Monty Williams Defense

[NOLA93]

Monty just said in the post game that they were supposed to foul curry at the end of the fourth with 9 seconds. Thats on the players then.

I don't know if I buy that. If true, then why out the players? What is there to gain? He's trying to save himself.

[UNO Gracias]

PR guys can say anything, but its the good ones who won't give on that they are full of it. How good a PR person do we have, because depending on how he addresses that comment will really tell you where Monty stands.

[UNO Gracias]

In the post game interview, Monty said the team was supposed to foul but the guys on the floorr didn't execute the game plan

Well, if thats true, its true. If its false...get ready for "Mutiny on the Bounty II".

[Eman5805]

I will report what I was saying in the gameday thread as food for thought to those saying bring him back.

How can you make the case to Pelicans President Dennis Lauscha's to justify bringing him(or Demps) back?

He just watched his coach and team blow a 20 point lead on national TV in front of his BEST CROWD IN NEARLY A DECADE. The town was buzzing about this team for once and this team just zapped the life out of it. A coach and GM that by insider accounts were already on the hot seat.

How do you convince him to(or whoever his PR person is) stand up to a room full of our media and tell them and our fanbase that Monty is our guy next season if we end up getting swept in this fashion? How many season ticket holders just cancel there tickets right then and there???

Uh. What?

Dell Demps came AFTER Tavares.

And the moves Demps made to get Pondexter and Norris Cole are huge reasons we even got to the playoffs. Same with Omer Asik.

[N.O.Bronco]

So Monty, who was screaming "foul" should be held accountable for Tyreke not fouling?
Monty should be held accountable for Gordon shooting an off the dribble three when we were down one?
Monty should just clear out for Davis but he did and it didn't work. So who takes the blame? I don't see people lining up to say they were wrong there.

This is insane because I don't know if he's the right coach. Maybe he's not. He certainly doesn't seem like one of the few coaches in the league that becomes a real game changer, but the accusations that people fling at him are ludicrous. There have been plenty of them that have validity, and I'm probably just wasting my time here, but why is your first thoughts to something going wrong "how can we blame this on Monty"?

We just had three close games so far against a historically good team that most analysts thought we had no chance against. We were a miracle shot away from getting this one. We aren't even supposed to be here. We wer picked to miss the playoffs, we had meltdowns and injuries like crazy all year and we still managed to persevere. Why can't we just be happy that we've come this far and gave the heavy western favorites a run for their money? It's not like we were ever going to win this series anyways. We made them break a sweat. We got under their skin. Our incredibly young team is learning. Next year, we'll probably play even better, and the year after that too, and you know what? We've got AD here for years. So why are we acting like this one game is the end of the world?

These are two separate issues you are conflating here. Players and the coach.

The players are going to come back better next year and the year after that. That doesnt justify bringing back the coach though.

The players deserve some blame tonight for sure. Plenty of blame. But that doesnt exonerate the things you can hang on Monty or can be easily inferenced as partially Monty's fault.

We were up by 15 with 6 minutes left and lost. We can hash out the lineup choices, timeouts, playcalling and lack of team awareness and argue how much blame Monty gets but he does get some.

I see you trying to shift blame but I don't really see you actually making a case for why monty coached well down the stretch tonight?

[N.O.Bronco]

Uh. What?

Dell Demps came AFTER Tavares.

Is that relevant? Demps is responsible for this roster. How do you make the case to the fanbase that the roster is in zero way to blame when plenty of our core guys played like boneheads tonight or in this series?

Im not saying make the case from your personal beliefs, I'm saying put yourself in Lauscha's shoes and make the case of how or why either of these guys deserve to keep their job and how to explain that to the fanbase? Again, assuming we end up getting swept.

[UNO Gracias]

These are two separate issues you are conflating here. Players and the coach.

The players are going to come back better next year and the year after that. That doesnt justify bringing back the coach though.

The players deserve some blame tonight for sure. Plenty of blame. But that doesnt exonerate the things you can hang on Monty or can be easily inferenced as partially Monty's fault.

We were up by 15 with 6 minutes left and lost. We can hash out the lineup choices, timeouts, playcalling and lack of team awareness and argue how much blame Monty gets but he does get some.

I see you trying to shift blame but I don't really see you actually making a case for why monty coached well down the stretch tonight?

True. If this is because the players didn't listen to the coach, well you better find a coach they will listen to.

[NOLA93]

Is that relevant? Demps is responsible for this roster. How do you make the case to the fanbase that the roster is in zero way to blame when plenty of our core guys played like boneheads tonight or in this series?

Im not saying make the case from your personal beliefs, I'm saying put yourself in Lauscha's shoes and make the case of how or why either of these guys deserve to keep their job and how to explain that to the fanbase? Again, assuming we end up getting swept.

