Nobody said it was. And whenever I criticize Nate McMillan it always seems to fuel emotions, as it did yesterday.

A couple points I want to make: First, when I find fault with things McMillan does, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m advocating he be fired. It’s just that it’s only fair to criticize things he does that I disagree with or think he’s wrong about — just as we all criticize players when they do something wrong. It’s part of the job.

But at the same time, there are a lot of people who don’t understand that coaches are always going to be graded on a curve. At a certain point, how many games you win means nothing. It’s how many you should win, given the talent level of your team. It’s how your team plays, given its talent level.

Every time people talk about McMillan, they find an easy defense of him with his win total over the last couple of seasons and the team’s improvement. But folks, the talent level has gone way up, too. He was supposed to win with these players, wasn’t he?

And it’s time to point out that this is big-boy basketball here. The expectations are high and that’s just the way it’s going to be. And it’s the way it’s always been for NBA coaches. That’s life in the big city.

Look, Doug Collins, who was a pretty good coach, jumped his win total in Chicago from 40 in 1986 to 50 in 1987. Then he won 47 in 1988, followed by nine playoff wins that year — and was fired. Del Harris won 61 games as head coach of the Lakers in 1997-98 and was canned 12 games into the following season.

That’s the way it is, folks. As they say, it’s a man’s game.

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Tags: Del Harris, Doug Collins, Dwight Jaynes, Nate McMillan, NBA coaches, Portland Trail Blazers

I’m hearing from all over that this may be Nate McMillan’s best coaching job. You know with the injuries and all that maybe he ought to be the Coach of the Year. But there are those who disagree and it seems many of them comment on this blog.

And I can kind of see where they’re going with their arguments. I mean, at the start of the season, this team had two big tasks — to integrate Greg Oden into the offense, thus moving to more of an inside-outside attack AND to somehow decide on a proper player rotation with all the talent on this roster.

I’m not sure either problem was ever appropriately dealt with. And in fact, the injuries eliminated them as problems. Rather than go inside-outside or really change their style of play at all, the Trail Blazers are now back to playing the way they’ve always played.

You could also make the case that McMillan’s stubbornness in regard to starting Andre Miller hurt the effort early in the season. In fact, the thing that seemed to get Miller straightened out was confronting the coach. I mean, if Miller doesn’t go off on McMillan, does that thing ever really going to get straightened out?

So you give McMillan credit for that?

Again, I’m not sure. You could say that in the face of all the injuries, he kept the team together, but really? Really? It seems to me that if you say that, you’re saying that the character of this team somehow was so weak that these guys wouldn’t have played hard if not for the coach. I don’t buy that.

I think it’s more the case that even though Portland has been hurt by an absolute avalanche of injuries, what’s left is still pretty good. In fact, it’s real good. And by lowering expectations, thus the pressure, they’ve prospered in an environment where they knew they had guaranteed minutes.

Martell Webster, for instance. This is a guy whose minutes always seemed to be jerked around. Often, when he made a mistake or two he was pulled out of the game in a hurry. Now, given the situation, he’s playing no matter what — because they have nobody else. And he’s been sensational.

It’s been one interesting season. And any coaching evaluations would probably be best delayed until the end. Let’s see how it all works out.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Greg Oden, Martell Webster, Nate McMillan, Portland Trail Blazers

That’s essentially what The Oregonian’s Mike Tokito does here. And makes this statement:

Bennett, now 40, is young, charismatic and has great family recognition. The more WSU won, the more frequently his name was mentioned when a coaching job came open.

It induced a weird combination of angst, anger and resignation from Cougars fans, who knew their cash-strapped school and isolated location made keeping Bennett around for the long term a challenge.

So here’s Robinson, also young at 47, also charismatic, and also with great family recognition (if you haven’t heard, his sister’s husband is a big guy in the federal government). Robinson even eschews wearing a tie at games, something Bennett made his signature look at WSU (although he’s back to wearing ties at Virginia).

