the Bobcats and Cavaliers is only where things started to go wrong for Jackson and the Warriors.
To those who say “Well, Marc Jackson can’t win the games for them”, it is a sound argument. However, what about controlling his own coaching assistants? It was leaked that two of his coaching staff had a physical altercation from tension mounting all season long. One was demoted for their conduct while the other was let go. There is no place for distractions like this heading into the postseason. And Coach Jackson does deserve blame for not running a tighter ship.
The final straw may have been Jackson’s poor coaching strateggy losing in the first round. There were a few games the Warriors could have beat the Clippers down the stretch. Jackson's late minute play calls primarily relied on Curry bringing the ball down passing off and trying to get it back to chuck up a sloppy 3-pointer for the win. This is not a sound strategy at the highest level of play, not when it was a winnable series had they gone with well executed plays.
In retrospect, Jackson was a great coach but I began to see why owernship didn't feel he was a championship caliber coach. So long as the Warriors continue with their improvement and winning ways, the franchise will suceeed. I look forward to what Steve Kerr can bring to the table. He inherited a highly talented young team, with an ownership willing to spend, so overall -- Warrior fans should trust in Lacob and look forward to next season.
