AI has done a lot better this year -- but he would do well to admit that his attitude about practice is wrong. Why were the Bulls so dominating? Well, there were many factors but one of them WAS practice. MJ practiced hard -- and they practiced so that when they stepped out on the court the knew each other and trusted each other. That doesn't happen by just showing up for games. You need to know when to move with and without the ball -- get a feel for what a person does, where he likes the ball at, his moves, how he likes his picks, etc. AI has the same problem as Shaq -- his ego can't admit when he is wrong.
So true, but the same could be said of both Brown and O'Brien. Both are pedantic and have great flaws. I've criticised both and I watch the basketball team that they've coached. I've seen the good things they do and the bad, with a much better eyeview than the people who don't live here and get the chance to watch the team and the changes they go through.
The team that lost to the Celtics was essentially the same one that lost in the finals to the Lakers. George Lynch was gone, but he wouldn't have made a difference in that series.
I still remember that game, and I was very unhappy with the way the Sixers played. I never saw them lay down and just give up like on that day. That was with Brown as the coach. It was one of the worst days in the history of the team. All Brown could do afterwards is cry about AI missing practice. It was complete, utter :bs:
Yes, AI was wrong, but Brown called him out in public. He never tried to discipline AI. He never benched him, fined him or anything else. But he did embarass him in public and deflect criticism of himself and his teams poor performance. Brown DID get us to the finals, and for that I'm grateful, but he also bailed out on the team and gave up, which has been his MO for his entire career. And worst insult of all he left Philly for the team that just had beaten the Sixers in the playoffs. So you can be impressed with Brown if you want, but I saw how he does things.
Maybe O'Brien isn't the better coach, but on that day, he absolutly was, and had a plan to defeat Brown. IMO, he can do it again.
And what difference does it make for Alan to say he was wrong? Anyone with a brain knows that, but they should also know that practice or the lack thereof had anything to do with the loss to the Celtics. IMO, O'Brien was hired, because Billy King saw that game and was impressed with the way the Celtics were prepared to beat the Sixers.
