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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Sharp dressed pan

I've been waiting for an opportunity to mention this stupid T-P article on Byron Scott's wardrobe.
Scott has 82 suits hanging in the closet of his Kenner home. The size 44-longs are arranged in color-coordinated order on one wall, while a row of dress shirts -- lined up like pastel paint chips in white, yellow, pink and cream cottons -- flank the opposite.

The closet, lit with a single incandescent bulb, is not something you'd see on, say, "Cribs" or HGTV. A standard-size walk-in off the master suite, the space is so narrow, two adults couldn't stand shoulder to shoulder.
This sort of thing is always a bad sign in coaches. Image-conscious egomaniacs in decision-making positions tend to purpose those decisions toward making the game about them instead of about their players. They might go for goofy fourth-and-8s in their own territory in order to cultivate a "gambler's image" or they might call an unnecessary reverse instead of just running out the clock in a crucial game, or in Scott's case, they might blame their young players for their own failure to be patient with or teach them.

Adrastos explains in a post where he unloads on the Hornets' dapper douchebag. A quick taste
But the Hornets' poor late season play and Scott's lousy game coaching are not his biggest problems as a coach. His biggest vice is that he's a poor judge of talent and very impatient with young players. If a young player makes a mistake in a game, Scott's impulse is to bench him, get in his face and then berate him to the media. Who the hell is he? Gordon Ramsay? Leo Durocher? Actually, he *thinks* he's the second coming of Pat Riley but he's not.

Scott gave up on JR Smith who is now one of the best sixth men in the game for Denver as well as Brandon Bass who is a key reserve with the Dallas Mavericks. Granted, JR was an immature jerk in his time with the Hornets BUT he's developed into a fine, albeit high maintenance, player. Bass, on the other hand, was hard working and eager to learn but Scott is so afraid to lose that he'd rather try mediocre veterans than give a kid the chance to make mistakes and learn from them. Julian Wright is the current poster boy for Scott's impatient style and short term outlook as a coach. Wright has showed some promise in his time with the Hornets BUT the minute he makes a mistake, it's back to the bench and Byron calls a press conference to rag on him.
Now go read the rest.

Obviously, the injuries with which Chandler and West have been playing have made things difficult, but I think Adrastos is right to call attention to Scott as a major source of the trouble with this team.

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