- 2 days ago
ITL debates whether Udoka possesses a quality shared by championship-caliber coaches.
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00:00You know what also doesn't happen?
00:01The gosh darn Knicks in the NBA Finals and looking like they're going to get it done for the first
00:05time in 53 bleeping years.
00:07This is kind of anomalous in some ways.
00:11But to that end, a lot of credit is obviously due to Jalen Brunson and the way that he's played.
00:17A lot more credit is due to the coach of the New York Knicks that has not gotten a lot
00:21of credit, I don't think, in Mike Brown.
00:24And he was taught a game after that win, after which, mind you, Carl Anthony Towns also deserves a lot
00:30of credit.
00:30A dude who has been given a lot of flack over his career, whether it was for not being as
00:35physical and imposing as he should be being seven feet tall,
00:38whether it's the people that were like doing the weird thing, like calling him zesty and stuff, all that stuff,
00:43right?
00:44All of those things.
00:44I don't think people have readily acknowledged just how good he's been.
00:49Well, that came together.
00:50Both of those things came together in the postgame press conference after game two.
00:54When head coach Mike Brown was asked about, you know, how well Cat has played, especially when you consider his
01:02longer trajectory of being a star player.
01:04It's supposed to be like it is, you know, excuse me, like it was.
01:09He's a great player.
01:10I come in with a plan.
01:12Maybe the plan doesn't work.
01:14Who adjusts, him or me?
01:16Me.
01:17I adjust.
01:19The adjustment's not enough.
01:21You know, every once in a while, we're not on the same page.
01:25We talk about it.
01:26We talk about it.
01:28I adjust again.
01:29A little bit better.
01:30He's feeling good.
01:31We talk about it.
01:32We talk.
01:33You know, maybe we take a couple steps backwards because what I did, he doesn't like, which is fine.
01:39It's my job as a coach to fit whatever scheme work we have on both sides of the floor to
01:45all of our players.
01:47And if you're a great player, I got to make a little bit more adjustments or I got to give
01:52a little bit more than you do.
01:53And we finally got to a point where he was comfortable, I was comfortable, Jalen was comfortable, OG was comfortable,
02:02Mikael was comfortable.
02:04And to me, that's what the regular season's about.
02:07The regular season is about finding your way so you can get prepared for this time of the year.
02:12And there's going to be a lot of ups and downs.
02:15And I hope there's adversity.
02:18I hope like hell there's adversity because we have to see if we're strong enough when it comes to being
02:25connected to see if we can get through it during the regular season.
02:29So when we get here, anything we run into, we've already conquered during the regular season.
02:35We'll know how to handle it.
02:37Well, we've seen that, you know, in these two games.
02:40And, you know, obviously game two was maybe a little bit more up in the air, but game one was
02:44certainly, you know, winnable by both teams.
02:47And it's that adversity, it's the adversity, it's the ability.
02:51Like Cat right now, I mean, as much as Jalen Brunson has been clutch, if you're just looking at like
02:56overall start to finish MVP,
02:59not to give these awards just yet, but I mean, it seems like what he's doing on both ends of
03:03the floor is really the biggest difference maker,
03:07you know, for those times when Brunson is not playing well.
03:10It's still Cat.
03:11Yeah.
03:11And so how does that happen given where he was to now?
03:15I mean, he put that just perfectly.
03:18It is on the coach to find that way to make it work.
03:21And Mike Brown's been a really good coach, right?
03:22He's had a number of difficult jobs, coaching LeBron, coaching Kobe Bryant, and he's been fired in various different instances.
03:29But going back to that statement, I thought it was poetic almost.
03:33Yeah, he put that perfectly.
03:34Hey, man, it's my job.
03:36And he detailed really well the give and take of we work on it, we try it out, we work
03:42on it some more,
03:42and we find that level and it's ability to his players, particularly the great ones in positions to succeed.
03:49And I'm sorry, my mind immediately went to asking the question, does Emi Odoko have that?
03:55Right?
03:55Like, obviously, this is the place that the Houston Rockets want to be sooner rather than later, right?
04:00They would like to be the New York Knicks of 2027, right?
04:05Or the 26-27 season, right?
04:07They would like to be the New York Knicks that soon, right?
04:09If we can start getting Amin Thompson in a place where you're seeing him flourish as an all-NBA player,
04:15if you're seeing Jabari Smith Jr. be a guy that people are constantly looking at, like,
04:19oh, man, that could be six-man-of-the-year type, Reed Shepard, right?
04:22Like, all these guys, obviously, I forgot, Alper and Shane Goon, right?
04:25All these guys flourishing on that level.