I think the moves Demps made in terms of Pondexter and Cole is why he should stay. Look at the improvement after the trades were made. We were great after the All star break. Is the roster perfect? No, we still have some holes to fill. Give Demps another year, but Monty has to go. He has made the same errors over and over again. Demps looks to be improving. And who knows what this current roster could do with good coaching?

[iNolaNightmare]

So Monty, who was screaming "foul" should be held accountable for Tyreke not fouling?
Monty should be held accountable for Gordon shooting an off the dribble three when we were down one?
Monty should just clear out for Davis but he did and it didn't work. So who takes the blame? I don't see people lining up to say they were wrong there.

This is insane because I don't know if he's the right coach. Maybe he's not. He certainly doesn't seem like one of the few coaches in the league that becomes a real game changer, but the accusations that people fling at him are ludicrous. There have been plenty of them that have validity, and I'm probably just wasting my time here, but why is your first thoughts to something going wrong "how can we blame this on Monty"?

We just had three close games so far against a historically good team that most analysts thought we had no chance against. We were a miracle shot away from getting this one. We aren't even supposed to be here. We wer picked to miss the playoffs, we had meltdowns and injuries like crazy all year and we still managed to persevere. Why can't we just be happy that we've come this far and gave the heavy western favorites a run for their money? It's not like we were ever going to win this series anyways. We made them break a sweat. We got under their skin. Our incredibly young team is learning. Next year, we'll probably play even better, and the year after that too, and you know what? We've got AD here for years. So why are we acting like this one game is the end of the world?

I want to hug you for this post.

[Daneman]

My problems with Monty are twofold:

1) He doesn't seem to hold anyone accountable. How many times have we seen these spurts where the offense stagnates, the ball doesn't rotate to AD, and Monty doesn't do anything about it? Lay into these guys. Light a fire under their asses. Be angry!

2) He's a creature of habit. I had to do a double take when I saw him trot out the starting five to start OT- Anderson has been shooting well- on the bench. Your one true PG- on the bench. Asik? Ineffective, but he always starts games, so In he goes. Predictbaly, GS Jumped out to a lead- Monty made adjustments, but they should have been in place at tipoff.

[shanesy]

AD confirmed that they were supposed to foul on his post game.

[N.O.Bronco]

I think the moves Demps made in terms of Pondexter and Cole is why he should stay. Look at the improvement after the trades were made. We were great after the All star break. Is the roster perfect? No, we still have some holes to fill. Give Demps another year, but Monty has to go. He has made the same errors over and over again. Demps looks to be improving. And who knows what this current roster could do with good coaching?

But again, how do you make that case to Lauscha and the fanbase? They just saw one of the most embarrassing losses in New Orleans Basketball history. Some blame the players, others the coach, some others probably have their own reasons. Either way this just cut the heart out of the excitement this team finally generated to this city.

I just think it is going to be very hard for Lauscha to not fire Monty and Demps if we end up getting swept after this brutal choke job. That is my point. Now if we come and blow them out Saturday and steal a game there, my opinion will change. Then Lauscha has an easier case to make to bring everyone back.

But Monty and Demps are kind of a package deal to me. Even if they shouldn't be. Since i think it is difficult to honestly parse out - objectively - who is to blame if top brass is looking to point fingers.

[DirtySouf]

I think players were just overwhelmed down the stretch. They be hungry next year

[DefensiveMind]

AD confirmed that they were supposed to foul on his post game.

Team has been allowed to get away with murder all season, makes you wonder how many other times the team just flat out didnt do what was asked of them. Doesnt matter, hes gone.

[Sleeper]

AD confirmed that they were supposed to foul on his post game.

He said " we made it clear we were supposed to foul". Whose "we"?

[DirtySouf]

He said " we made it clear we were supposed to foul". Whose "we"?

The team was probably repeating the instructions

[DefensiveMind]

There is no case that can be made. If they were on the hot seat last week, then tonight was like a kick in the teeth for managment. Poor execution down the stretch in three straight games. This series may not exciting, but it will be cathartic. We now know who needs to go and who can stay. Monty is gone. Its as simple as that.

[NOLA93]

But again, how do you make that case to Lauscha and the fanbase? They just saw one of the most embarrassing losses in New Orleans Basketball history. Some blame the players, others the coach, some others probably have their own reasons. Either way this just cut the heart out of the excitement this team finally generated to this city.

I just think it is going to be very hard for Lauscha to not fire Monty and Demps if we end up getting swept after this brutal choke job. That is my point. Now if we come and blow them out Saturday and steal a game there, my opinion will change. Then Lauscha has an easier case to make to bring everyone back.

But Monty and Demps are kind of a package deal to me. Even if they shouldn't be. Since i think it is difficult to honestly parse out - objectively - who is to blame if top brass is looking to point fingers.

Fans want to win. Some will not come back after tonight. Tough. I don't think we should start cutting people in this emotional state. It could put us in a bigger hole.

I seriously believe if we hire a legit coach with Demps and the players we have, we win 50-55 games next year and the fans who were butt hurt that we didn't fire everyone after this game will come back.

