Always Cloudy in Philadelphia

When talking about contrasting styles, context is critical.

In the context of the NBA Playoffs, some believe contrasting styles make for highly interesting, unpredictable, and ultimately entertaining series.  In years past, we've seen such classics as Spurs-Suns, Warriors-Mavericks, Kings-Lakers, among others, series that were defined by competing tempos and strategies. 

Yet, in the context of the fourteen NBA lottery teams, contrasting styles are good recipes for a lot of ping-pong balls.  

Just take a look at the worst teams in the league:  Minnesota’s mix of combo guards, athletic wings and black-hole big-men never agreed with Kurt Rambis’ Los Angeles-imported triangle offense, which demands high levels of awareness, fluidity and unselfishness from its players.  Flip Saunders and his intricate multiple-option offense is predicated on ball-movement, something neither Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison nor Gilbert Arenas naturally excel at.  Not surprisingly, Washington finished with one of the worst records in the East.

And then there was Philadelphia and Eddie Jordan.  Princeton and Philadelphia have never been harmonious with each other, and from the jump, back-door cuts and high-post pivots never jelled with Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams, thoroughbreds who thrive in the open-court.

These teams suffer from a fundamental problem: The roster and the coaching aren’t in harmony with each other.  They are classic cases of square peg, round hole; entities that are impossible to fit together, no matter how hard one tries.  To alleviate the imbalance, either the roster needs to be changed in order to fit the coaching, or someone who is better equipped to coach to the roster’s strengths needs to be brought in.

The Sixers, with their hiring of Doug Collins, apparently haven’t learned that quite yet.

That’s not to hate on the former TNT color guy.  Collins is an above-average coach.  He’s amassed a 322-287 record in three different stints with Chicago, Detroit and Washington, making the Playoffs five times, including a trip to the Conference Finals with the Bulls in 88-89.  His reputation has been built as an overtly-passionate disciplinarian who is committed to methodical, defense-first basketball.  Like almost all NBA coaches, he’s had his ups (Chicago) and his downs (Washington), but has come out of it all as reputable head coach who is more than capable of getting talented teams to the Playoffs.

The problem in this case, however, is not about ability, but rather suitability.  Collins’ plodding offensive philosophy is simply not suited for the Sixers’ core of athletic youngsters who need to run to win.  Here’s a look at where his teams have ranked in pace:

1986-87 Chicago: 23rd (last in the League)
1987-88 Chicago: 23 (last)
1988-89 Chicago: 23 (second to last)
1995-96 Detroit: 28 (second to last)
1996-97 Detroit: 28 (second to last)
1997-98 Detroit: 25 (fifth to last)
2001-02 Washington: 27 (third to last)
2002-03 Washington: 26 (fourth to last)

The facts don’t lie: Collins loves to play at an excruciatingly slow tempo.  Perhaps Collins is planning to change-up his style in order to better suit the Sixers’ roster, but based on his history, we can expect heavy doses of half-court basketball.  That doesn’t mean they won’t be looking to push the ball up the court when the opportunity arises, because they most certainly will, but the overall strategy will be to execute in the half-court and limit opponents’ possessions, something that the Sixers struggle mightily with.

Further cause for alarm is Collins’ eight year absence from the sidelines.  Even for the most seasoned of coaches, that’s a long time to be away from the game.  In that span, new rules have been instituted and advanced metrics and the understanding of those metrics have extremely important for coaches.  As a result of those two major changes, overall philosophies and in-game strategies have also transformed greatly.  

This ain’t 2002 anymore.  Not only will he be adjusting to a new roster, he’ll be adjusting to a new League, and his unfamiliarity with the altered landscape may prevent success.  There is precedent for this thought: Hubie Brown and Larry Brown, two other high-profile head coaches who took long breaks from an NBA bench, both struggled in their first comeback season.

And yet, I can understand the logic behind the move. Since replacing Billy King in 2007 as the 76ers GM, Ed Stefanski's has tried to establish the team as a sustainable half-court team. His first major move, the acquisition of Elton Brand in the summer of 2008, was made to provide the franchise with a dominant presence on the block. The following summer, Stefanski's old buddy from New Jersey, Eddie Jordan, was hired to institute the Princeton offense and Andre Miller was let go largely because Stefanski deemed his jump-shot too ineffective within a half-court system. All three decisions have been met with disastrous results, but they've been made with the idea that the Sixers need to be effective in the half-court if they're to be a contender. And Collins fits within that overall philosophy.

There's another reason why Collins was hired: His ability to develop talent. From Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant in Chicago, to Grant Hill, Lindsey Hunter and Theo Ratliff in Detroit, Collins has demonstrated that he works well with youngsters. With Evan Turner likely coming into Philly as the number two overall pick to join Jrue Holiday, Iguodala, Young and Williams, the team will be chock full of promising young players. The development of Holiday, who will be entering his second season as the starting point-guard, is an especially high priority, as his ability to manage a team for a full season will be essential if the Sixers are to get into the Playoffs. If the team buys into Collins' vision of measured execution and defense, then there is no reason why this team won't be back in the Playoffs.

That being said, based off what we know about Collins, this is not likely to work out.  Under Collins, the Sixers will be at an immediate disadvantage because they will be taken out of what they do best: running. This is a team that needs to get out into the open-court, not grind out possessions.  Maybe Turner becomes the Eastern Conference's version of Brandon Roy, and will take pressure off everyone to create in the half-court. Expecting that type of immediate production from a rookie, however, is unrealistic. If the Sixers struggle to adapt and get off to a poor start, will the emotional Collins be able to maintain his perspective in the face of the ravenous Philadelphia media?

Unfortunately for Sixers fans, we have a case of contrasting styles.  Good if you’re a fan of Playoff basketball, bad if you’re a fan of watching your team get to the Playoffs.

Jon Pastuszek can be reached at jon@hoopsdaily.com