04:27And the question I ask myself is, does Emi Odoko have that type of development track
04:34or development mindset when it comes to the Houston Rockets?
04:37To me, it's not even really about development.
04:39Ultimately, it'll get there.
04:40However, and, I mean, just being honest here, Mike Brown has shown just how flexible he can be.
04:49How often have you seen Emi Odoko flexible?
04:52It doesn't feel like it happens enough.
04:54Right?
04:55And if it does happen, it feels like even the flexibility, you lose the benefit of giving him that credit
05:01because it happens after almost being forced into it, it seems like.
05:04It absolutely does, yeah, whether it's by performance or other powers.
05:11And, look, we've bashed on Emi Odoko enough, you know, when they get their early exit from the postseason.
05:17But if you're asking the question, do I think he has that in him?
05:21I think the answer is no, and I think that's something that the Rockets themselves are asking.
05:26Like, can he get there from here?
05:28Now, they know more than we do about everything that he does and how he adjusts.
05:32But from the outside looking in, I can't see him being like, okay, you know, the back and forth.
05:37Yes, there's conversations.
05:39Yes, he's a good coach.
05:39And nobody's saying anything otherwise.
05:41What I'm talking about, to that degree, to get here, to get here and be able to, you know,
05:48adjust the way he is, to listen and understand and change and be flexible,
05:53all Emi Odoko has shown us thus far is that he's inflexible.
05:57Right.
05:58And I'm glad you mentioned because I was going to do the same thing.
06:01We cannot neglect that Emi Odoko has done good things.
06:04He's even done things in the way of development.
06:06Remember that this was a team that was on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs, right?
06:11Play-in even.
06:12They were 11th, right, a couple seasons ago.
06:15And then they, you know, under his tutelage, they make the jump.
06:18They're the second team in the West, even this past year.
06:21They're top six in the West.
06:23Like, that is not insignificant a change, right?
06:26You've seen, even with some of the hardest, some of the most difficult challenges, right?
06:31Let's say Reed Shepard.
06:33Reed Shepard is not inherently a good defensive player.
06:36You've seen the growth and development that happens within him.
06:39He's not a great defensive player now, but you can see the changes that have happened.
06:42And I think you can give, as much credit as you give to Reed himself,
06:47you can give Emi Odoko credit for helping facilitate that.
06:50And the question isn't just, like, is there development, but is it collaborative?
06:54Is it flexible enough to be able to navigate?
06:57Or is it too rigid to the point where at the highest levels when you need that margin,
07:03that little margin of, hey, I'm going to lean in a little bit, make sure we get there.
07:07Is that there?
07:07And the question that also pairs with that, because I think the answer is probably no there.
07:11I think we feel comfortable.
07:12And the text line is up and down.
07:13Yeah, that don't sound like Emi Odoko.
07:15Is that absolutely necessary is the question that I ask here.
07:18Like, is that the absolute, is that absolutely necessary in order for you to get to the place?
07:22Or can you get there with the seeming inflexibility that Emi had?
07:25Well, I don't think, I think it's a high priority.
07:27I really do.
07:29And I think the Knicks and Mike Brown are a great example.
07:31But they're not the only example by any stretch.
07:34You know, the ability to know what, you know, which buttons to push.
07:38I know it's a cliche, but the ability to do that.
07:40You can go back champion after champion.
07:42And, you know, that there have been some very, very difficult-to-coach situations.
07:48I mean, they're just inherently difficult with all the personalities.
07:50But to be able to make those changes.
07:53Now, the question I had is not, what has he shown?
07:56Because he's shown that he's not flexible.
07:57And I'll stand on that.
07:59But can he get there?
08:01Is there an eye-opening experience here that he needs to understand, you know,
08:05have that moment of clarity that he can realize, you know, I do have to change these things.
08:09One would have to imagine, because it's funny, I'm comparing these two coaches.
08:14But these coaches are very different.
08:15Mike Brown has done, he's had a lot of experience in this league.
08:18Both as an assistant and as a head coach.
08:20That dwarfs Emeo Doka's assistant, or, you know, status or time in this league.
08:25Even though they've both kind of been under pop at various different times, right?
08:28One as a player, one as a coach.
08:29So on and so forth.
08:30But, like, I think that Mike Brown probably has had a lot of that developed
08:34through the trials and tribulations and the ups and downs of his career.
08:36So I do believe that Emeo Doka can get there.
08:38I think the question that then comes up for me that I'm a little afraid of
08:42what the actual answer is, is what is necessary long do you get to a place
08:47where you have more of that in your tool bag?
08:50And I don't have a good answer for that.
08:52Plus, I don't know that there's going to be the hurdles that force you to evolve, right?