I don't know how you can say that the players we have are the reason we lost. They put us in the 20 point advantage and they took GS down to the wire both times in Oakland. That's phenomenal considering GS is the best team in the west. It's been plays down the stretch that have resulted in the 3 losses. It's been using lineups that are ineffective. It's been not playing Asik when up 20 points and the only reason he is on the roster is to play Defense. That is pure coaching. I don't get why this melt down is connected to the GM. He doesn't do anything during a game.

[Sleeper]

The team was probably repeating the instructions

My question is. Why wasn't our best rebounder in Asik in the game at that point?

[VooDooKnight]

Monty just said in the post game that they were supposed to foul curry at the end of the fourth with 9 seconds. Thats on the players then.

If he did say that then he is an idiot. He just threw his players under the bus.


Sent from my iPad

[Eman5805]

Is that relevant? Demps is responsible for this roster. How do you make the case to the fanbase that the roster is in zero way to blame when plenty of our core guys played like boneheads tonight or in this series?

Im not saying make the case from your personal beliefs, I'm saying put yourself in Lauscha's shoes and make the case of how or why either of these guys deserve to keep their job and how to explain that to the fanbase? Again, assuming we end up getting swept.

Who the hell said the roster isn't to blame? I'm saying that Dell Demps deserves a reprieve in spite of any mistakes he's made. He was given a mandate to put a playoff team together, even at the expense of using younger players in the draft. It was a gamble. And it's only sort of paying off. With the way things were, only hindsight could've worked out better.

When we traded for Jrue, there is no way he could've known a guy who had only missed like 6 games in four years would turn injury prone. We knew that Tyreke Evans was a one way freight train to the rim. We've gotten nothing from Tyreke Evans tha anyone who knows basketball wouldn't see coming. But the coach has to put players in positions to win.

The GM just has to assemble the team for him.

And Dell Demps has definitively done that given what he had to work with. Has he made errors? I bet he'd be the first to admit it. But we don't put together the season we dod to make the post-season without those players Demps got.

Lauscha's case was already made to me. And I'm part of the fanbase. There is no benchmark. The team isn't moving if we don't keep selling out the SKC.

Only changes that need to be made are in the coaching staff and basic roster moves we probably regardless if we made the playoffs or not.

[Sleeper]

If he did say that then he is an idiot. He just threw his players under the bus.


Sent from my iPad

To be fair, he did take the blame.... While throwing them under the bus.

[Jabberwalker]

These are two separate issues you are conflating here. Players and the coach.

The players are going to come back better next year and the year after that. That doesnt justify bringing back the coach though.

Right, that's not a defense of the coach but a statement to chill your bones and put away the torches and pitchforks.

The players deserve some blame tonight for sure. Plenty of blame. But that doesnt exonerate the things you can hang on Monty or can be easily inferenced as partially Monty's fault.

We were up by 15 with 6 minutes left and lost. We can hash out the lineup choices, timeouts, playcalling and lack of team awareness and argue how much blame Monty gets but he does get some.

Sure. But what are those things. I'm not reading anything on here, twitter, or elsewhere that is anything besides "give the ball to AD dumb dumb Monty" or "Monty didn't have his players foul" in terms of criticism for him. What are the real criticisms of him. Again, I'm not even trying to defend the guy. I just don't think much of the accusations are fair.

I see you trying to shift blame but I don't really see you actually making a case for why monty coached well down the stretch tonight?

And I'm not going to.

I guess what's most upsetting to me is that I watched that game and it was so fun for me. The whole game. I was disappointed that we blew that lead, but it was fun. We're on the big stage. TNT is having to talk about us often. ESPN writers are writing daily articles for better or worse about our team. We got a shot a year before I thought we would. I haven't watched us in the playoffs since we were an entirely different team. This is so fun for me. And what's sad is that I'm not seeing it be fun to anyone else. Everyone else seems miserable and disheartened and trying to find scapegoats and reasons why we're losing these games. We're losing these games because we're not the better team yet. It's okay. I can't wait until we force our way into the conversation more.

[UNO Gracias]

Aren't the additions of Cole and QPon more an inditement on Monty's ability to develop players? I mean, we had to bring in two guys who had experience (in winning systems) in order for Monty's system to work. Guys he had spent the prior half of the season (and preseason and offseason as well) teaching his system to couldn't grasp it, two guys fresh from winning teams came in and turned an entire unit around because a coach couldn't get his players on the same page. I don't know, seems suspect.

Another funny narrative that is tossed aside is that Monty doesn't yell, and scream enough. I think tonight (with 9 seconds left) showed, maybe he should have yelled and screamed more.

[DefensiveMind]

I say give Demps the ability to hire his head coach. Hes built this team under a mandate, as others have pointed at, with inexperience, mediocrity, and average coaching peppered throughout. Give him an honest shot with AD and with full control. I dont see how that hurts us so long as he is free to call the shots as he seea fit.