denisdman wrote:
The Skiles wear out factor was much quicker and more obvious. My understanding is that Skiles was one of those sarcastic SOB's. I think players respected Thibs for his commitment to basketball. Plus I think Thibs is a much better coach especially on defense.
If I could choose a coach for my team, it would be Pop, then Thibs.
They respected him - no doubt - but he also clearly lost them toward the end of his tenure. Whether the front office accelerated that separation is something worth considering I guess, but regardless of the front office's role, Thibs was always known to push his guys hard. I think the common denominator between successful coaches in most major sports is they know when to push hard and when to give guys some space. It's easier to respect someone's leadership when you realize that the directives you've been given are rooted in some underlying logic that reflects everyone's best interests, IMO.
FavreFan wrote:
veganfan21 wrote:
Given his obsessive attention to detail I'm wondering if the two hats he's going to wear will mean he's unable to apply that high level focus equally to both aspects of the job. In any case if he's still going to be the Thibs we know then the wolves are definitely in the playoffs next year. However I said the same thing about skiles and I'll say it about Thibs too: I really, really hope he learns when to let up and when to push. That'll probably make the difference between him being a long term hire for a given organization or just a guy you hire to change the culture before moving on from him after he pisses everyone off.
I think Skiles and Thibs are inaccurately compared way too much. Skiles doesn't do shit but yell at his players and roll his eyes and make passive aggressive insults about them to the media. Thibs has a genuinely innovative and effective defensive philosophy he brings with him, and seems to push his players in a way that significantly improves them instead of just makes them hate him.
Edit: Also, Thibs is a great coach and Skiles hasn't been a good coach in a decade.
I do agree with most of this but when he was here Skiles made significant improvements. After PJ the best coaches I've seen as a fan are Skiles and Thibs, so for me I guess I have high regard for what he did over here and sort of ignore the rest. So while I agree that Skiles isn't in Thibs neighborhood, you can make an objective case that he did much more here than what you've summarized above.