[外電] Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey prefers to toil out of th

看板Timberwolves (明尼蘇達灰狼)作者jerod (KG4MVP)時間19年前 (2007/01/19 14:32)推噓0(0推 0噓 0→)

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http://www.startribune.com/511/story/945575-p2.html A: "Well, one is New Orleans [on Nov. 18]. When [Peja] Stojakovic hit that last shot, I felt like I should have done a better job of communicating to Kevin [Garnett] and Marko [Jaric] to switch. That one play, I take that. We said we were going to switch everything, but there's double-checking, triple-checking. I wish I could have that one back. We would have ended up with Kevin on him, which you don't mind having Marko boxing out [Tyson] Chandler going for the boards." Q: Any others? A: "Let's see ... the Portland game at Portland. I went into a zone, and I wish we would have stayed man-to-man. It opened up the shot for the kid from Maryland, Juan Dixon, in the corner. But they were hurting us so much on the pick-and-rolls with [Brandon] Roy that we felt we had to do something to slow him down. You always are going to have situations like that, where you wish you could have done a better job." Q: So play along with me here and tell me a game where the coaching staff nailed it. A: "Whoa. Um . . . I'm going to say this: Our coaching staff is as prepared as any group I've been around. They divide up the [scouting of] games, they know the calls. Not to take away anything from last year's coaches, but Randy [Wittman], Bob [Ociepka] and Rex [Kalamian] do a great job of having us prepared. And knowing what we're going to present to the team. Most of the games we've won, I can't think of where we 'nailed it' 10 times more than any other one. Every game we've been in, we've worked hard to have 'em win. You can be prepared, but again, it's a players' league. First they have to accept what you're giving 'em. Then go out and execute. If guys think, 'Well, should I rotate?' -- if they haven't bought in -- then you're already behind the 8-ball." Q: How much of your job, then, is selling them on things? A: "A lot of it. We've sold them on, 'This is the way we want to play. A flow game, pushing it up the floor. And defense is very important.' They've bought into that. But it's a matter of being consistent." Q: Right, what's with the inconsistency this season? A: "That's also an age-old coaching question: We did it last night, tonight we act like we've never seen it before. A coach has to take responsibility for that. Some guys get into a rhythm and have it clicking, but they don't have it the next night. As a coach, you have to make changes to compensate for that." Q: How are you different in this job from a year ago? A: "More confident in what we do. More comfortable. Our core guys, the more time we spend together, the better. Same with our coaching staff. We're coming up on a year [since the Wolves-Boston trade]. And now you add three more guys to the rotation -- Mike [James], Craig [Smith] and Randy [Foye] -- it's an ongoing process. We're no finished product. By getting this time together, coming up on a year, we're gelling. You can just see the togetherness coming, the trust, as the season goes on." Q: You're more secure in your rotation, which means sitting some guys for days on end. A: "Last year, more than anything else, I was searching to see what guys could do. I didn't know if A.C. [Anthony Carter] could be that point guard. Or Troy [Hudson] or Marko. That was me searching. Now I'm more defined. It's more set. Not saying those guys are not valuable -- I tell them all the time, 'You're a hangnail away from being in the thick of things' -- and I think Troy, Justin [Reed], Eddie [Griffin], Mark Madsen, those guys have done a good job." Q: So you like all the things that go into being a head coach, rather than an assistant? A: "I don't enjoy being in the spotlight. If I could just be in the gym, in the locker room and the office and out there for games, I'd love it. No disrespect to [the media], but I love the basketball duties of coaching. I could sit in the gym and talk Xs and Os all day. I do miss the closeness that you get with the players as an assistant coach. The one-on-one work, spending time with the players in the summer." Q: How about the preparation and teaching of coaching vs. working the games and reacting on the fly? A: "Last year, I enjoyed the games but I didn't have the confidence that I do now. Now I enjoy the strategy of the game, the chess match, the last few minutes even more. I know what certain guys can do in certain situations, so I'm ready more to put players in the right situations." Q: Do you think people in this market know you? Do they know how a "Dwane Casey team" is going to play? A: "I don't think so. And to be honest, I would rather it be a 'Trenton Hassell team' or a 'Kevin Garnett team.' What do they want to stand for? I know I want to stand for defense, hard work, togetherness, organization, execution on the offensive end. But I would much rather give those guys ownership. I don't care who you are, a coach can only put guys in the right spots and have an idea of what he wants to do." Q: There are a lot of marquee coaches in the NBA, some who get their through titles and victories but others through sheer force of personality. Scott Skiles is "a bulldog." George Karl never won an NBA championship but people seem to know what a "George Karl team" means. A: "But at the end of the day, George lets his players play. It's not like he's throwing a lot of Xs and Os on guys. If you look at his teams over the years, they've done it with defense and, on the offensive end, he'll say, 'Figure it out.' We get all caught up in coaching but this is a players' league. Our livelihood depends on those guys going out and making plays." Q: Yet you guys tote around the W-L records. A: "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm as egoless as can be. I have total confidence in what we're doing as a staff, but I don't think it's about me or the coaches. This league is about players." Q: Granted, an NBA coach who puts himself front and center can have problems. Then again, players need to know who the boss is. How do you balance that? A: "All I can control is playing time. If a guy's not doing what he's supposed to do, then he won't play. I don't think this is a sledgehammer league. I don't think you can just browbeat guys -- there are way too many games. You have to have a system in place, the way you want to play, and you work on it. But to do it with whip and chain doesn't work." Q: The Twin Cities seems to be a market that loves local connections. Yet you have none. Would you be more embraced if you had a Minnesota background? A: "I haven't thought about that. I know Minnesotans love Minnesota players and ex-players, which they should. That's a great thing. But Timberwolves fans want to win. Which I do. Time and winning buys you that time to be embraced. And I think Minnesotans appreciate hard work." Q: Any racial moments since you took the job here? A: "None at all. It's winning. Whatever team it is, it's a bottom-line business. But I know that. I cut my teeth at one of the highest profile programs [Kentucky] in the world, where if you don't win the championship, you're mud. So I know what's expected, I know what my responsibilities are." Q: How dicey did it get for you in December? There was one rumor circulating that you were within 48 hours of getting fired. A: "That's the process of coaching. You know going in, you don't have a lot of time. You want it done yesterday. Every coach in this league knows the position we're in. There's no running from it. Forty-eight hours, huh? You just want to make sure you can get it done in the amount of time you're given." Q: As much as defense means to you, if you have a player who doesn't focus defensively, will you defend your philosophy by curtailing his minutes? A: "Yes. If it's a focus issue, that's the only way you have. If it's physical limitations, where a guy just can't do certain things on the floor, you have to compensate for that." Q: How confrontational are you willing to be? A: "I'm not the kind of coach who's going to go out and embarrass a player. If you can't do it in practice, at halftime or before a game, talking and trying to teach, what are you going to do in the heat of battle? I think you lose the war if you embarrass a player during a game." Q: People wondered how you would work with Randy Wittman, whom many saw as your possible replacement. How has it gone? A: "Randy has been great. He knows the game, he knows the program here, he's been around the league. Same with Bob Ociepka. Win, lose or draw, our staff has been terrific. With Randy, not for one second have I felt that [he was waiting for the head coaching job]. He's done a great job of stepping in and having an opinion -- he's strong in his opinion, but that doesn't bother me at all. It still has to be my decision." Q: Some coaches, as a way of surviving, cater to their best players. Since Kevin Garnett is the key guy here, how do you relate to him? A: "Kevin Garnett stands for winning. He wants to be coached, he wants the right information. If he makes a mistake, he knows it before you tell him. Let's put it this way: I don't know a head coach in this league who doesn't have an open line of communication with his star player. Coaching Kevin, will we have disagreements? Yes. But both of you are about the same thing and that's winning. I don't have an ego as far as taking the credit. If Kevin sees something out there that works, let's look at it. You've got to have a give-and-take." Q: How do you let off steam? A: "I love working out. Going to movies. I think coaches need to make sure they stay physically fit: Work out. Eat right. Get their rest. I try at least to work out." Q: Was the clamor over a possible Allen Iverson trade a distraction? A: "Actually, we had a stretch of games there where we played well. If it affects your team, yes, you're rather not go through it. But speculation is part of the business. Fans are going to say what they say. You guys have a job to do to report things." Q: Last question: Were there any days this season when you were reluctant to buy green bananas? A: "No, no. I don't think in those terms. I just think, what can I do today to turn it around? If today's work or tonight's game doesn't get it done, they can walk in tomorrow and say, 'Hey, time's up.' If you worry about what tomorrow is going to bring, you're not taking care of business today. I'll always be a coach. Somewhere, whether it's college, high school, overseas or somewhere. But I promise you I do not sit around and worry about the guillotine. That's when you die a slow death." -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 218.170.222.251