Sorry, Robinson is no Tony Bennett, and I don’t care who his brother in law is. (He’s also not “young” at 47.)

Look, this is still the same team that lost at home to Seattle U. by 51 points. The same team that lost at home to Sacramento State earlier this season.

Robinson is going to win some games in the Pac-10 this season, because that conference is downright miserable, but he’s got a ways to be before you worry about throwing a lot of money at him. Let him prove it a little longer, please.

And if he wants to take another job somewhere, I’m afraid that a new practice facility there or a few more bucks won’t keep him there, anyway.

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Tags: ACC, Craig Robinson, Dwight Jaynes, Oregon State Beavers, Tony Bennett, Virginia, Washington State Cougars

Man, that was something. I loved the defensive effort. The “bigs” did a great job, for the most part, of rooting Dwight Howard out of the lane all night and everyone else contributed to hounding Howard when he attempted to operate at the post with the ball.

Martell Webster continues to show what he can do with regular minutes and a consistent role. I mean, this guy is showing signs of either becoming a very, very good player or becoming an outstanding trade piece. He’s already a player other teams are talking about as someone, depending on Nic Batum’s development, who could be available.

Andre Miller and Steve Blake were terrific . . . oh, what’s the point of trying to single out individuals? This one was a great team win from start to finish.

One thing I must say, though, about the Orlando Magic: I’ve been around the league for a long time now and what I saw from them Friday night was downright shameful. And I haven’t seen it too often from what is a high-level team that was in the NBA Finals last season.

The Magic just sort of quit. Rolled over. And it appeared to me that the reason is simple — those guys want to get their coach fired. They aren’t listening to him and they’re actually embarrassing him with their on-court actions. Their effort level and attention span were just not there.

Stan Van Gundy has the reputation of a guy who grinds on his players and I’m afraid he’s gotten to this group. They appear, at least for the time being, to have tuned him out.

And once that happens, it’s usually only a matter of time before the coach finds himself on the street.

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Tags: Andre Miller, Dwight Howard, Dwight Jaynes, Martell Webster, Orlando Magic, Portland Trail Blazers, Stan Van Gundy, Steve Blake

The ones who are in your living room recruiting your children. They’ll promise you that they’ll be his coach for four years, only to go running off to the Seattle Seahawks or USC Trojans at the first opportunity.

Lane Kiffin, one season at Tennessee? Really?

Hey, are we surprised? In many ways, I don’t blame those coaches. It’s a nasty system where they monitor your graduation rates, yet even if they’re terrific, they’ll fire you in a heartbeat if you don’t win enough games.

Meanwhile, your child doesn’t have the option of switching programs when the coach leaves for greener pastures. He or she is stuck. Seriously stuck. It makes no sense to me. When the coach goes, free the recruits — let them go, too. But you might also sign that coach to a huge buyout agreement when you bring him on board.

All of this is why I find Brandon Jennings so refreshing. The point guard will be in the Rose Garden tonight with his Milwaukee Bucks. He’s the one, you recall, who went to Europe last year, rather than play as a college freshman. He had a rough season abroad, too — struggling for playing time under a demanding coach who made him pay his dues.

But the practice time and overall experience he got there were invaluable. Just the No. 10 pick in the draft, Jennings has already had a 55-point game and is one of the top rookies in the league. And oh, by the way, he earned a couple of million bucks last season.

Which is probably quite a bit more than some of the top college basketball programs could have paid him. But I’m not sure about that.

Sorry, I’ve gotten so cynical about Division I college sports these days that I just can’t help but make remarks like that.

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Tags: Brandon Jennings, Dwight Jaynes, Lane Kiffin, USC Trojans

… And I think the Trojans are definitely after him… He ought to wait for a few seasons. I have the feeling the next guy to coach football down there will be doing so under some real hardships.

First off, there are likely going to be sanctions against the Trojans. The whole Reggie Bush saga is going to cost them some sort of NCAA action. And reportedly recruits are already jumping ship in anticipation of Pete Carroll going to the Seahawks — and a possible NCAA probation.

