Jun 21, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra during the post game press conference after winning the NBA championship in game five of the 2012 NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena. The Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

10. Erik Spoelstra – Miami Heat: Love him or hate him he still has to coach his way to a NBA championship. A lot of talented teams have been formed for years now and only a few have actually succeeded. A common component in all these championship teams is extremely good coaching. He might have the best players in the universe on his team but you can’t say Spoelstra didn’t push the right buttons at the right time. It also takes leadership and coaching skill to manage star’s egos and handle the media questioning your every move.

9. Byron Scott – Cleveland Cavaliers: The 2008 NBA Coach of the Year is in the middle of a rebuilding process in Cleveland. He was a great coach with New Jersey during the golden years and is a big part of Chris Paul’s early success in New Orleans. Scott has a lot of young talent with the Cavs and will be able to put his fingerprints all over this team. Kyrie Irving is a superstar in the making and has the perfect coach to learn from.

8. Rick Carlisle – Dallas Mavericks: There wasn’t a better coach in the league in 2011 than Mr. Carlisle. The mastermind behind the Mavericks championship run and stopping the train known as LeBron James in the NBA Finals is one of the league’s best. He has only missed the playoffs once in his 10-year career but his window might be championship window is closing, if not closed already, in Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki is up there in age now and there were very little monumental offseason moves made, Carlisle will have to coach his butt off for the Mavs to succeed this year.

7. Frank Vogel – Indiana Pacers: The Pacers are on a franchise on the rise. Young emerging players like Roy Hibbert, Danny Granger, and Paul George are great corner pieces. They had a 2-1 lead on the Heat and were in prime position to pull a huge upset when Chris Bosh went down but couldn’t close the deal. Frank Vogel is behind all of this as the Pacers will be favorites in the Central Division with Derrick Rose hurt. Vogel is the youngest coach but also one of the smartest and knows how to push his young players.

6. Scott Brooks – Oklahoma City Thunder: Brooks’ young Thunder team has only improved under his watch. Granted he has the best young nucleus the league has seen in a while, in 4 years in a row his teams have progressed: missing playoffs, first round exit, conference finals exit, and then last year’s Finals loss. He will have many opportunities to lead his team to Finals glory with the players he has. He will have to make the right rotations and press the right buttons if he wants to get past the Lakers.

May 26, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doug Collins reacts on the side line during the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics in game seven of the Eastern Conference semifinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

5. Doug Collins – Philadelphia 76ers: Doug Collins is doing a fantastic job in Philadelphia. His team had its ups and downs last year but finished strong in a close series loss to Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Now with Andrew Bynum, Collins has another piece to work with. Losing their leader in Andre Iguodala could be tough but Bynum is a dominant center. Collins will work to  mold this young but very talented team into a great team in the East. He is a tough coach who gets the best out his players.

4. George Karl – Denver Nuggets: With over 1000 wins his career and an inspiration to us all, George Karl sets the bar for coaching. Karl is a cancer survivor, but he wouldn’t let cancer be an excuse for losing a few steps in his coaching. Karl’s Nuggets are consistent and are a legit contender this year in the Western Conference. Karl will keep on putting his team in the right position to win, no doubt about it.

3. Tom Thibodeau – Chicago Bulls: Coach Thibodeau is a defensive mastermind. He has coached the Bulls to the best record in the Eastern Conference two years straight now but hasn’t been able to go over the hump just yet. No Derrick Rose will hurt a lot, as would any team losing their superstar and MVP. He also lost a lot of his bench that he worked so well last year. Thibodeau is a great coach but he will be tested this year. He also has the most raspy voice in the league.

2. Doc Rivers – Boston Celtics: Doc knows what he is working with and knows exactly how to use it perfectly. Kevin Garnett aging? Paul Pierce hurt? Ray Allen not the same? No problem last year for Doc as he had his Celtics one win away from another NBA Finals appearance. His frontcourt got younger this year through the draft and he has molded Rajon Rondo into one of the best point guards in the league. Rivers is a player’s coach who has done a masterful job in Boston.

1. Gregg Popovich – San Antonio Spurs: The reigning Coach of the Year is a basketball genius.  Coach Pop runs a smooth system and always seems to have his players at the right spot at the right time. He has a master at getting the best out of his role players. He has no problem handling stars, as they seem to have no ego what so ever. He has brainwashed the Spurs into a team first attitude and that’s all a coach can ask for. Greg Popovich should never be undermined and you would be a fool to ever count out the Spurs when he is calling the shots. Plus he has a pretty sweet beard.

