Earlier today, ABC and ESPN NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy discussed the start of the 2014 NBA Playoffs on a media conference call. Working alongside Mike Breen and reporter Lisa Salters, Van Gundy will call two ABC games within 24 hours beginning with the Golden State Warriors at the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, April 19, at 3:30 p.m. ET. The crew will then fly across country to Miami for Sunday’s 3:30 p.m. broadcast of the defending NBA Champion Heat against the Charlotte Bobcats.
The NBA Playoffs will exclusively begin and finish on ESPN’s family of networks, culminating with ABC’s exclusive presentation of The Finals on ABC, starting June 5. Additional details are available on ESPN MediaZone.
Here is the replay of today’s conference call.
Q. What are your feelings on the possibility or likelihood of seeing the same two teams in The Finals this year?
JEFF VAN GUNDY: Well, obviously I think the Heat have the easier road. San Antonio, anybody in the West’s road to get to The Finals is really going to be difficult. I think whoever wins the Western Conference will win the whole thing. But certainly getting there, to The Finals, will be a challenge out of the West. I’d give Miami a lot better of a chance than I would any individual team in the Western Conference to come out.
Q. I’m just curious with the Bulls facing the Wizards – how you see that series playing out? The one game the Wizards lost during the season, Nene missed – he’s back. And your thoughts particularly on that front-court matchup with Gortat and Nene against the Bulls?
VAN GUNDY: Well, I think everything broke really well for Chicago. I don’t think I’ve ever rooted for them to not win a game, but I did last night. Tibs could be upset with me, but I was doing the happy dance when I saw them lose because I think their road to the final four is paved better – obviously avoiding Miami – and I think Washington has had a terrific year. I think Nene is such an integral part of their team. He’s so powerful, and they have him coming off the bench and he and Booker as a tandem are really difficult to deal with. Gortat’s very good under the rim but I just feel like Chicago defensively in a series will make it very, very difficult and with home court advantage and the United Center is such a great place to play, I just do believe that Chicago will – I think they’ll advance.
And then the Pacers in the second round, I think people are going overboard the other way on Indiana right now. I think Indiana went through a real struggle but will be getting a new start, a fresh start, and I think they’re going to be a very difficult out. If I had to pick a team to come out of the East right now, an easier road, I would still say Indiana would be my pick to come out of the Eastern Conference.
Q. I wanted to ask you a couple things. One – that Portland and Houston series is two similar teams up and down the floor. What do you see putting one over the top of the other in this series and the second question would be what have you seen from Dwight Howard this year that maybe you didn’t expect to see?
VAN GUNDY: Well, I think 4-5 series are historically very competitive. Five seeds can win because obviously the teams are very close, but I think in this one, Houston is the better team. I think they have a great starting lineup as does [Portland]. I think Houston’s bench play will be a little bit better and I think Dwight Howard will be the difference in the series. I think when Howard is invested and engaged and active, he’s so good, and for some reason, a lot of people when they analyze his game spend 99 percent of the time talking about the 1 percent they’d like to change about him as a player versus spending 99 percent of the time talking about all the great things that he does.
To me, he and Patrick Beverley make them really good defensively. Howard’s ability to rebound and cause foul trouble, I think to me, allows them to win the series four games to one. I don’t think he has to do anything different than he’s done his whole career. I just think he has to be consistent with what he does, not think that he has to be dominant offensively to be the most valuable player in this series. If he protects the rim, he scores on dish passes, and he rebounds like he’s capable, he could be the most valuable player in that series without having one play run to him.
Q. Obviously the Nets brought in Pierce and Garnett primarily for this time of year. Given the state of his game and his personality, what do you think Pierce can do for the Nets now that they’ve gotten to the Playoffs?
VAN GUNDY: Well, I think with all the injuries that cropped up during their bad start, they managed it very well, and I think Jason Kidd moving Paul Pierce down to the 4 and bringing three other perimeter players with him gave him a chance to have an advantage offensively because he can shoot the three. Even though he’s lost some of his first-step quickness, it’s still very good against 4 men, so he can show the shot and still get by them into the paint, and he’s strong enough defensively to hold his own against most 4s.
I think that move was the one lineup change that totally altered the Nets’ fortunes this year. I think it turned out to be a brilliant move by Jason Kidd and really helped revive Pierce and their team.
