biggest difference between last year's team and this year's team is the frequency with which open shots were made last year and missed this year. if the team was shooting like it did last year, we'd be talking about knocking off GSW.
Brad can't shoot the shots or make the FTs for these guys but he's got to change his offensive philosophy from bombing away from the get go to getting buckets close in to warm up the shooters.
I agree. Stevens will trot out some odd lineups. But today, I thought he stuck with whomever was playing well - within reason. You can't play Kyrie 40+ minutes against the Knicks in November.
Brad is not the problem.
See, this is where I disagree. Managing the talent is the primary job of NBA coaches, whether that be their expectations, their roles, their egos, or even their energy and motivation.
I don't think anyone disagrees that these guys are in their own heads now, and it's affecting their play at both ends. The fact that Brad has not been able to remedy this issue nearly a quarter of the way into the season is a major red flag. Guys are not playing with regular energy, intensity, or motivation - and that's on the coaching staff by not properly having their guys ready for games and managing these issues.
Combine this with the other issues - the inflexibility with his offensive philosophy, questionable rotations and decision-making, not clarifying roles, etc. - and the coaching staff clearly is a primary factor in this failure of a season thus far.
Players also bear some of the responsibility, but this is coaching 101 stuff that the coaching staff can't get a handle on.