Whether getting warm, heating up or totally on fire, several NBA coaches are currently riding the proverbial hot seat.
The majority of these hardwood generals coach in the Eastern Conference. That comes as little surprise considering 12 of 15 teams east of the Mississippi have sub-.500 records.
The man leading the worst of the bunch—otherwise known as the 19-loss Milwaukee Bucks—is an obligatory addition to this list. He who-shall-not-be-named until later is simply out front and center of a really bad team.
On the other hand, Tyrone Corbin, head coach of the 21-loss Utah Jazz, avoids any such concerns of firing or termination due to the organization’s commitment to future rebuilding over instantaneous winning.
And to the contrary, a playoff-qualifying coach just might make an appearance as well. Go figure.
6. Larry Drew, Milwaukee Bucks (5-19)
Larry Drew isn’t accustomed to losing on such a grand scale.
The veteran head coach of three years with the Atlanta Hawks brought with him a record of 128-102 (.557) to Milwaukee. His best regular season came in a lockout-shortened 2011-2012, when the Hawks went 40-26 (.606) and finished second in the Southeast Division.
Drew also reached the playoffs in each of those seasons, including a first-round victory over the Orlando Magic in six games in 2010-2011. Atlanta did not advance into the second round last year after falling to the superior Indiana Pacers.
Unfortunately, Drew might not even advance into his second year with Milwaukee.
The Bucks sit at 5-19 and occupy the Eastern Conference cellar. They posted a miserable 11-game losing streak after starting a respectable 2-2. They followed that up with another brief .500 mark (3-3) before losing their past three as things currently stand.
Eight of those losses ended with double-digit margins, including four by over 20 points.
Drew has not been able to harness the skill set of an overhauled backcourt. New shooting guard O.J. Mayo and point guards Brandon Knight and rookie Nate Wolters have not performed to the level of the departed Monta Ellis, Brandon Jennings and J.J. Redick.
The former’s combined 32.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 10.6 assists and 38.3 field goal percentage pale in comparison to the latter’s 49.0 PTS, 8.9 REB, 15.2 AST and 40.6 percent shooting.
Of course, Drew is not entirely at fault for this diminished production.
But a winning veteran with postseason experience should get more out of a competent enough roster that still has similar pieces from last season’s playoff club.
Drew and his 19 losses just cannot avoid the hot seat with such a dismal overall record.
5. David Joerger, Memphis Grizzlies (10-13)
David Joerger is finding that head coaching in the NBA exists at a level far above that which an assistant occupies.
Joerger received his first head job in 2013-2014 after many years of assisting under Lionel Hollins. Memphis let go of Hollins after he and upper management disagreed over coaching philosophies and other team-related issues.
The Grizzlies made this significant change in spite of Hollins’ franchise record-setting 56 wins and appearance in the Western Conference Finals.
So, instead of comfortably lending his basketball expertise from a background role, Joerger is now seen as being responsible for the Grizzlies season-long trajectory. And that’s one that the NBA world expects will take Memphis to the conference finals again and potentially the Finals finals.
Hollins sure was a tough act to follow.
At 10-13 and 3.5 games removed from a playoff spot out West, Joerger is failing in the early goings.
The Grizzlies’ total offense still ranks near the bottom at No. 26, but their defensive metrics and overall point differential fall well below last season’s aggregate. They have dropped to No. 7 in total defense with 97.4 points allowed per game and No. 24 with a negative-3.7 differential.
They rated tops in the league with 89.3 and seventh with a positive-4.1 just last year with largely the same roster.
Some would point to team centerpiece Marc Gasol being injured as the reason for Memphis’ slow start. He certainly is a defensive stud in the paint and the team’s second-leading distributor on offense (4.3 assists).
Yet, even though Memphis had posted a lowly 3-8 mark with Gasol off the floor, it went just 7-6 with him in the lineup. The Joerger-coached unit surrendered 100-plus points six times with Gasol and five times without him.
There really isn’t a significant discrepancy between those respective totals.
While Gasol’s absence is a major issue for the Grizzlies, Joerger’s coaching shortcomings and inexperience are more impactful.
And as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reveals, “Grizzlies brass is starting to wonder if [it] made the right hire.”