Q. What concerns you about Miami this year more than last year where it’s enough to make you lean toward Indiana at this point to come out of the East?
VAN GUNDY: Well, it’s really nothing. I think Indiana is very good. Again, I think they’re somewhere as a team between their incredible start and their poor finish. I do believe home court will be important, and I think that’s why if you had to favor somebody, I would favor Indiana.
But there’s nothing that concerns me about Miami that is their fault. I think they have a lot of guys who are not in their prime right now, and the ability to consistently play well individually is just not there. And then you have the health issues that to me if they didn’t have some of those health issues, they’d be a 60-win team. They would be the favorite.
And so Wade’s health is – I know everybody says it’s okay and he’s on a program and everything, but he’s going to be playing major minutes, and if he can stay healthy, they’ve got as good a shot as anybody because certainly the Eastern Conference, I don’t feel they’re going to get challenged until the Eastern Conference Finals. It doesn’t mean they’re going to sweep their way through, but I just feel like they’ll have methodical series wins against their first two opponents and then the challenges will start in the Eastern Conference Finals for them.
Q. Field goal percentage again, for Miami, way down from past years, and from Heat teams over many years. Does that worry you at all or would you just assume that once the Playoffs start that will change?
VAN GUNDY: Well, I mean, certainly it’s a concern. I don’t think you can say it’s not a concern. But I do believe because of their speed and quickness, and if they’re healthy and they have a renewed commitment, which I’m sure they will have, I would suspect that their defense will be very disruptive in the postseason. If it’s not, then they could lose in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Q. Understanding that each series has its own narrative and many things will play a role regarding the outcome, if you had to pick today, what team would you favor to win the NBA title and why?
VAN GUNDY: Okay, I’m going to have to pick. So I’m going to pick – oh, man. I’m going to pick the Western Conference winner and I’m going to stick with Houston. I think that means that they would have to win two straight or three straight series if they get by Portland, they’d have to win three straight series on the road without home court advantage, which seems really difficult, I just like their team from the start. I really do believe the Western Conference winner will win it, so I’ve got to stick with who I think is going to win the West. But you could convince me about San Antonio and Oklahoma City and the Clippers, as well, because all of them are really good.
Q. I ask this smiling: What did you make of how much run your comments about Howard Stern received, because that crossed over into worlds that you are not always in.
VAN GUNDY: Yeah, you know what’s funny is I was sitting in a movie theater watching this movie, it was an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, “Sabotage” or something like that. I don’t know. It’s a new action film. And a friend of mine texted me and said, can you believe what Stern said about you. And so I’m sitting in the theater saying, why would David Stern be talking about me now?
So I was like perplexed. I said, what did he say, so he came back with what he said, and I’m like, man, that is not like the commissioner to call me a douchebag. I’m like, come on. I didn’t know what it was about.
So then when I got out of the theater where I was one of two people actually at the movie and called this guy, he told me it was Howard Stern and I didn’t know why he had been upset or he was talking about me. So I didn’t really think about it and then someone told me later that it was about me – I guess I said something jokingly about him leaving a game early. I didn’t really even know too much about it. I didn’t even know he was still on. I guess he’s on Sirius. I didn’t know. So it was funny.
Q. Would it be much of a surprise to you if Golden State gave the Clippers a handful in the first round?
VAN GUNDY: Well, I think a lot of it depends on the health of Bogut and Lee. Their big guys need to be healthy and contribute. I think the Clippers are as deep as any team in the NBA, and you’ve got this incredible offensive juggernaut in the Clippers and still an underrated defense with the Warriors. The Warriors, everybody talks about, and rightfully so, Curry and Thompson and splash brothers and shooting, but quietly they hang their hat on defense.
So to me, it’s a fascinating series. I also think the whole psychological aspect of the Western Conference is interesting. No matter who wins the four series in the Western Conference, four teams are going to say they had disappointing years, and I think it’s the absolute wrong way to look at it. Whichever four teams lose, it’s going to be that they’re going to lose to an outstanding team. When you have such greatness in a conference, unfortunately some really great teams are going to lose – could be the Clippers, could be the Warriors, Houston or Portland. I don’t think any of those teams should be disappointed. I think the differences between the teams are very, very small. They could be impacted by a poor night shooting free throws, a bounce here or there, a last second shot or home court advantage.