Could Phil Jackson, the Zen Master himself, get fired this season? Of course not, you idiot, but where do the rest of the coaches in the league stand? (Source: Yarbarker.com)

I seem to be in a major ranking/grading/evaluating the whole NBA-mode, so today we’re gonna check out which coaches might not make it through the season.  Every year it seems like about six coaches are fired in the middle of the 82 game grind.  And a few more who made it through the grist then are shown the exit during the summer.  But we just finished one summer, so we ain’t talking about the next one yet.  Just this upcoming season.  Who’s Bulletproof?  Who’s on the Hot Seat?  And where does everyone else stand and why?  Well, you’re lucky ‘cuz we’s about’s ta answer these questions fer ya.

Bulletproof (again, for this upcoming season only):

Doc Rivers – Celtics

George Karl – Nuggets:  He might quit if it’s too grueling, but ya can’t fire a guy coming back from cancer.  Ya just can’t.  If you disagree, grow a heart, dude.

Phil Jackson – Lakers

Gregg Popovich – Spurs

Jerry Sloan – Jazz

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After Game #1 it seemed like Mo Williams would be a Major X-Factor. After Game #2 and Rajon Rondo's defense, we're downgrading Mo to a mere Minor X-Factor. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

After last night’s game, it’s clear there are 5 Major X-Factors in the Cleveland Cavaliers/Boston Celtics playoff series, 3 Minor X-Factors, and 1 Under-Reported Straight-Out Factor.  What do I mean by Major, Minor and Straight-Out Factors?  Well, first a Straight-Out Factor versus an X-Factor is something you know is going to happen versus something that may or may not happen.  Like it’s obvious now that Rajon Rondo is a force who’s gonna bring it every night. Earlier in his career that wasn’t the case, and he was an X-Factor. Now he’s a Straight-Out Factor, but he’s an Over-Reported Factor (or rather a Justifiably-Frequently-Reported Factor), so we ain’t gonna go into him.

In terms of Major X-Factors or Minor ones, a Major one is a change that will effect the whole series, while a Minor X-Factor effects just one game.  For instance, Doc Rivers has said that he hopes Nate Robinson can come in at some point during the playoffs, get hot, and help them win that game.  However, Nate clearly isn’t gonna be a major X-Factor who’s gonna suddenly be a force who leads them to victory in every single remaining battle.  Honestly, I don’t even have him as a minor X-Factor, but who knows?

The Five Major X-Factors:

To read the rest, click here.

Damn straight, Phil Jackson should be walking with his head down after some of his coaching choices! Right? ...Right? Um, maybe not. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Is there anyone in the NBA who gets criticized more than coaches?  It doesn’t matter who you are, how successful you are (or have been), or what players you have at your disposal — we can always find problems with you.  Earlier this year, Greg Popovitch was criticized for being unable to make his big off-season acquisition, Richard Jefferson, productive.  The other night, Phil Jackson, winner of more NBA titles than God himself, left himself open for target practice by choosing to draw up a play for Pau Gasol to attempt the game-tying three-point shot (Pau missed, which could cause the Lakers to lose home court advantage if they play the Magic in the Finals).

We, the fans and media, aren’t necessarily wrong in complaining about these points, but I think sometimes we not only expect too much, we also don’t always see (or know) the full picture.  For instance, maybe Phil was trying to make a point to Kobe about how the Black Mamba needed to give his body rest or it would cost the team (the previous possession Kobe missed two free throws that would’ve given the Lakers the lead).  If Kobe/Fisher/Artest/whoever hit a three for the tie, then maybe Kobe remains convinced that he can play through his injuries.  Sure, you can say this was a costly way to make a point (& I have no idea if Phil was trying to make this point), but if Kobe’s sitting out these two last games enables him to be healthy enough to lead the Lakers back to a championship, it’d be hard to argue with the results.

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The Celtics' Rajon Rondo drives to the hoop and is shocked to find that the Knicks have a 7-footer playing defense there. Meet Earl Barron. (source: Yardbarker.com)

Two seasons ago the Boston Celtics were the cream of the crop with Kevin Garnett leading their monstrous defense.  Last season they started out strong until KG went down with a knee injury which kept him out of the playoffs.  As a result, they struggled to get past the Chicago Bulls, then were eliminated in just the second round.  This year Garnett is back and ostensibly healthy.  But the mojo is gone.

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The second one, which we also talked about before it was finalized, was a trade with the Houston Rockets involving Tracy McGrady & his big ol’ expiring contract.  Turns out the deal didn’t contract, it expanded, becoming a threesome with the Sacramento Kings.  The Knicks basically gave up everything that was initially reported, and their attempts to protect their draft picks were laughable.  The Rockets get the choice to swap 2011 picks with the Knicks, but we stood our ground and got the pick protected.  If it’s the top pick in the draft.  Really?  That’s the best we could do?  What was the conversation like between Donnie Walsh and Houston GM Daryl Morey?

Walsh, “No, no, you’re asking for too much, we’ll only do it if the pick is lottery protected!”

Morey, “Nah.”

Walsh, “Fine, top-ten protected.”