The first-year coach who had been gunning for the head position for so long is safe—but only for now.
4. Dwane Casey, Toronto Raptors (9-13)
Indeed—the Raptors presently qualify for the postseason as the East’s No. 8 seed.
Despite only two wins over playoff teams this year, they would move beyond the regular season themselves with a 9-13 record if the post 82-game stretch began today.
But that hasn’t distracted the reigning NBA Executive of the Year from his primary focus.
New Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri has made his presence felt ever since leaving the Denver Nuggets.
The renowned franchise builder has hired a new vice president and executive vice president, picked up two new assistant coaches and executed two headline-worthy trades. Those latter moves netted the likes of Steve Novak, Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson and jettisoned marquee players Andrea Bargnani and Rudy Gay.
In other words, Ujiri has brought in his guys.
As a returning head coach, Dwane Casey is a remnant of a former regime, and a losing one at that. He and his newfound winning ways are not immune from landing in another city.
Here is how NBA insider Ken Berger of CBS Sports summed up the state of affairs in Toronto: “The feeling among rival executives is that…Ujiri will be quick to the trigger on a coaching change if things go south for…Casey—a move that would allow Ujiri…to [fully] begin putting his stamp on things.”
One could translate that as one extended losing streak away from coaching on the proverbial armchair for Casey.
Note: We’ll go ahead and make these next three selections brief and to the point. The respective coaching situations are all too self-explanatory.
3. Mike Brown, Cleveland Cavaliers (9-15)
The Cavaliers are equipped with a budding superstar, loaded backcourt, tenacious front line and solid enough depth.
Yet, despite the talented personnel across the board, Cleveland cannot win consistently and loses big in a pathetic conference.
It has not strung more than three wins together—winning back to back games on just one other occassion—and has lost by 15 or more points seven times. It rocks the league’s fourth-lowest point differential at negative-5.6.
Mike Brown, for his part, cannot maximize the talent, forge amicable relations between his young guards or orchestrate a less than franchise-killing draft selection.
The entire roster has underachieved when compared to last year and Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters are constantly at odds when it comes to touches and shots. And Anthony Bennett is an abject failure as the No. 1 overall pick.
The Cavs are not a playoff team.
This all falls on Brown.
Four-years and $20 million or not, Brown’s seat is red hot—CBS’ Berger would agree.
2. Jason Kidd, Brooklyn Nets (9-15)
What really needs to be said?
Jason Kidd went from player to coach without any formal training. He fired his top assistant and right-hand man, was fined $50,000 for intentionally spilling a drink and appeared completely overwhelmed en route to the Nets 4-12 start.
Again, he never learned how to become a coach. He transitioned from the playing ranks—Hall of Fame career or not—entirely too soon.
Now, he must try and guide a star-laden, yet old and injury-prone roster that hinges on the play of a notorious coach-killing and injury-plagued point guard himself in Deron Williams.
Brooklyn is 3-1 over its past four games with Williams back on the floor. But that doesn’t mean that the Nets 3-6 record with Williams logging minutes somehow never existed.
Nor does it render into unrealized history the forced retiring of Hall of Fame head coach Jerry Sloan by Williams either.
Point being, Kidd is simply in over his head during his first year at the head-coaching helm.
The Nets were supposed to be good. When the league realized it couldn’t—based on personnel, injuries and the coach himself—Kidd’s seat ignited.
1. Mike Woodson, New York Knicks (7-17)
Mike Woodson is a quality, defensive-minded coach with a high basketball IQ.
The Knicks are a dysfunctional, disaster-minded team with a low basketball IQ.
Those later dynamics were on display Monday night in New York’s 102-101 last-second defeat to the Washington Wizards. Most unfortunately, Woodson embodied his team’s modus operandi and failed to call a timeout before Carmelo Anthony fired up a low-percentage prayer as time expired.
The Knicks lost, and Woodson will lose his job soon enough. His fourth-quarter gaffe served as a microcosm for a 17-loss and essentially last-place, season-long blunder that is the 2013-2014 New York Knicks.
As Ian O’Connor, prominent columnist for ESPN New York writes, “Did the coach of the Knicks just get himself fired?”
We’ll leave it to the powers that be to answer that query.
Until then, Woodson is on fire—in all the wrong ways.
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