I wouldn’t be surprised how any of those four series played out.
Q. You talked earlier about overreactions to current situations. What’s your take on changing the playoff format to the top 16 teams regardless of conference, like I guess the NHL was maybe three decades ago where you could have two eastern teams playing in The Finals, for example. The second question is – is there such a thing as a guy kind of resting like a Garnett and then suddenly turning it off in the Playoffs? How often does that happen? Is that possible to happen or is that something that just doesn’t happen very often and is tough to do?
VAN GUNDY: Well, the first one, you know, the schedules are so unbalanced to begin with. You don’t play everybody the same amount, even in your own conference now. There’s so many back-to-backs that are extra that some teams play that other teams don’t. So I think I would have no problem in trying to make the schedule more balanced throughout, and I would have no problem with them taking the 16 best teams. I don’t think people really relate any more to divisions. Maybe a little bit more to conferences, but I don’t think there could be one real legit argument against saying you want the best teams in the Playoffs, and particularly this year when you have a really good team in Phoenix miss, and another good team in the Western Conference – Minnesota, that if you put in the East, that I have no doubts would have been nearing the 50-win season. You give more hope to those teams that they can get in the Playoffs and make some noise.
I think it would be – it’s something that’s certainly worthwhile to look at it.
And as far as turning it on, I’m sure there are examples where it has happened. I think really what usually happens is that you are who you are as both a player and as a team. And you have the right habits or you don’t, and you’re capable and very few guys are able to actually play better in the Playoffs than they did in the regular season. I would suspect Garnett would be the player he has been all year this year, and the Nets have a lot of depth. It’s going to be interesting to see if they narrow their rotation or if they play with an expanded rotation like they did often times in the regular season.
Q. I was just wondering what kind of a factor do you think Dwane Casey’s coaching experience could have in the opening round, and what sort of style do you think the Raptors have to play to give themselves the best chance to advance?
VAN GUNDY: Well, it’s really interesting. The Nets absolutely tried to get to them by resting their guys and moving games down the stretch, so this is a very unique situation. You have a third seed who’s really good, and you have teams who are trying to win to get to them and lose to get to them. People for some reason think that Toronto is a better matchup. I love watching the Raptors play. I think Dwane Casey has gone through a lot of upheaval in his team in Toronto as far as roster changes, management changes, and he’s handled himself with such dignity and class, and he’s got his team playing so hard and so well together. I just think they have to keep doing what they’ve been doing, competing hard, playing together, big guys controlling the paint, and they’ve got a tough matchup.
The Nets from January 1st until they started resting guys down the stretch and trying to get the match up they wanted, they were playing as well as anyone. And so it’s certainly going to be difficult, but I like the Raptors a lot. I think they’ve had a remarkable season led by a remarkable coach, and I think they’ve got a great shot at advancing to the second round.
Q. As a follow up, you have a history of coaching in Toronto. What, if any, factor or presence do you think the fans in Toronto might have against an experienced team such as Brooklyn?
VAN GUNDY: Well, I’ll tell you this, and I haven’t been back since I haven’t coached, but I was always so impressed with the home court advantage in Toronto. Their arena is great. The fans were passionate. I’m sure the losing the past few years has sort of dulled that, but I’m sure it’s back to where it should be and they’re all excited about the Playoffs. But great players aren’t really impacted by crowds and arenas. The only thing that can impact them is great competitors and great players on the other team, and I think DeRozan and Lowry and Ross and those guys are going to have a great opportunity to show against some great veteran players, some champions, some who have gone deep into the Playoffs, that they have what it takes to advance, and I’m excited for that series. I really am.
Q. The Thunder seems to have kind of stumbled into the No. 2 seed in the West. What concerns do you have about the Thunder heading into the Playoffs?
VAN GUNDY: Well, I’ll tell you, I didn’t really have any, but last night’s game did give me pause for concern. I thought Durant’s comments after the game were very interesting about what they need to do in preparation for the Playoffs was just clear their minds and relax. I don’t know if they’ve been feeling the pressure to get the No. 2 seed. I don’t know exactly what he was referring to. But last night defensively not to play better against a very guardable Detroit team at home in a must win, you can look at it as cause for concern, but it also gives Scott Brooks and his staff ample opportunity and evidence to pinpoint that the way they’re playing over the last week or so isn’t going to be good enough to get out of the West, and I think that’s an advantage that Scott and his staff have while still retaining that No. 2 seed.
