What has disappointed me is his stubbornness in how he's handle the rotations, gifting an Ariza and Anderson starting roles to start the season play a part in that. Neither earned starting jobs in preseason but I think you can make the case for Ariza at least, for the first 10 or so games also. How he came out talking in the preseason about Point Book being finished, essentially, and it was only something we'd see late in close games when it made sense but that hasn't been what's happened. He relied Canaan for far too long and wouldn't pull him when he was a clear detriment on the court. I think the only reason he was waived is so Igor couldn't use him anymore. The record isn't the issue, it's how he's handled himself also after some terrible losses. Nothing is worse than a coach blaming the team for a lack of effort game after game yet not making any changes to the rotation to try and spark something and also to punish the players that played with low effort.
He's done better lately and I'm glad because he's in a position where he can't be fired. As bad as he's been, firing him would be worse, so he's got this year to prove he deserves to stay for next year, basically, and he's finally started using the team like he wants to win and will put players in a position to succeed. I'm not sure what took him so long to get to that point but I'm glad we're seeing a lot more sense with our lineups and rotations. He's got a ways to go still because Ayton does need to be used better but I think he has a plan for that. I doubt his plan is what he said to the press about how we'll see Ayton at the 3pt line taking shots when he dunks 10 times a game because Igor hasn't had Ayton playing in a spot where he could get 10 dunks a game. He's had him camped out a little too far and it wasn't until the Minnesota game where Ayton seemed to naturally gravitate back towards the hoop on offense. Maybe that's Ayton, maybe it was by design, I think some of it was Ayton seeing how Towns being at the 3pt line hindered Minnesota some and realizing he was doing the same thing except for taking shots from 22 feet out. It's all a process and I hoped we would see a little bit more by now than we have but Booker being out has most likely played a role in all of that also.
I could go on and on but I really don't want to bash Igor. He's doing better and I'm glad. Hopefully he learns to ride the hot hand a little more, even if that hot hand is a rookie, because he's got a lot of rookies on this team. I don't know why he's made some of the choices he has but he's not making them right now and that's a good thing.
I think the difference between us (fans) and professionals is that they see a bigger picture. My guess is that good coaches know a lot more, are a lot less reactionary, and are far more methodical than we are. I think Igor is an old-school coach who likes veteran players. Igor's reputation is that he has very complex sets, especially on offense. We also know that Sarver wants to win. It stands to reason that he would make an attempt to rally his veterans (Ariza, Anderson, Chandler, Canaan) to understand and buy into what he is trying to do. He gave that a good try and it didn't work. To us, five or ten games are an eternity when our team is losing, but I suspect that to coaches, five or ten games is not really all that long. It seems reasonable to me to give the veterans some time and see how it goes.
He benched Anderson, Chandler and Canaan got cut, Ariza got traded. Bridges was inserted into the starting lineup pretty quickly, as did Warren. Point Book thing... well, he is right. Booker should not run the point. He is an incredible scorer, and he should focus on that. He was forced to run with point Booker because he didn't have many other options. I suspect that we will not see much point Booker for as long as Melton and Crawford (I hope Okobo as well) provide at least an adequate PG play. I suppose Rivers will get some PG time as well.
As for Ayton, the problem is that he doesn't fight for position in the low post. High-post pick and roll may be the only thing he knows how to do right now. I doubt that Igor and his staff are telling Ayton not to play in low post. I am guessing they want him to play in the low post, but he doesn't know how. This is not on Igor. It's not even on Ayton really- he is a youngster who is getting used to the NBA. When you are as tall as Ayton is, and when you are built like a damn statue, it's probably really easy to score in High School and even in College. NBA is different. We have repeatedly seen Ayton get completely freaked out by certain players when he goes up against them for the first time. This is normal. This is normal. He adjusts quite well. He is learning, but he is just a kid that has never gone up against players who were as big, as strong, as athletic as he is, if not bigger, stronger, and more athletic. All this is normal. It's not Igor's fault, and honestly, it's not Ayton's fault- he is playing as well as you can expect a 19 or a 20 year old seven-footer rookie to play.
I think it will take a year to get even a basic idea of what Igor can do. We know he is very smart. Is he stubborn or is he and methodical? That remains to be seen. For now, I am sticking with his reputation. I'll take the opinion of everyone in Europe, along with Gentry, Brown, Quinn, etc at face value until we see what the team looks like towards the end of the season. Suns roster was, and is, a mess. Greg Popovich couldn't turn that around in 30 games. Let's give the man a full year.
EDIT:
While I quoted your post, this is a general post, and it is not really intended to be a direct response to you only. I think the points you brought up are excellent points to discuss, and your criticism is based on legitimate questions, unlike the criticism of the chronic complainers on this board. It wasn't until I was done with my post that I noticed I started off by quoting you, and then ended up responding to the "general" criticism I've seen on this board. Please know I think your post and questions/ concerns were excellent, specific, and well thought-out. My mind just drifted into a different direction and I ended up responding to the usual "Igor sucks, first time head coach, just fire him" stuff we see on the board. My apologies if my post came across as critical of you and your post.
