Why Give Mike Brown An Extension?
Yesterday, when I heard they gave Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown an extension, I had nothing else to say but, “WHY???!?!?!!?” And seriously, don’t assume that I am overstating things with the capital letters and all that additional punctuation. If extending Romeo Crennel’s contract was a bad idea, then extending Mike Brown’s contract was the worst one ever. You see, in football there are at least two coordinators that can help with the game planning. And to Romeo Crennel’s credit he is very good about letting his coordinators coach without too much interference.
Mike Brown, on the other hand, is on record as saying that he wouldn’t hire any offensive coaching help after last season. If anyone needed an offensive coordinator after last season, it was Mike Brown. He didn’t want there to be any confusion on the team with too many voices making noise from the sidelines. Seriously. That’s what he said. I would think that the Cavs would be better off with a little bit of confusion about who is talking rather than the widespread general confusion with which they run their offensive “sets” on a nightly basis. But what do I know?
So, what were Danny Ferry and Dan Gilbert thinking? None of this makes any sense to me. The problems with the Cavaliers from a coaching standpoint have been well-known since Mike Brown got here and yet none of them have been addressed.
- Mike Brown’s offense is confusing, inconsistent, repetitive and doesn’t lead to as many high percentage shots as a good offense should.
- At the ends of quarters, halfs, games and on important inbounds plays the plan usually consists of getting LeBron the ball and watching him dribble and probably shoot a fade-away jumper.
- Mike Brown does not develop young talent. Daniel Gibson had to force his way into the lineup. And even still, Gibson has done nothing but perform and Mike Brown continues to start Larry Hughes and Sasha Pavlovic in front of him.
- Mike Brown’s player rotations are continually mind-boggling. He can have guys start who disappear completely before the game is over. Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas are usually the most likely candidates for disappearance. But the weird thing is how Ira Newble or Damon Jones can show up and play for two weeks, not play too badly and then disappear completely for two months. This also contributes to number three and specifically Shannon Brown who got some playing time, seemed to be getting comfortable and then had “DNP – Coach’s Decision” next to his name in the box score for two months without warning or explanation.
- The 3rd quarter has been, and continues to be a HUGE problem for the Cavs. They come out flat, they give up leads, the fall further into deficit. Whatever. It has been ongoing for as long as Mike Brown has been in Cleveland.
Now, I can’t take anything away from Mike Brown’s commitment to defense, but these other things are real bona fide problems with Mike Brown as a coach that he hasn’t been able to rectify. Maybe I overstate the negatives, but I can’t help but feel like this team would do better with someone who was a complete master of the game. At this rate and with the numbered problems above, I still view Mike Brown as a defensive specialist who hasn’t figured out his weaknesses and how, as leader of the team in the East with arguably the most talented player in the NBA, to overcome those weaknesses.
Maybe this is a result of my fears that LeBron is going to leave this town and this team at the end of his contract if they don’t win a championship. I feel like that fear is relatively tangible and it feels too real to be fake. With those stakes in mind it confuses me to think that Danny Ferry and Dan Gilbert think that Mike Brown gives the Cavaliers their best chance to protect their market value by winning a championship and subsequently keeping LeBron here.
I sure hope they are right.