Q. I also have a general question about the Playoffs. How much do you think the Playoffs in general perpetuate or create rivalries? It seems like the old New York-Miami bad blood was legendary and I assume that was not because of the regular season.
VAN GUNDY: No, I think to really develop a great rivalry, there has to be incidents and there has to be meetings in the Playoffs in close proximity. With Miami, we had a few things in games that – little flare ups, and then we met four straight years in the Playoffs, and they all went to a deciding game.
You need those types of things to build rivalries, and I think, like Memphis and the Clippers, they went back-to-back years where they played in the Playoffs. I thought that was developing into a good rivalry. Dallas and Oklahoma City – I thought had their times. If they would have matched up against this year, I thought that would have been a nice rivalry, too.
It takes, I think, both, flare ups and meetings in pretty close proximity to get that feel of a true rivalry.
Q. Do you agree with the take that for the Nets to make a real run, Deron Williams would have to turn into something more close to what he was in Utah, and what do you make of his diminished production not only this season but really since he became a Net?
VAN GUNDY: Yeah, I think for them to make a run, I think he’s going to have to be very, very good. His matchup this first series I think could be the most underrated player in the league this season in Kyle Lowry. Kyle Lowry to me clearly should have been an All Star. He’s had a tremendous year. He’s got the mentality of a pit bull, and so Williams is going to have to be really good.
As far as the bigger picture, I really do think that there are two things that every NBA player can look at his situation and say, all right, what can I learn from it, and the first one would be sometimes you don’t know how good you have it. Williams in Utah with Jerry Sloan, with the combination of the other players that they had, were right on the cusp. They were very, very good. And he was viewed at that point, some people thought Chris Paul was the best point guard, other people thought Deron Williams was the best point guard, but they were both these guys who you were looking upon as surefire Hall of Famers.
And then I think the second thing is when you go to a team and you purposely, as an organization, try to lose, I don’t think part of that thought process is – you’re not thinking about the impact it can have on individual players and on team habits and that it’s not easy to get it back.
I can’t say – I haven’t seen him practice. I don’t know enough about his situation, if it’s a health-related thing, but I do think you have to examine those things when you’re a player because everybody thinks you’re going to be the same guy no matter where you go in this league, no matter who you play for, no matter who you play with, and my experience is that success is very fragile in this league.
Q. Do you think that he’s capable of still being that player or he’s more just a product of the system in Utah?
VAN GUNDY: I don’t know. Listen, I’m not trying to say he was a product of the system, but I do think that the system fit his skills. And we competed against him in the Playoffs and I saw firsthand the year he took Utah to the Western Conference Finals against the Spurs. This guy was an absolute stud, handful, on both ends of the floor. You don’t realize how big and strong and powerful he is and forceful, and he was running pick and roll with Mehmet Okur, who was a great shooting center, and with Boozer. So the centers had to guard Boozer because you couldn’t have your centers chasing Okur to the three point line, and he was playing with Kirilenko in his prime and Harper in his prime and Derek Fisher. They were tough and they were nasty and they were really, really good.
He wasn’t really good there, he was great. I mean, this guy was great. And so what I’m saying is it’s just sometimes you don’t realize how good you have it, and I thought everything was in line for them there to continue to grow and get better and better, and it didn’t work out that way. They had a really good year last year. I think they won 49 games last year, right?
Q. Yeah, 49-33.
VAN GUNDY: Yeah, and they lost a tough seven-game series to the Bulls, and this year, what is it, 47 wins, 46 wins? I’m not sure.
Q. Yeah, the tanking at the end got me, too.
VAN GUNDY: Yeah, they tanked to try to get to Toronto, okay. But they had a great January 1st on. And he’s a big part of it.
So it’s not like he hasn’t played well for the Nets and at sometimes very well, it’s just he hasn’t been consistently great like he was in Utah, where it was every night he was the best – he was one of the top 20 players in the NBA.
Q. I have two questions. One, if you could vote for Coach of the Year in the NBA in the regular season, who would you vote for? And my second question is have you studied or paid attention enough to the top prospects in the NBA draft to say which one has the highest ceiling as an NBA player in your estimation?