Morey, “No.”

“Top five!”

“Nope”

“Top three!  And that’s as low as I’ll go!”

“Can’t do it.  Oh, got Sacramento on the other line, so I best be going-”

“Okay, okay, no protection!  Wait, no, that’ll make me look like a total chump who didn’t even attempt to fight this.”

“Know what?  You seem like a nice guy, tell ya what I’ll do.  We both know the chances of it being the number one pick are like a hundred-to-one, whadaya say we make it Top One protected.  It won’t affect me, and you… you can make up stories about how you stood your ground, refused to be bullied about.”

“Hmm, I can live with that.”

“But ya also gotta call me the ‘Grand High Poobah’ whenever we speak.”

“As you wish, Poobah.”

“That’s ‘Grand High’ to you.”

Ummm, but I digress.  Incredibly far.  Back to the actual facts of the trade.  So the Rockets, who made out like bandits, not only get to swap that 2011 pick, they also get the Knicks 2012 pick (oooh, but it’s top-5 protected), Jordan Hill, Jared Jeffries, and the biggest thing… Sacramento’s sweet shooting Kevin Martin.   Martin, who’s still recovering from injury, has been able to easily score 25 points/game in the past, getting to the line 7-10 times a game for free buckets, and hitting threes with impunity despite having one of the oddest looking shooting motions.  He should thrive in the Rockets’ current free-flowing system, and should Yao Ming return healthy next year, Martin’s outside shooting should complement him much better than T-Mac’s game ever did.  Oh, and the Rockets also have to take Sacramento’s Hilton Armstrong (now on his third team this season).

The Kings, who had decided that Martin wasn’t working well along their rookie wunderkind, Tyreke Evans, get Martin’s contract off their books, plus the Rockets’ contender for sixth-man-of-the-year, Carl Landry.  Despite coming off the bench, Landry has been top 5 this season in points scored in the fourth quarter.  With the Kings struggling to close out some games, he could be a big boon.  And the wily Rockets had signed Landry to a great, reasonable deal too.  The Kings also get Larry Hughes from us, plus Joey Dorsey from the Rockets.

As for us, we get TMac, plus Sacramento’s third-string point guard, Sergio Rodriguez.  As mentioned, the key impetus for this whole deal was to get Jared Jeffries’ contract off the books for next year.  Since TMac’s contract expires this year, we get what we want: enough cap space to sign nearly two max free agents (it depends on what the final cap limit will be, which won’t be determined until this summer), which’ll be more cap space than any other team in the league is expected to have.  However, in the meantime, like I said previously, we get a free audition of McGrady to see if he has anything left.  And if he does, maybe he’ll choose to stay in NYC for a discount.  The other short-term bonus is that even though he’s not a PG, he’s a good distributor so maybe he can take minutes away from the god-awful Chris Duhon.  Along those lines, the throw-in Sergio Rodriguez is actually a pretty darn exciting PG himself, nicknamed “Spanish Chocolate” (kinda odd that he ended up in Sacramento where Jason Williams, aka “White Chocolate” made his name.  What’s up with Sac-town’s desire for Chocolate?  I mean it ain’t like they play in Hershey, Pennsylvania or something…).  “Spanish,” much like “White,” is known to be a mediocre defender, but hell, on this Knicks’ team he should fit right in.  Unlike Duhon, he is aggressive, and unlike Nate Robinson, he is a pass-first type of point guard.

Whew, this is getting long, and I haven’t gotten to the third trade yet.  It’s with the Celts, and sadly it includes fan favorite Nate Robinson (plus another Knick, who for some reason is still unknown — I’m thinking Jonathan Bender or Marcus Landry) in return for Eddie House and seldom used players J.R. Giddeons and Bill Walker.  Kind of an odd trade.  The Knicks do it solely to get rid of Nate, not for better talent, versatility, money or anything.  His inconsistency and free-lancing just bugs the hell out of Mike D’Antoni, so they got rid of him even though along with David Lee he’s the longest tenured Knick and as I said, the fans love him.  On the opposite end, Eddie House is not only a big fan favorite for the Celts, but also someone who Celtics’ coach Doc Rivers says is a core player who he doesn’t want to lose.  However, the Celts have been playing poorly lately (for a team who wants a championship or bust) so management used this to send a “message” that players better step it up.  I mean Nate’s a slightly better defender than House, and has more offensive versatility (meaning he’s not just a spot-up three-point shooter), but he won’t be the difference between a championship or not for Boston.  Their real problem is with their power forwards: Kevin Garnett (gimpy), Rasheed Wallace (fatty), and Glen “Don’t Call Me Big Baby” Davis (no D).

Oh yeah, and we lost again last night to the Bulls (played well for three plus quarters, then fell apart).  If only the summer of 2010 could get here sooner so we could get a real team…