In 2007, Danny Ainge and the Celtics hire Tom Thibodeau from Houston who molds the team into the league-leading defense (with, of course, the assistance of Mr. Garnett). The next year, Kevin McHale and the T-Wolves hire Dean Cooper from Houston. The Houston Rockets have a reputation for strong defense (4th in points allowed; 2nd in opponent's FG%). Much of the discussion on the boards is how T-Wolves players need to improve their defense. Is hiring Cooper a copycat attempt to replicate the Celtic's / Rocket's defensive systems? Will it work? If so, how will the new T-Wolves rank in offensive firepower and margin of victory?

"Thibodeau is Celtics' Minister of Defense"
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics...minister_of_defense/

It will not work because we do not have someone anywhere near KG's defense, intensity, versatility, or smarts.

To be fair, it's more of a team defense thing. Especially if you watched Houston last year. Their team defense was what gave them that streak and kept them alive without Yao. They didn't have a single defender that was even close to KG. The Celtics, as absurdly good as KG was, did it as a team as well. Of course, KG is easily the most versatile and talented defender in the league, so his contributions are huge. But our defense really can't do much else but get better, especially if they work as a unit.

nja700 wrote:
To be fair, it's more of a team defense thing. Especially if you watched Houston last year. Their team defense was what gave them that streak and kept them alive without Yao. They didn't have a single defender that was even close to KG. The Celtics, as absurdly good as KG was, did it as a team as well. Of course, KG is easily the most versatile and talented defender in the league, so his contributions are huge. But our defense really can't do much else but get better, especially if they work as a unit.

Actually... we got worse by adding Mike Miller and Kevin Love, and losing Marko. On top of that, two of our worst defenders are still here (McCants and Smith.)

Touche. I just looked over our roster, and I guess it's none too pretty as far as defense goes. Well, in that case, we might as well just settle for being a broke man's version of the Suns this year. Yuck.

nja700 wrote:
Touche. I just looked over our roster, and I guess it's none too pretty as far as defense goes. Well, in that case, we might as well just settle for being a broke man's version of the Suns this year. Yuck.


Yeah, it's not very promising. To win games this year, we're definitely going to have to outscore other teams... rather than hope to stop them on defense.

More like we'll be a homeless man's version of the Suns this year.

Yea, you need to have the personnel to make it happen. Between our severely undersized frontcourt that's going to get sh*t on, guards who don't play a lick of defense (McCants and Foye), and Miller who's not much of a defender, I don't see it happening.

Never say never. Team defense can somewhat improve witht he right schemes. I agree that aside of Brewer we don't have any good natural defenders but I think some of the guys can become moderate defenders with the right guy teaching them. Most of them are still young enough to learn. KG also wasn't a great defender when he just arrived into the league.

twolf3234 wrote:
Never say never. Team defense can somewhat improve witht he right schemes. I agree that aside of Brewer we don't have any good natural defenders but I think some of the guys can become moderate defenders with the right guy teaching them. Most of them are still young enough to learn. KG also wasn't a great defender when he just arrived into the league.


He was better than anyone the Wolves have right now.

Wait a minute. No one predicted that the Celtics would be a defensive powerhouse with Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and loose change. Tom Thibodeaux was not lauded as a defensive genius solely because of Kevin Garnett. Did anyone watch the playoffs? The best analysts repeatedly praised the Celtics TEAM defensive execution. More than flashy athletic skill, this requires basketball intelligence, conditioning, hustle and a lot of heart. Given that veteran T-Pups are showing up this summer to work out, I sense that there is some enthusiasm about winning. Love, Gomes, Brewer and Miller are touted for their basketball intelligence with Foye and Telfair soon coming off the learning curve. The Front Office has been focusing on obtaining "good character" players who can be relied upon in tough times. These sound like building blocks that the right coach can use to build something. If he can motivate Jefferson, McCants and Smith to move their feet, perhaps they can get some stops.

It sounds like there is consensus that the T-Pups will be better offensively with Miller and Love feeding Big Al, grabbing rebounds, starting the break and hitting jumpers to open up the middle. I think it was Bobby Knight who said that "the key to winning in basketball is scoring more points than the other team."

Here is the only opinion that I could find about Dean Cooper -- from "the light" at RealGM Basketball

From "the light" at RealGM Basketballes:

"A Houston Rockets Web site is reporting that Dean Cooper, a Vice President with the Rockets, will become a new assistant coach for the T-Wolves. He is suppossed to be a defensive guru like that dude from the Celtics (Thibodieux). Great hire by Wittman." www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=827595

Underdog wrote:
Wait a minute. No one predicted that the Celtics would be a defensive powerhouse with Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and loose change. Tom Thibodeaux was not lauded as a defensive genius solely because of Kevin Garnett. Did anyone watch the playoffs? The best analysts repeatedly praised the Celtics TEAM defensive execution. More than flashy athletic skill, this requires basketball intelligence, conditioning, hustle and a lot of heart. Given that veteran T-Pups are showing up this summer to work out, I sense that there is some enthusiasm about winning. Love, Gomes, Brewer and Miller are touted for their basketball intelligence with Foye and Telfair soon coming off the learning curve. The Front Office has been focusing on obtaining "good character" players who can be relied upon in tough times. These sound like building blocks that the right coach can use to build something. If he can motivate Jefferson, McCants and Smith to move their feet, perhaps they can get some stops.