VAN GUNDY: You know, I had the opportunity to vote this year on all the awards, but I chose to abstain because I just don’t believe I see enough. Even though I watch diligently, I don’t watch all the teams like I did when I was coaching. Everyone takes these awards very personally, which they should, and I just didn’t feel like I was worthy to vote. I think the voting should be done by the coaches and the players and the managements of the teams because I just think they’re more invested and they see more. I’m going to not pick a Coach of the Year.
And as far as the college, I don’t watch a lot. I watch some. I’ve seen the top guys. I like Wiggins from Kansas a lot. I think he is a tremendous athlete who could play at the 2 and overpower people with his size and athleticism there.
Q. A lot of people really haven’t had much chance to watch the Rockets in Houston this year. What have they missed, and as you’ve traveled around the city have you noticed in the reduction in enthusiasm for the Rockets that you may have seen compared to last year because of that limited distribution?
VAN GUNDY: I’m fortunate, I get the Rockets’ games. I don’t know what the percentage is, but is it less than 50?
Q. It’s about 40 percent coverage, yeah.
VAN GUNDY: Yeah. And like it has to impact everything about the Rockets negatively. What the fans who don’t get to see it on a regular basis, what they’re missing is this is a team that’s been put together that has great offensive talent and fits together really well. They play fast. They score easily. They have a talent in James Harden who’s as hard to guard as anybody not named Durant or LeBron James. They’ve got a center who gives them a force in the paint to protect the rim, to rebound and score around the basket, and then they’ve got one of the most unique competitors in Patrick Beverley who just – I love his mentality to attack each and every opponent and go after them.
I mean, they’re missing a great show, and I think Houston has got as good a chance as anybody to come out of the West.
Q. Some of the basketball questions have been taken, so I’ll go off the board a little. You mentioned about Toronto being a great place because of the fans to play. I’m just curious, you’ve been down to South Florida and you’ve obviously seen the league a lot and different teams and different games. How do you rank the atmosphere down here as far as basketball? It’s a little different climate, I guess.
VAN GUNDY: Yeah, I mean, I think in the Playoffs it’s an excellent atmosphere. Again, like a lot of teams that win as big as they’ve won over the last four years, you can become – you think winning is easy and it’s not. What they’ve done, these four straight regular seasons, making this push for four straight Finals appearances and three straight championships, it’s hard to do. So when the Playoffs roll around, I think the Miami Heat fans come out in full force, and I think it’ll be a good atmosphere.
Q. Looking at the Clippers-Warriors series, from an entertainment standpoint where would that rank maybe as a first-round series, and also can that up and down style that both teams play last throughout the Playoffs when the games typically tend to slow down?
VAN GUNDY: Well, I think, as far as a series, it’s a 10. I mean, it’s a great series, provided that the Warriors help. I think their bigs, they’ve got to be in good health. Listen, every possession is so critical in the Playoffs that teams and players are more conscious of transition defense, and so you may not see as many just dead fast breaks, but I think both teams will still try to play to their strength, which is advance the ball quickly, flow into early offense, try to create a quality shot as early in the clock as possible, and put extreme pressure on the defense to guard for the entirety of the clock if necessary. Both teams stretch you with such great three point shooting that when you run a pick and roll, particularly the Clippers, when they’ve got DeAndre Jordan or Blake Griffin rolling to the rim surrounded by great three point shooting and the best point guard in the game, well, a defensive team like the Warriors, it’s going to be tough. And likewise when you’re trying to guard, if you’re the Clippers you’re trying to guard Steph Curry or Klay Thompson with the great passing bigs of Bogut and Lee, those are hard covers, too.
I’m not sure there will be as many just blatant fast breaks, but I do think the pace of that series will be still very, very high, and both teams will be playing to their strengths and won’t shy away from pushing the ball.
Q. What have you seen from Dwyane Wade as far as reinventing his game at age 32 and becoming so effective as a jump shooter?
VAN GUNDY: Well, I think Wade’s rate of improvement since he’s been in the NBA as a jump shooter has been terrific. But I always sort of chuckle whenever I read about Wade. People write like he was diminished and now he’s reappearing. The only thing that has gone off for Wade is his health over the year. He came into this league a very efficient player and he continues to get more and more efficient. He’s not taking nearly as many threes recently, the last couple years, which I think was a smart play on his part, but when you see a guard shoot the percentage that he does, it’s just unheard of, and I think it speaks to his skill but also his basketball IQ because he takes shots that he can make.
