Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Discussion of the league and of our favorite team.

Kokoskov Grade Thus Far

A
0
No votes
B
3
11%
C
15
54%
D
7
25%
F
3
11%
 
Total votes: 28

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Superbone
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Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by Superbone »

As we approach the first 25% of the season, what are your thoughts about our new head coach? What do you think about his temperament? How much is he to blame versus management for the team he has been given? What has he excelled at and what does he need to improve?
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Nodack
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by Nodack »

It’s too early for me to make any kind of judgement.

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Split T
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by Split T »

I left him at C for now.... He hasn't done anything to wow me, but I'm gonna reserve judgement for later.

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Drewsprocket
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by Drewsprocket »

This is a silly question to be asking. The roster is the problem. Fans are placing blame needlessly on good players and the new coach. Igor is trying all he can to have his players play outside their strengths and skill-sets to optimize the offense and get good shots and makes. But it is what it is due to the glaring hole at the one spot. Its so awful that fans seem to be in denial or minimizing it. Ayton is not a shot creator at the top of the key, Booker is not a point guard, Ariza doesn’t create shots for himself, and players don’t play with endless effort or boundless energy when their consistently botching up the play book.

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Superbone
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by Superbone »

For me, he is a C thus far. I like his even tempered nature but I think this team needs a fire lit underneath them. They are not playing with urgency. Especially defensively. When he got the job, he said he was going to create his schemes around his players. I’m not really liking how Ayton is playing the high post rather than the low post. We don’t take advantage when he has a smaller player on him.

I really liked the hire at the time but now I’m not so sure he is right for our team. He might be better with a more experienced team. Or maybe this team just needs to grow underneath him. I also agree that he wasn’t dealt a full deck which contributes to the problem. I think we have no choice but to give him time and hope that upper management fills out our player deck.

The whole situation feels like a mess to be honest. The biggest blame comes from the top in owner Robert Sarver. He has shown no interest in bringing in experienced GMs or head coaches. It’s all been one big failed experiment led by Sarver for the last eight years. The worst stretch in franchise history. The blame is all his.
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Superbone
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by Superbone »

I forgot to mention that the rotations have been a little dodgy. Why not start our best 5 like in the Philly game? I don’t like those lineups, usually in the 3rd quarter that have no offensive flow. That’s usually the time when we lose these games. I know we don’t have a lot but we’ve got to keep one or two of our best offensive players on the court at all times. Easier said than done with this roster, I know.
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TOO
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by TOO »

I voted F because this team deserves nothing better, from the top down.
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INFORMER
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by INFORMER »

Superbone wrote:
Fri Nov 23, 2018 12:41 am
I forgot to mention that the rotations have been a little dodgy. Why not start our best 5 like in the Philly game?
James Jones said they don't want Booker or Bridges to have chase around a small point guard all game.
Trendon Watford. Please and thank you.

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Superbone
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by Superbone »

INFORMER wrote:
Fri Nov 23, 2018 1:04 am
Superbone wrote:
Fri Nov 23, 2018 12:41 am
I forgot to mention that the rotations have been a little dodgy. Why not start our best 5 like in the Philly game?
James Jones said they don't want Booker or Bridges to have chase around a small point guard all game.
And what do you think about that?
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Ring_Wanted
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by Ring_Wanted »

Drewsprocket wrote:
Thu Nov 22, 2018 11:36 pm
This is a silly question to be asking. The roster is the problem. Fans are placing blame needlessly on good players and the new coach. Igor is trying all he can to have his players play outside their strengths and skill-sets to optimize the offense and get good shots and makes. But it is what it is due to the glaring hole at the one spot. Its so awful that fans seem to be in denial or minimizing it. Ayton is not a shot creator at the top of the key, Booker is not a point guard, Ariza doesn’t create shots for himself, and players don’t play with endless effort or boundless energy when their consistently botching up the play book.
The roster sure is a problem, but there are legitimate questions with his rotations and what he is getting out of his players. Why has it taken so long to give Bridges real playing time, when it was obvious from the start that he is a net plus? Why is he not starting the offense more through Ayton inside instead of having him setting screens so far away from the basket? Why did he play Anderson so much? Why did he play Jackson so much? Why didn't he give Holmes more burn? Why can't you get your players to get back to defense after a miss or TO? Why do you have no answer, ever, to those runs opposite teams make every game that break our backs? Why do we tend to start the games with so little intensity?

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Indy
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by Indy »

Superbone wrote:
Fri Nov 23, 2018 1:17 am
INFORMER wrote:
Fri Nov 23, 2018 1:04 am
Superbone wrote:
Fri Nov 23, 2018 12:41 am
I forgot to mention that the rotations have been a little dodgy. Why not start our best 5 like in the Philly game?
James Jones said they don't want Booker or Bridges to have chase around a small point guard all game.
And what do you think about that?
I think it is fair for both guys. I think Bridges is best served being put on the best player for the other team if they are 2 to smallish-4. Booker should be on the worse guy from the other team if he is 1-3, but if the 1 is quick/crafty he might be their most effective player that game.

