Introducing a new Lottery Mafia Series entitled “Rebuilding Models: The Road to Success” by Jackson McNally.
In the NBA, there are plenty of ways to go about rebuilding a team. In this article, we will take a look at successful teams and what puts their teams over the proverbial “edge”.
In this weeks series, we will look at 2 teams who caught fire in the Playoffs:
The Indiana Model: A model with many critics and non-believers, I am a big fan of this rebuilding strategy. The Pacers strategy involves having an above-average to very good player at every position, without having a superstar. This strategy requires a lot of “ifs” and is difficult to pull off. The “ifs” consist of 1)having players who believe in team basketball and have little to no ego, 2)having players that can put up consistent numbers and play without the ball, and 3)making sure that everyone is involved on offense and defense. With the large egos in today’s NBA, it is hard to find guys to go with this plan, but when you can, it can be awfully dangerous. This works especially well in the playoffs, because if a team is centered around one superstar and he is off, then your team has an extremely small chance of winning.
The Golden State Model: A model which has attracted interest after the Warriors exciting playoff run last year, the GS model consists of having good young talent, a coach that can relate to the players and knows the game, and an electrifying fan base. A very rare combination must be in place to pull off this method. The Warriors are lucky to have a cool-headed star in the making in Stephen Curry, along with other young talent at the 2 and 3 (Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and Harrison Barnes). This combined with veteran experience and leadership of both David Lee and Andrew Bogut make for a formidable lineup. In my opinion, coach Mark Jackson was the clear cut coach of the year winner, and he instills confidence and trust in his players. The players truly do respect him and his style, and they put up a tremendous effort every night. The Warriors also had arguably the best bench in the NBA. After losing Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry this off-season, it may be a hard point to argue this year, but with slipping Harrison Barnes in as the 6th man, fans can’t complain. Speaking of the fans, the Warriors have one of the best fan bases in the league, and it was extremely noticeable in the Playoffs.
What lottery teams can learn from this: The moral of this week’s article is that you don’t need a superstar to win, and that by having a solid lineup and well thought out coaching, your team can still contend with the big boys.
Next week’s feature:
The San Antonio Spurs and The Miami Heat in a finals rematch… well, sort of.
By Jackson McNally
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