And while that seems like it should be the norm, it certainly isn’t because you see a lot of guys in our league guards shoot low 40s, high 30s. It just proves what an important skill basketball intelligence is to playing efficient basketball.
Q. Does Miami’s chance, in your mind, hinge on Wade’s health and effectiveness?
VAN GUNDY: Well, I think that’s one that has to be there, but I think it’s really how often can those aging, really good players, how often they can play well. You know, can Chris Anderson be good two out of three nights and Battier and Ray Allen? I think Chalmers has to be. If I was looking out there, I’d be saying, I think Chalmers is really, really good, and how often will he be really good in this Playoffs? Will it be three out of every four games? Two out of every four? I think a lot depends on him and those aging guys, Battier and Chris Anderson and Ray Allen and those players.
Q. How much better suited do you think the Clippers are this year to make a long playoff run with Doc on their bench, and how much do you think he’s transformed them into something more substantial, made for the Playoffs?
VAN GUNDY: Well, Doc is a great, great Hall of Fame coach, and unfortunately him going there has made people diminish what Vinny Del Negro did, and I feel very badly about that. Vinny Del Negro did a great job in transforming the Clippers from what they were, which was a laughingstock, to bringing them on the road, to this year what they’ve developed into, which is a legitimate championship level team. Doc Rivers deserves a lot of credit for that, not only his coaching but because he is in charge of personnel, too, I think he’s done a really good job of acquiring J.J. Redick, Glen Davis to come there to provide some front court depth, which I think they were lacking a little bit. Unsure really about what Danny Granger can bring to them, but still, adding these pieces I think is really critical.
I think he deserves a lot of credit as a coach because obviously he’s a Hall of Fame level coach, but also his GM responsibilities, he and Gary Sacks, I think have done a terrific job putting together some components that were needed to help them get to the next level, which is that championship contending team.
Like I said, I picked Houston earlier in the call, but you could convince me the Clippers are the best team or the Spurs are the best team or Oklahoma City. They have as good a chance as anybody coming out of the West.
Q. I also wanted to ask you about one team that didn’t make the Playoffs. We’re waiting by the hour for Rick Adelman’s retirement announcement. Given Love’s uncertainty with his contract, how attractive a job is that for top candidates who are out there, and what do you think the chances are your friend Flip is going to end up doing that job, and where are you with coaching these days? Do you have any interest?
VAN GUNDY: Did Rick Adelman announce his retirement?
Q. It’s coming. He almost said so last night.
VAN GUNDY: Well, I’m going to say this, and you’ve gotten to watch him so you know what a great coach he is. But I think Rick Adelman – there’s been certain guys by how they’ve played the game or coached the game that have really sort of changed how the game has been played, and his use of bigs passing at the elbows in that corner offense has really transformed offenses. I think he and Mike D’Antoni in the last 20 years have had more impact on how the game is played offensively than any two other coaches. Rick Adelman to me, to have over 1,000 wins and to be such a principled, dignified guy, if he does decide to retire, I mean, what a loss for the NBA. To me, he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
That job is obviously – Kevin Love has had an incredible year, so following Rick Adelman is a tough job. Also getting Kevin Love to commit for the long term is obviously a priority, and I don’t know where he stands, if he’s ready to commit that he wants to do that. But certainly Flip will figure it out. I think he had a terrific first year as the president. I think both of his draft choices will prove to be very, very successful at the slots they were picked at. But they have more to do, obviously. They’ve got to improve their rim protection. Their defense has to get better. You know, they’re going to have decisions on Rubio. They’ve got work to do because that Western Conference is loaded.
But if that team was in the East they’d have won 50 games and we’d be hailing what a great year they had.
Q. Just wondering, what is Jason Kidd going to face in his first time in the Playoffs as a head coach that he couldn’t possibly have experienced in his first season as a head coach in the regular season? What challenge is he going to face basically his first time in the Playoffs as a coach?
VAN GUNDY: Well, I think series are different. Now, obviously he’s done it as a player, but I think when you go from game to game, so much is made of adjustments, which I think is a little bit overblown, but you have to pick the one or two things that you think will impact winning more so than other options. Like you can’t pick everything out to try to change between a Game 1 and Game 2 that you think would help you win. You can’t try to adjust everything.