I think more than a PG, I wish we had a guy like Bridges at the 2 that could guard 1s/2s, then we start Book/mythical SG/Bridges/TJ/Ayton.

One thing I have noticed is that when JJ is on the court with Mikal, he turns into GJ on defense. I think he takes it personally that Mikal is taking his minutes and doing it with defense, which is what everyone said Josh could do as well as anyone coming out of Kansas...

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Mori Chu
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by Mori Chu »

I gave Igor a C. He's better than our recent past coaches, and he seems to have a good eye for offense. I'm impressed how he has our guys passing the ball a lot even though we have no real PG. A lot of box scores show several guys with 2-3 assists each. That's not nothing.

But not everything is rosy on offense. Igor seems to underutilize Ayton; almost every game Ayton has great efficiency like 8-13 shooting but doesn't get enough shots. Igor should be making everybody feed Ayton much more and forcing the big man to take 20+ shots every night.

Igor doesn't seem to be doing very well coaching our defense. A lot of it is the players, but he doesn't seem to be instilling good defensive habits in them. He looks to me like a promoted offensive assistant coach, which is exactly what he is.

The rotations are okay but sometimes iffy. I don't like playing all the old vets over young kids. But, to his credit, he has been adjusting the lineups once it's become clear that it isn't working. People say Igor is slow to adjust, but it is only November. I think it's fine for him to give new lineups a few weeks to see whether they can work. I don't want a capricious coach who bails on a lineup after one game.

Overall Igor is okay; good but not great. It's hard to really evaluate him since our roster is so deeply flawed. It isn't Igor's fault that we have no serviceable PGs on the roster, or that we somehow acquired like five small forwards who all want playing time, or that we don't really have a PF who can play meaningful minutes. I don't think many coaches would be getting a lot out of this roster. I do wonder how we would be doing if Igor had a dogged defensive assistant to help us out on that end.

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ShelC
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by ShelC »

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote:
Fri Nov 23, 2018 10:27 am
I gave Igor a C. He's better than our recent past coaches, and he seems to have a good eye for offense. I'm impressed how he has our guys passing the ball a lot even though we have no real PG. A lot of box scores show several guys with 2-3 assists each. That's not nothing.

But not everything is rosy on offense. Igor seems to underutilize Ayton; almost every game Ayton has great efficiency like 8-13 shooting but doesn't get enough shots. Igor should be making everybody feed Ayton much more and forcing the big man to take 20+ shots every night.

Igor doesn't seem to be doing very well coaching our defense. A lot of it is the players, but he doesn't seem to be instilling good defensive habits in them. He looks to me like a promoted offensive assistant coach, which is exactly what he is.

The rotations are okay but sometimes iffy. I don't like playing all the old vets over young kids. But, to his credit, he has been adjusting the lineups once it's become clear that it isn't working. People say Igor is slow to adjust, but it is only November. I think it's fine for him to give new lineups a few weeks to see whether they can work. I don't want a capricious coach who bails on a lineup after one game.

Overall Igor is okay; good but not great. It's hard to really evaluate him since our roster is so deeply flawed. It isn't Igor's fault that we have no serviceable PGs on the roster, or that we somehow acquired like five small forwards who all want playing time, or that we don't really have a PF who can play meaningful minutes. I don't think many coaches would be getting a lot out of this roster. I do wonder how we would be doing if Igor had a dogged defensive assistant to help us out on that end.
Pretty much where I'm at. He's coaching the roster he's been given which isn't his fault. I do believe he's playing the vets because he has to, and that will change in the coming months. I wish he were more demonstrative during games, called TOs quicker and corrected easily correctable mistakes (like transition defense). He seems to cool/calm out there sometimes. Not asking for Stan Van Gundy, but too many times we're not even trying to get back on defense which is when he should call a TO and rip into them.

It's obviously very early and we have major roster flaws but I also wonder what our identity is/will be. We won't be a full throttle running team even with a PG because we have Ayton we need to throw the ball to. I also think Booker is more of a halfcourt scorer. So our top two players are, in my opinion, best in halfcourt sets. But usually halfcourt teams are more defensive minded which is where we have serious issues. If Booker and Ayton are our best halfcourt players (along with TJ), but also our worst defenders then where does that leave us?

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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by LazarusLong »

INFORMER wrote:
Fri Nov 23, 2018 1:04 am
Superbone wrote:
Fri Nov 23, 2018 12:41 am
I forgot to mention that the rotations have been a little dodgy. Why not start our best 5 like in the Philly game?
James Jones said they don't want Booker or Bridges to have chase around a small point guard all game.
Agree about Booker.

Bridges is most likely the team's best defender, so he should be on the court assigned to whatever perimeter player needs shutting down. He's a rookie and has the energy for it.
Window is open again ... blue skies ahead?

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ShelC
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by ShelC »

That was supposed to be Jackson's role as well.

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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by Indy »

ShelC wrote:
Fri Nov 23, 2018 11:12 am
That was supposed to be Jackson's role as well.
I think he is getting better at since losing minutes to Bridges. He seems to have a chip on his shoulder about it, and that is good. I want him to get pissed off that a rookie, #10 pick is playing better than him at what was supposed to be his speciality.

