I haven’t sat behind the bench, but from what I can see, Hurley doesn’t look panicked. If the evidence for that is we’ve lost more close games than we’ve won this season I’d suggest that there’s an alternative way to view close losses. The teams defense is good enough this year to keep us in a lot of games, most in fact. So is it that Hurley panicked and we lost a close game, or is it that the teams defense is good enough to keep us in contact? If Hurley calls a play and the team gets a good look, is it on Hurley if the player misses the shot? It could be, I guess. I’m just not convinced of it yet.
In any event, you are right I’m reacting to the hyperbole in your post, which is something we all do to make a point. I felt like it was unfair to Hurley. But, yeah, we can agree to disagree.
I don't know whether or not his antics lead to all the close losses. I haven't ever said that. I don't really care what he does as long as we win games.
Our offense is actually higher rated than our defense, so that's kind of an irrelevant point.
Coaching is much more complicated than "go get a good look" after a time out. For one, we don't always get good looks. I don't know how we rank, but it doesn't look good. But even if we DO, we're still missing the shots and losing. Our players aren't prepared to make those shots, maybe the wrong guys are taking those shots, we're certainly not composed in crunch time... again, much more complicated than "get an open shot." A high school JV coach could draw up a play to post up Sanogo late in a game. That's the easy part. Who, where, when and how are the details that coach is getting paid millions to do a better job with than any other coach could.
There's also the kind of players you recruit years before those games even happen. Have we recruited closers? Why are there such tremendous skill gaps on our roster? We're missing a ballhandler, have one too few shooters, etc.
What have we done to prepare in practice all off-season? Do we do 90-second drills with refs? Are we practicing our endgame plays? It certainly doesn't seem like our guys are prepared, but maybe we have. Only the coaching staff really knows the answer to that.
Does our staff prepare defensive adjustments in advance? Do we even MAKE defensive adjustments? Why do they take so long to make (see: Kadary getting 17 points before we started doubling, and another 10 more before we doubled from the high side).
What adjustments to the adjustments are we making?
What are we doing to prepare players to perform well under intense pressure instead of clamming up?
Anyone giving you an easy answer is delusional. Any 1 or 2 of these things could make the difference, or maybe something else entirely. It isn't just a simple answer of "get an open shot" there are 100s of factors that go into prepping to win close games.
The only objective fact here is we are 2-8 in close games. And that is abysmal. Staff needs to be better--period.