So I just think that like what he’s comfortable with, what his team can handle as far as adjustments will be the only significant thing that he hasn’t faced because he’s already faced withering criticism and he held his team together so well.
I think the other thing is who’s his rotation? Is he going to play Garnett, Plumlee and Blatche? Is he going to play them all? Is he going to up the minutes of his main guys and play everybody mid to high 30s? Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Pierce, or is he going to try to keep the minutes down? I think that to me is what I’m most curious to see.
Q. Is this also where he might miss having an experienced assistant on his bench like Lawrence Frank?
VAN GUNDY: Well, first of all, listen, Lawrence is a fantastic coach, so I don’t care – if he’s not with you, you’re always going to miss him. But I would need to know the dynamic of their coaching staff more than I do to be able to answer that question well. I don’t know what Kidd is looking for from his assistants and what they provide. I don’t have any knowledge of that.
Q. A lot of people are saying that the Bulls are a dangerous team in the Playoffs, but they have such an unconventional makeup right now. They have no real star. They count on getting six, seven guys in double figures. They’re center is throwing all the passes. D.J. Augustin is their best late game scorer. Do you think that formula can succeed in the Playoffs?
VAN GUNDY: Well, it will succeed to a point. You can only go so far with that, and they have – this is the thing, I have such respect for their coaches and players. They’ve absolutely maxed out their group every year, and you know, they are a hungry team and they come ready to play as much as anyone in the NBA.
What happens in the Playoffs is everyone is ready and excited, and so, yeah, their margin of error is super small. But I do think they’ll figure out how to beat a young, inexperienced Wizards team who’s clearly more talented. They’re more physically gifted than the Bulls, but I think the Bulls will figure out how to win that series, and I think it’ll be a hard fought 4-1 series, but I think it will be a challenge.
And then in the second round, if they meet up with Indiana, Indiana has just got a lot more talent. Does that mean the Bulls couldn’t win? No. They could. But again, their margin of error is just so small, and like you said, Noah has had a great year, Gibson could easily be sixth man, Dunleavy has held up well, Jimmy Butler is an iron man, Hinrich is a great competitor, and the one you talked about, D.J. Augustin, to me picking him up and signing him was a season favor, and I give management credit for signing him but Thibodeau for reenergizing him. It just shows you every backup point guard that comes through there – if I was a backup point guard I’d be signing in Chicago every year because I know I’m going to up my value and get paid because all of them get put in position where they can play their very best.
Q. I’m wondering, in talking to the stars of the Clippers, Griffin and Paul and DeAndre Jordan, all those guys, to a man they can’t say enough about Doc Rivers. There’s a love affair, so to speak, going on there with the players and the way they feel about Doc. Let me ask you something: Does that love affair come to an abrupt end if they were to lose in the first round of the Playoffs like they did last year?
VAN GUNDY: I don’t think so. I mean, love affair may be too strong. Listen, players, they don’t know always what’s right, but they do know – I shouldn’t say that. Listen, I think he commands respect because of his past success, and also he is a sharp, intelligent, charismatic leader. He’s going to the Hall of Fame, and so they would be foolish not to hang on every word that he has to say. He knows winning, he knows what it takes. He knows what leads to losing.
And so I think those guys are being really bright by making sure they’re listening all the time to what he has to say. I don’t think one series loss in any particular round would impact how they view him because you’ve got to be more long range thinking if you’re a coach in evaluating players who may lose in the first round or if you’re a player evaluating a coach if you lose in the first round.
Q. I know you’ve defended coaches pretty staunchly the last couple years as we’ve seen some fired pretty quickly. It seems like Mark Jackson is in much the same situation as some other coaches have been where it’s almost like he has to win to save his job despite having one of the best records in franchise history. I wonder what you make of that situation and the job he’s done there.
VAN GUNDY: Well, you’re saying I’m defending coaches – my thing is I’m not defending them. I’m trying to give their perspective because what’s happened in our league is anybody who needs an out to shift the blame knows that they can always go to the coach because no one is going to stand up for them. No one. To me it’s interesting how our league has changed. It used to be that when you lost, you knew you were in trouble as a coach. Now losing is called a plan. Winning coaches are now every bit up for being fired as losing coaches. We saw is last year with Lionel Hollins, Vinny Del Negro, George Karl. But I’ve heard rumblings, I’ve seen the same reports as everybody else that Mark has got to win to keep his job, but I’ve never seen anybody willing to put their name to it. If it’s true, it’s utter nonsense.
