| The Right Hire Brings Mo’ Expectations Authored by Brian Poliakoff - May 23, 2005 - 9:46 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Howard's Role In The Gold For the first time in eight years, there won't be any talk of failure, or the world catching up, only praises for the Olympic champions – that is unless your name is Dwight Howard.
Grading The Deal: Williams To Cleveland In Three-WayMo Williams just barely outperformed the first year of his new contract, but he gives Cleveland's offense a few more teeth.
 |
Is It Time To Worry?
Training camp is less than four weeks away, and the Pacers still haven't signed Danny Granger to an extension or gotten rid of Jamaal Tinsley.
|
 |
Auditing Miami's 2007-08 Season
The Heat came out of the season in an immediately better situation to compete, turning Shaq into Shawn Marion and a 15-67 record into Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers.
|
 |
The Lakers Need More Gas
Maybe it’s Pau’s blood. Whatever it is, something happens when he switches his NBA jersey for a national one. It somehow evokes an emotion and a confidence that an NBA paycheck doesn’t seem to be to able to ignite.
|
|
More from RealGM's Columnists
|
| |
After just one inconsistent season, King fired 76ers head coach and Philly native Jim O’Brien.
And as quick as the door hit O’Brien on the way out, King named his successor in former Sixers hero Maurice Cheeks.
King deserves praise for realizing he made an error in hiring O’Brien.
But more praise should be awarded to the Sixers principal owner, Ed Snyder. Snyder had to sign off on eating the remaining three years and about $12 million left on O’Brien’s contract. Snyder showed this passionate city he wants to win now – at any cost.
And since he got the OK from the higher-ups, King clearly made the right decision.
O’Brien was too stubborn. His defensive answers to legitimate questions angered Philly fans and the media.
And more importantly, O’Brien was not liked by his players, most notably newcomer Chris Webber and young players Willie Green and Sammy Dalembert.
O’Brien flat out refused to change his system for Webber, who lacked the speed to play the coach’s defensive system that required CWebb to run all over the perimeter on pick and rolls.
As for Green and Dalembert, they just didn’t know their roles. Green started and excelled when Iverson was injured. But the coach refused to pair him with AI, so Green rode the pine a majority of the season. Regarding Dalembert, O’Brien had a quick hook on the athletic center, never giving him the confidence on a nightly basis.
And as a team, the Sixers seemed to be unable to grasp the coach’s offense. O’Brien wanted the team to run and throw up three-point bombs at will. It’s a shame nobody told O’Brien that the team had no shooters besides Kyle Korver.
So the natural hire was Mo Cheeks.
King tried to hire Mo as Larry Brown’s replacement in 2002, but the Blazers refused to let him go.
But King finally got his man, after picking two ill-suited coaches in the mean time.
Cheeks starred at point guard for the Sixers for 11 seasons and most notably played on the last Philadelphia championship team in 1983. He also served as a Sixers assistant for seven seasons before compiling a respectable 162-139 record in a tough Portland situation.
Even better is the strong relationship Cheeks developed with the difficult Iverson. Iverson only has kind words for Mo, and Cheeks loves AI’s give-it-all approach.
Cheeks played the same way as AI and that’s why both are so beloved by the hard-nosed, blue collar Sixer fans.
But the pressure to win will be high.
Since the cancer (O’Brien) is out, Cheeks must guide this young team to a successful season next year. No longer can we blame the inconsistency due to the stubbornness of the head coach.
AI will have a hands-on tutor to progress as a point guard next year. That’s if Cheeks keeps him at the one. But if he does, who better to teach AI a team attitude than the Sixers all time leader in assists.
Heck, Mo even dished out an assist to that poor girl in Portland who forgot the words to the National Anthem by completing the song with her.
This hiring certainly says one thing for sure.
King wants to commit to his young talent, and that wasn’t going to happen with O’Brien in town. Mo will help AI progress more as a team player. And the growth of potential free agents Dalembert, Green, and Korver along with Andre Iguodala will not be stifled by Cheeks, who will put the best lineup out there no matter what his “system” calls for.
And the least likely of the restricted free agents to return was Green if O’Brien was still calling the shots. Now, King may have more incentive to keep Green, a restricted free agent, since his biggest skeptic is out of town. Cheeks may attempt to pair Green and AI in the starting backcourt.
So under Mo, the playing time for the youngsters will increase.
As will the expectations in town. |