It sounds like there is consensus that the T-Pups will be better offensively with Miller and Love feeding Big Al, grabbing rebounds, starting the break and hitting jumpers to open up the middle. I think it was Bobby Knight who said that "the key to winning in basketball is scoring more points than the other team."

Here is the only opinion that I could find about Dean Cooper -- from "the light" at RealGM Basketball

You've got to be kidding.

They have KG (who should have won at least one DPOY before this season)
Perkins (legitimate sized center that plays good D)
Rondo (top 3 defensive PG)
AND Posey (one of the best wing defenders in the league)

The fact that Allen and Pierce bought into playing D was just a bonus.

Not only do we not have a single player that's even as close to any of these guys defensively, we don't have Thibodeau.

roundhouse wrote:
Underdog wrote:
Wait a minute. No one predicted that the Celtics would be a defensive powerhouse with Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and loose change. Tom Thibodeaux was not lauded as a defensive genius solely because of Kevin Garnett. Did anyone watch the playoffs? The best analysts repeatedly praised the Celtics TEAM defensive execution. More than flashy athletic skill, this requires basketball intelligence, conditioning, hustle and a lot of heart. Given that veteran T-Pups are showing up this summer to work out, I sense that there is some enthusiasm about winning. Love, Gomes, Brewer and Miller are touted for their basketball intelligence with Foye and Telfair soon coming off the learning curve. The Front Office has been focusing on obtaining "good character" players who can be relied upon in tough times. These sound like building blocks that the right coach can use to build something. If he can motivate Jefferson, McCants and Smith to move their feet, perhaps they can get some stops.

It sounds like there is consensus that the T-Pups will be better offensively with Miller and Love feeding Big Al, grabbing rebounds, starting the break and hitting jumpers to open up the middle. I think it was Bobby Knight who said that "the key to winning in basketball is scoring more points than the other team."

Here is the only opinion that I could find about Dean Cooper -- from "the light" at RealGM Basketball

You've got to be kidding.

They have KG (who should have won at least one DPOY before this season)
Perkins (legitimate sized center that plays good D)
Rondo (top 3 defensive PG)
AND Posey (one of the best wing defenders in the league)

The fact that Allen and Pierce bought into playing D was just a bonus.

Not only do we not have a single player that's even as close to any of these guys defensively, we don't have Thibodeau.


I'm gonna have to agree with everything Roundhouse said in response.

I guess time will tell whether Dean Cooper is a guru from the Houston School of Defense. In regard to individual defensive ability, I agree with Hollinger at ESPN: "It is written in stone that Ron Artest is a great defender. That's his brand. But if you actually watch him play you'll see that it has not always been true lately. Great defense requires constant effort, and Ron Artest has not, of late, been the king of constant effort. To my eye, he has been furious only in spurts, while at other times he has looked almost whimsical." myespn.go.com/nba/truehoop For both the individual player and the basketball team, coaching can make a difference. Kermit Washington pointed this out: 'Ron Artest's a warrior when it comes to basketball. I have to admit, his attention span is not that long and he's not interested in some things, so you have to understand and learn how to work with him.' Ibid. That's what gurus do - teach and motivate. No one is predicting that the T-Pups will be in the Finals next year; however, it is reasonable to expect them to play strong defense. In regard to the offense, Kevin Love expressed optimism: "Mike Miller. Al Jefferson, all those guys ... I don't think we're going to have trouble scoring" Ibid. Although the current lineup is unorthodox, teams are going to have trouble matching up to stop the T-Pups. Pick your poison.

More than the Houston School of Defense (Jeff Van Gundy via Pat Riley), I would actually prefer to see someone teach the T-Pups the San Antonio Way. From the Seattle Times at: seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/20...44_sanantonio10.html
"Much like New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who spawned a legion of disciples, Popovich has created a successful system that many around the NBA are trying to emulate. Cleveland, Dallas and Phoenix have coaches or general managers schooled in the San Antonio Way. The San Antonio Way… begins with relationships…is built on vision and patience…isn't tied to sentimentality…adheres to defense…doesn't suffer prima donnas…attracts talent at a discount…doesn't bend to public opinion…means thinking outside the box[foreign players].” "People who are willing to go to work and not skip any steps. We talk about bringing character people in here that you enjoy working with, so that when things go bad, when you're having rough times, everyone knows that they're going to work with people they enjoy. It's important that somebody has to give a vision....If there's conflict in the vision, it's when management, ownership and coaches don't work together. It got to a point where we weren't going to worry about it [standings] anymore, and he basically put the onus on the players to turn this around... Pop coaches with the big picture in mind. He will never say in November or December, 'We've got to win this one.' He says get better ... every day in practice."