Ex-Coach Luke Walton Discussion

Yeah. I think you're not alone.

 

I was watching last night's game at the end thinking, this is what it looks like when you have a team with no go to option that will dependably get you a basket down the stretch of games.

That along with the propensity of youth letting teams get back into the game instead of stepping on throats.

I know it's tough watching, but this is just the process of growth IMO.

Either one of our guys will develop into that go too player, or we will acquire one through free agency, and our defense will improve as the years go by, through youth development and player acquisitions.

The potential is there. It will just take time.

 

Listening to Luke post game is so much better than the last 3 clowns we've had as coach. I'm actually getting a feeling and understating of why certain players are improving and progressing and why the team looks better because he's explaining it rather than spouting cliches.

 

Luke just gets it. Again, he is such a huge piece to our rebuild. He understands winning basketball as well as anyone on the planet and is skilled at teaching its principles. On top of it he seems like a very cool guy and easy for the young players to like. He's motivating and inspiring and he's no pushover. He won't let them slack. But he won't run them into the ground either. The FO got this one completely right and it's made me feel so much better about our direction. It was a smart and gutsy hire and I'm thrilled Luke was willing to make the jump to HC. And he's got a great staff around him, too.

 

Last night it was really interesting hearing that Russell just now started a routine both before, after practice, and during game days. Not complaining, but surprised he didn't start doing one sooner. Both Lou and Deng have had one for most of their careers.

Glad that Luke recommended Russell start one 4-5 games ago. Russ seems a lot more grounded and its one of the many reasons why he's playing so much better.

 

Luke also called some great timeouts last night. I liked seeing him upset at the guys in the 4th quarter when Magic got within 10 points after a quick 6-0 run.

He's got a perfect pulse of this team, its just a matter of our young guys figuring it out and executing.

 

I thought about this too a while back. I'm sure that Kobe did show them or talk to them about a lot of these things, but it just went unreported. With that said it's one thing to have someone else tell you about doing these things and another thing to watch someone like Kobe work the way he did when he was in his prime and even after his prime a little. But Kobe's last 2 years were all about recovery and making sure he got his body ready to try and play the next game. The preparation/scheming defenses, evaluating player tactics, etc. and all that other stuff was there but not to the level it once was, I'm sure.

 

Apparently it was Jesse, not Luke who thought it would be wise to get Russell into more of a routine for practices and gamedays that has obviously been working.

Not surprising, but interesting hearing Luke talk about the differences in how he gets after Julius and Russell if need be in order to motivate them.

 

I'm with him..... I did not expect to see us play the way we did in the 2nd half. I expected the game to be competitive all the way to the finish. Win or Lose that is what I expected.

 

Last night was very reminiscent of last year's squad where when things started to go bad, they pack it in. This season we were at least competing until the end and often made late game runs that would come up short. I honestly think this is partly due to Russell being the team's sort of defacto leader. His attitude can sometimes leave a lot to be desired.