Could Sam Mitchell's post-season coaching performance determine whether or not the Pacers make him their first offer? Is that fair? Adrian Wojnarowski seems to think Mitchell has been a "spectacular" failure in his first post season.
The Nets have neutralized Bosh, flooding the All-Star in the post and using Kidd to cheat on him because the New Jersey point guard has refused to respect Ford's jumper. Mitchell needs to get Bosh the ball where he can do damage. What's more, the Nets are forever adjusting to Toronto's changing defenses, constantly getting uncontested shots in this series. Kidd and Vince Carter are playing out of their minds, but that's partly because Mitchell's team looks intimidated and unwilling to challenge New Jersey.
Talk about unfair. What was Wojnarowski expecting to see in this series? Did he see the Nets play at all during the last month of the season? They came in primed and ready for the playoffs with Jason Kidd and his impressive playoff experience running the show with wing men Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter. Boston Nachbar has been fabulous off the bench and the young, active front court players nicely compliment the high octane scorers basking in the spotlight.Not only can't the Raptors match the playoff experience of the Nets, but they (the Raptors) are relying on several players with less than three years of NBA experience to produce heavily at both ends of the floor. Oh, and their coach is going through the playoffs for the first time also. I'm sorry but school is in session and the Nets with their advanced playoff degrees are tutoring the young Raps on the difference between the regular season and the playoffs. This wasn't that hard to see developing.
So how this situation falls on Mitchell and exposes him as a poor coach really escapes me. I'm not sold on Mitchell as the front runner for the Pacers job (personally, I'd like to see Mark Jackson). But, he deserves a shot at the job and if chosen I'll be happy to have him take over on the bench. I certainly won't judge him on the fact that his current green team was pounded on the road by a strong playoff contender that oozes veteran savvy. At least he's learning some playoff coaching lessons on someone else's dime.