08:59Because it does seem like him and Raphael Stone are in lockstep
09:01about the way they're going about this.
09:03Right.
09:03Which means I don't know that there's the friction.
09:05And friction doesn't inherently have to be bad,
09:07but I don't think that there's the friction that forces that evolution.
09:10Maybe in just the nature of this is the team that you have
09:13and these are the guys that you have and now make the most of what you have,
09:15maybe that necessity is the mother of invention for him that way.
09:19But I don't know.
09:19I don't see it inherent.
09:20I don't see the clear, you know, evolutionary catalyst for him
09:26to push him forward to being more like Mike Brown.
09:30Well, let's not also forget that a lot of it also falls on the players.
09:35It is ultimately the head coach's responsibility to find all those.
10:05We're asking because it's fair to not just take this to basketball.
10:09This is a basketball space, but I see on the YouTube page,
10:12Sherwood's the Texans had that attitude towards scheming around Shroud.
10:15Somebody also asked us, do you think D'Amico has that mentality?
10:19How do you then apply, well, first, do you believe that this is like
10:24the similar concept that you need in football?
10:26And two, then would you grade the Texans in that mindset of like,
10:30hey, man, it's my responsibility to get these guys in a situation that works best for them?
10:33I think it fits in every sport.
10:34I truly do.
10:36You know, baseball included, hockey, whatever.
10:39The thing with D'Amico is he's been, I think he's been receptive to listening.
10:45It's also, and let's go back to his relationship with Nick Casario.
10:50And they didn't even have a relationship really before.
10:53And Casario comes in, they hit it off.
10:55So there's clearly some give and take there at the highest levels.
10:58Now, with players, fair, more than fair, you know, to wonder about him and C.J. Stroud
11:04and being able to have that give and take because there hasn't been.
11:07It's been, we're going to do it this, you know, the Casario way.
11:11Yeah, that's interesting because I think also you could see the places in which
11:14we know now definitively that there was times where D'Amico Rons was like,
11:18hey, we're running the football right now.
11:19Yeah, yeah.
11:20Right.
11:20And I think that that maybe shows up in some of this.
11:23And how much of that do you then attribute to him just trying to, like,
11:26gain control and trying to, you know, make sure that the game plan is followed
11:29versus how much of that falls in line with being some level of inflexible
11:33and is that an inherent negative?
11:35I don't think that he feels as inflexible as Emeo Doak.
11:38And I understand I'm talking about feelings which aren't exact.
11:41They're a little rough around the edges, so to say.
11:43But, yeah, it feels like if we're doing a spectrum here,
11:45Emeo Doak will be lower on the, you know, quote, unquote, flexibility.
11:49No, I agree.
11:49D'Amico actually showed it on the defensive side.
11:51Remember that whole thing of is staying going to follow the number one receiver,
11:55all that stuff?
11:56And in real time, he said, that's not what we do.
12:00But then when it was time, he did exactly the opposite.
12:05Yeah, so interesting thought process there.
12:07And I'm interested to see because a fair point is also brought up,
12:10like Greg Popovich isn't the most flexible coach either,
12:13like the guys that Emeo has learned.
12:16See, but Greg Popovich was more of the psychologist.
12:19Like he treated, you know, some players like Kawhi differently from,
12:24you know, let's say Tim Duncan and David Robinson differently from Kawhi.
12:28There's a flexibility in that.
12:29I mean, from Duncan.
12:29Yeah, there's a flexibility in that.
12:30I think there is some flexibility there.
12:32Now, in terms of his style, maybe not.
12:34But I think he was a flexible coach in terms of the personality.
12:37That's fair.
12:37And, yeah, there's got to be places where you give and places where you take.
12:41How was, from the 2A1, how was Mike Brown fired so many times
12:44if that's the way he operates?
12:45It doesn't make sense.
12:46Oh, it does.
12:46It does when you consider that sometimes in the world of sports,
12:50we try and act like it's the ultimate meritocracy
12:52and everybody's good at their job.
12:53Not everybody is.
12:54Yeah.
12:54And I think also, I think the NBA, I think players run the NBA kind of,
12:59where, you know, coaches get the bad part of the stick a little bit.
13:03There's some of those.
13:04That happened to him in Sacramento.
13:06Well, yeah, Sacramento, some of that.
13:07And some of that is like, hey,
13:08that organization has consistently fired good coaches.
13:10Hey, Mike Malone went on to win a championship after being fired there.
13:13It does seem like Mike Brown is about to go win a championship
13:16after being fired there.
13:17Yeah, sometimes organizations are run poorly
13:19and the people aren't actually good at their jobs
13:21and don't know what they're doing.
13:22Yeah.
13:22That happens more often than I think we give it credit for.
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