If you’re a Warriors fan, management, owner, whatever, you can’t have that short a memory of where your organization has been. Your organization is one who’s historically lost and lost big, and Mark has come in there in the lockout year and they lost due to Curry being injured a majority of the year, and they made a huge trade, Bogut, who was hurt, for Monta Ellis, so they sacrificed that year, and then the last two years in a hyper competitive Western Conference, they’ve put together back-to-back 40-plus win seasons for the first time in like I don’t know, 20, 25 years. So you can’t lose sight of how far you’ve come.
Now again, there’s going to be a lot of teams in the Western Conference that are great that are going to be disappointed because you’re going to lose a playoff series. Whether it’s the Clippers or Golden State, one is going to lose. But that doesn’t mean a coach has to pay for his job or you’re better served as an organization by changing coaches, giving your fans the illusion that you’re going to do better. I mean, Memphis did that, and what happened? They got the eighth seed, right, and they lost a little bit now. Now, they had the injury to Gasol.
Denver did that, and they are in the lottery.
So when you change, when you change coaches, it can get worse, too, and I think anybody thinking that Mark Jackson hasn’t done a superior job there in transforming them from a poor team to a very, very good team, and from a sieve defensively to an elite defensive team just isn’t paying attention, and to think anyone could have done that with that team I think is making a mistake.
I don’t buy it. I don’t think he is under any pressure to lose his job. I’d be shocked – I just can’t see it. I just can’t see management and ownership not recognizing what a great job he’s done.
Q. Earlier you mentioned the Heat’s health issues and the injury concerns. Is there any reason to be concerned about the fact that they’re going to try to do this for a fourth straight year and just kind of them experiencing any wear and tear, just trying to do something that many teams haven’t been able to do?
VAN GUNDY: Well, I think teams haven’t been able to do it because the other teams are really good. Listen, what they’re trying to accomplish is really remarkable. I think it’s set up very well for them. I think they have a great chance to reach The Finals again, and if you get there, shoot, you’ve got one series win away from winning it, obviously.
But I don’t think if they’re not successful it’s going to be about wear and tear. I just think they’re not going to have as many good players in their primes. They’re relying on a lot of guys who are not in their prime, and they also have the health issue. I think those two things.
And Bosh down the stretch to me hasn’t been as good offensively. I’ll be interested to see if they play big a majority of the time in the Playoffs with Bosh at the 4 stretching it out or if they’ll play him at the 5. It may change series to series, as well.
Q. It looks like it’s coming down to a two man MVP race with Durant and LeBron James. Can you kind of put into context what Kevin Durant has done this season to be in the conversation with LeBron James during this four or five year run that LeBron has had of MVPs?
VAN GUNDY: Well, I think James is one of the players for all time. He’s going to be one of the all-time all timers, and so, too, is Durant, and Durant has had a remarkable season. But I think when we say a remarkable season, sometimes it overshadows the other remarkable seasons he’s had. You know, so people always say he should be MVP, and my thing is always you take whoever –if you want to pick one, you pick whoever you want and I’ll pick the other guy and I’ll be fine with my pick, too.
You know, they’re both worthy, and to me Durant – I just love the whole way he goes about his job. I’m drawn to the humbleness of him and just how great he is and how he goes about his job. I’m just a huge fan.
Q. A little bit more about that falling of Brooklyn to face Toronto, a little bit more about that series if you can. Is that something that Toronto will use as motivation, of course, that they tried to get them on purpose?
VAN GUNDY: Well, I think when you get to the Playoffs, you don’t need any more motivation. But I do think it’s an interesting matchup. To me the Amir Johnson-Paul Pierce match up, or do they put Amir Johnson on Livingston and try to match up Ross on Pierce? I’m really interested to see how Toronto decides to stay big or if they decide to stay big against the four perimeter players of Brooklyn, and if they do, what their match up is, and if they don’t, how that plays out by downsizing to what Brooklyn wants to do.
To me, it’s fascinating – do coaches match up to their opponent or do you stick with what you’ve done all year and ride that as far as you can? And to me that’s the most interesting thing about that playoff matchup.