Before I start, I want to make clear that I want to give Igor ample time to prove himself. I don't expect too much from this extremely young team. However, here are some major issues that I would love to see him address.
1. The use of Ayton in the high post. I get that Ayton has a good outside shot but seriously, this is ridiculous. First of all, his first few shot attempts are coming from mid range. Why not give him some low post possessions to build confidence and gradually work outside? Second, touches in the post will provide two things: 1) increased comfort and understanding of defensive adjustments and 2) easy offense (boggles my mind that we don't take advantage of his advanced low post skills). Get the guy in the post and feed him.
2. Our overall defensive IQ. It's dreadful. Worse than last year. How could we add two good defenders in Ariza and Bridges and actually look worse? The team is lost on just about every level. They have absolutely NO IDEA how to rebound. They show very little pride and hunger to shut teams down. I don't see the communication on switches. They are susceptible to back door passes. I'm not kidding when I say this, I've seen high school teams with better defensive IQ than this team. Yes, the team is young, but c'mon. These errors would get a high school kid benched let alone an NBA player. This rests firmly on Igor's shoulders. This just looks like a poorly coached team on D with very little accountability.
3. This one goes along with #1, Igor needs to adjust the overall game plan around the talent he has. Ayton living in the high post? JJ at the 2? Anderson getting minutes he clearly doesn't deserve...? I just don't understand the goal here. I would think you would put your best 5 players on the court and tailor a game plan around their skill sets. I don't see anything remotely close to that. As someone posted before, this reeks of trying to fit players to a system. That's bad coaching no matter the sport.
4. Accountability. At the beginning of the season I was adamant that Anderson was a waste of space. But I'm actually happier with his effort than Ariza's (and I think Anderson has been about what I expected; a waste). At least Anderson is playing smart(er) and trying. Ariza has been an utter joke. He's making errors that you would normally see from rookies not vets. And most of his mistakes have been on D, and that's supposed to be his staple. He looks like a dude who's doesn't give a rip. If I'm Igor, I'm in that dudes grill non stop. I'd trade that guy ASAP and send Anderson with him. They are offering about as much as Tyson was: minimal veteran leadership while soaking up minutes someone else can use. Which leads me too...
5. Can someone please HATE losing. Someone, please. Where's the passion? Where's the disdain? Where's the push to get better? Sorry, guys, I don't see it. Actually, that's not true. Canaan has showed it. But what does that say when our rental PG shows more passion than our potential stars? I HATE losing, but losing wouldn't suck as much if my team cared MORE than I did.
Igor, I'll give you a fair chance to prove Pop right about you. But dang bro, this is an uninspiring start to the season.