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Mori Chu
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by Mori Chu »

I think we should be starting Josh Jackson and running him as our "PG." As much as I have complained about Jackson, we have to see if he can be an asset for us. And his ballhandling and passing have actually been pretty good. If we put him in an explicit role of running the offense, and tell him NOT TO SHOOT unless absolutely necessary, we might maximize his value on the court. Then we start Bridges and Ariza at SF / PF so that we have shooting and defense at the forward spots. Booker and Ayton carry the bulk of the scoring load. That starting lineup isn't great at rebounding outside of Ayton, but I guess you live with that because the offense and general defense are there.

I would bring Warren off the bench because he can feast on those bench lineups and score 20+ easily. Canaan and Holmes are also bench guys to me IMO. The main weakness is that we are really weak at bench SG and bench PF. But oh well.

start: Jackson / Booker / Bridges / Ariza / Ayton
bench: Canaan / (Okobo or Melton or Crawford) / Warren / Bender / Holmes

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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by Indy »

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote:
Fri Nov 23, 2018 12:22 pm
I think we should be starting Josh Jackson and running him as our "PG." As much as I have complained about Jackson, we have to see if he can be an asset for us. And his ballhandling and passing have actually been pretty good. If we put him in an explicit role of running the offense, and tell him NOT TO SHOOT unless absolutely necessary, we might maximize his value on the court. Then we start Bridges and Ariza at SF / PF so that we have shooting and defense at the forward spots. Booker and Ayton carry the bulk of the scoring load. That starting lineup isn't great at rebounding outside of Ayton, but I guess you live with that because the offense and general defense are there.

I would bring Warren off the bench because he can feast on those bench lineups and score 20+ easily. Canaan and Holmes are also bench guys to me IMO. The main weakness is that we are really weak at bench SG and bench PF. But oh well.

start: Jackson / Booker / Bridges / Ariza / Ayton
bench: Canaan / (Okobo or Melton or Crawford) / Warren / Bender / Holmes
Josh Jackson currently has an Assist to TO ratio of 0.65.

There are 290 guys that have played this season that have at least 10 assists.

There are only 9 with a worse Ast/TO ratio.

280th out of 290 players.

I know our PG situation sucks, but "rewarding" Josh by giving him a starting spot AND playing him at PG seems like we are sending him the wrong message.

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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by In2ition »

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote:
Fri Nov 23, 2018 12:22 pm
I think we should be starting Josh Jackson and running him as our "PG." As much as I have complained about Jackson, we have to see if he can be an asset for us. And his ballhandling and passing have actually been pretty good. If we put him in an explicit role of running the offense, and tell him NOT TO SHOOT unless absolutely necessary, we might maximize his value on the court. Then we start Bridges and Ariza at SF / PF so that we have shooting and defense at the forward spots. Booker and Ayton carry the bulk of the scoring load. That starting lineup isn't great at rebounding outside of Ayton, but I guess you live with that because the offense and general defense are there.

I would bring Warren off the bench because he can feast on those bench lineups and score 20+ easily. Canaan and Holmes are also bench guys to me IMO. The main weakness is that we are really weak at bench SG and bench PF. But oh well.

start: Jackson / Booker / Bridges / Ariza / Ayton
bench: Canaan / (Okobo or Melton or Crawford) / Warren / Bender / Holmes
Ugh, this is not it, Marty. I don't know what you are watching, but Jackson is not and will not be a good pg. His passing skills are extremely overrated. The best thing he gives is energy, which is good, but his play is not so good right now.
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Drewsprocket
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Re: Igor Kokoskov Progress Report

Post by Drewsprocket »

Ring_Wanted wrote:
Fri Nov 23, 2018 1:32 am
Drewsprocket wrote:
Thu Nov 22, 2018 11:36 pm
This is a silly question to be asking. The roster is the problem. Fans are placing blame needlessly on good players and the new coach. Igor is trying all he can to have his players play outside their strengths and skill-sets to optimize the offense and get good shots and makes. But it is what it is due to the glaring hole at the one spot. Its so awful that fans seem to be in denial or minimizing it. Ayton is not a shot creator at the top of the key, Booker is not a point guard, Ariza doesn’t create shots for himself, and players don’t play with endless effort or boundless energy when their consistently botching up the play book.
The roster sure is a problem, but there are legitimate questions with his rotations and what he is getting out of his players. Why has it taken so long to give Bridges real playing time, when it was obvious from the start that he is a net plus? Why is he not starting the offense more through Ayton inside instead of having him setting screens so far away from the basket? Why did he play Anderson so much? Why did he play Jackson so much? Why didn't he give Holmes more burn? Why can't you get your players to get back to defense after a miss or TO? Why do you have no answer, ever, to those runs opposite teams make every game that break our backs? Why do we tend to start the games with so little intensity?
Just stop with the “roster sure is a problem.” It’s the problem and Igor has to balance player expectations and playing whoever is up without this team chemistry collapsing. It’s the worst coaching job in the entire league right now next to Washington. Everyone is blaming players who are not living up to expectations—amidst a disorganized offense.

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