On top of that, following someone into a coaching job who has been as successful as Carroll is always difficult. He’s going to be a tough act to follow — even if he is leaving one step ahead of the NCAA enforcement division.

(By the way, I hate that about college sports. These guys in football and basketball get their program on probation, then pull up stakes and go somewhere else, leaving the mess behind. There ought to be contract clauses that heavily financially penalize coaches who do that — like about $5 million).

Anyway, Mike. You’ve got all you want in Corvallis. And when they start flashing that bankroll at you at USC, just remember how much further your money goes up here than it will in southern California. And if you really want to go, just hang out a few more years until the next guy gets fired.

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Tags: Mike Riley, Oregon State Beavers, Pete Carroll, USC Trojans

OK, losing by 51 at home to Seattle University — that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard, even for a team that’s already lost at home to Big Sky tail-ender Sacramento State.

All my friends who follow college basketball tell me this Craig Robinson guy can coach. But honestly, I don’t get it. You simply can’t be a Pac-10 team and play that poorly at home, can you?

What on earth is going on down there?

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Tags: Craig Robinson, Dwight Jaynes, Oregon State basketball, Pac-10 Conference

Oh, it gets real different now. Way different.

The Portland Trail Blazers without Joel Przybilla are going to have rebounding problems, second-chance points problems and some serious defensive problems.

But if approached correctly, I still believe the Trail Blazers have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs. But they have to modify how they play at the defensive end.

Przybilla, and Oden before him, were intimidating forces on the inside. It was the backbone of the Portland defense. I would expect teams now to attack the Blazer basket relentlessly, without that big shotblocker inside.

For Portland to survive this, there has to be a change in the style of defense. I think the Blazers have the talent to play small ball, though. Throw all those guards out there with LaMarcus Aldridge and see what happens. And really, Przybilla won’t be missed on offense. He didn’t offer much other than a stiff pick-and-roll once in a while.

The big question, though, is whether Nate McMillan is willing and able to convert his style over to a faster-paced, uptempo, small-ball game. Certainly, we haven’t seen that sort of flexibility out of him.

I’d advocate telling the players at this point to have some fun — run it up and down, pressure the ball, double-team and help each other. Uptempo the game to try to take other teams’ big people out of the game. Spread the floor and attack the basket — then kick to open three-point shooters.

My goodness, Golden State — not nearly as talented as Portland — has hammered the Trail Blazers with that style of play enough over the last few years and so it should be no mystery how it can be done. It would provide a fun element to the second half of the season for the players and the fans — and really, everyone could use a little fun at this point, after all the injury sadness.

Can it happen? Yes, it could. Will it happen? Hmm. It would require a real sea change here and I’m not sure Nate McMillan is ready or willing to make that happen.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Golden State Warriors, Greg Oden, Joel Przybilla, Nate McMillan, Portland Trail Blazers

Roland Lazenby is a smart guy who can give you a real good picture of the inner workings of the Lakers. And he wrote this fascinating piece on Hoops Hype about the power struggle going on inside the Buss family for control of the Lakers. The story details how, in the end, a family feud may cause Jackson to leave the Lakers.

It’s a fun read.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Jeannie Buss, Jerry Buss, Jim Buss, Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Roland Lazenby

Now that injuries have robbed the Trail Blazers of talented depth, shouldn’t Coach Nate McMillan waive that two-fouls-and-you-sit-down rule for a while?

LaMarcus Aldridge draws a couple of early fouls and then sits out the ENTIRE second quarter? And then you wonder why he can’t get going in the second half?

Aldridge isn’t going to foul out. He doesn’t play with enough intensity to foul out. Man, you don’t have a great option behind him, either. I think at some point you have to trust your key players to play with foul trouble, don’t you?

I have trouble with coaches who deal with rigid constraints like this. It’s like substituting ALWAYS on a time schedule, rather than how players are playing.

Stability and consistency are fine, but so is flexibility.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, LaMarcus Aldridge, Nate McMillan, Portland Trail Blazers