NEW YORK — After accepting his first head-coaching job with the Golden State Warriors this summer, Steve Kerr sought a top assistant to help with the transition. Oddly enough, he looked abroad to someone who had never played or coached in a single NBA game and hadn't even lived regularly in the United States since 1981.
"The NBA game has morphed into more of an international style, with ball movement and bigs who can shoot," Kerr explained.
So Kerr took a shot at hiring Maccabi Tel Aviv's David Blatt, but Blatt passed, because an even better opportunity arose: the top job with the Cleveland Cavaliers, an opportunity later enhanced by the return of LeBron James and the acquisition of Kevin Love. But then, while Kerr's Warriors were scorching the league, Blatt stumbled to a 5-7 start, his team slipping into a "very dark place" in Washington D.C. on Nov. 21.
At the time, Kerr preached patience. He recalled the public and press questioning Erik Spoelstra in 2010-11, when James started 9-8 with the Heat. "I mean, you're kidding me, right?" Kerr said. "Erik's a hell of a coach. But the narrative follows the results, rather than vice versa. As soon as Cleveland gets on a roll, everyone's gonna say what a great coach David Blatt is."
Now, two weeks later, they are rolling, winners of seven straight after Monday's 110-88 victory against the undermanned Brooklyn Nets. Still, the scrutiny isn't likely to stop now that the Cavaliers have found some footing, not with James attracting more media flies than anyone in North American sports, and not with some still skeptical about how Blatt's overseas pedigree and principles will translate, though he's Massachusetts-born and Princeton-schooled.
ESPN analyst George Karl, contacted recently to outline Blatt's challenges, captured this sentiment by calling the NBA "the Broadway of basketball," with "the best players, the best referees, the best coaches, the biggest money" and "the most polished product in the world."
It's tough preparing for that stage even if you come up as an assistant (such as Utah's Quin Snyder) or have some NBA playing background (Kerr and New York's Derek Fisher combining to win 10 championships in 33 seasons). It's even tougher when you must, in ESPN/ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy's words, "learn how the NBA works." That means learning the intricacies of the game ("faster, a lot of timeouts, a lot of adjustments," according to Karl) and the idiosyncrasies of the personalities.
"His basketball IQ is probably off the charts," Karl said. "He's got to package it with his team, with his comfort zone, with his coaching staff, with his preparation, and it just doesn't happen in 10 games. I mean, for a rookie coach, it might take a season. He might not feel comfortable until the 75th game of the season."
Before coaching his 17th, last Thursday at Madison Square Garden, Blatt acknowledged "there's a lot to learn" about the "particular characteristics and nuances," from the rules to the length of the game, as well as "the severity of the season."
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2292668-how-is-cavs-david-blatt-adjusting-assessing-early-work-of-lebrons-new-coach
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