captain, there are doubts
regarding
your ability
to lead them
the men
— “Brave Captian”
fIREHOSE
Scott’s guest column yesterday gave me an idea. It seems that Toronto fans aren’t at all pleased with the job Lenny Wilkens did as coach of their team. So far as coach of the Knicks, I’ve had no complaints. Well maybe one, giving any minutes to Moochie Norris instead of Frank Williams. Noticing that the Knicks have a problem in the middle, Lenny tried a few different lineups, including starting Othella Harrington and Michael Sweetney, seeing if they could rise to the task (neither could). He’s settled on Nazr Mohammed as the center, which has added stability to the Knicks.
So how can we tell if a coach is good or bad? Phil Jackson fans will point to his championships with two different teams to attest to his greatness, while those that would mock him as “Chief Big Triangle” will be quick to point out that the credit should go to the great players he’s always had.
Bill James created something called Pythagorean Expected Win Percentage. It basically says that a team should win a certain percentage of their games depending on how many points scored for and against a team has over a season. So another theory (which I will call the Rob Neyer manager theory) says that if a coach consistently wins more games than expected, he’s probably a sound coach when it comes to in game strategies. Digging up Lenny Wilkens’ actual and expected wins I came up with this chart:
Year Team WINS LOSS ExpW ExpL ActW% ExpW% DIFF SIG 1969 SEA 36 46 33 49 .439 .402 +.037 +1 1970 SEA 38 44 38 44 .463 .463 +.000 +0 1971 SEA 47 35 42 40 .573 .512 +.061 +1 1974 POR 38 44 42 40 .463 .512 -.049 -1 1975 POR 37 45 37 45 .451 .451 +.000 +0 1977 SEA 42 18 46 36 .700 .561 +.139 +1 1978 SEA 52 30 49 33 .634 .598 +.037 +1 1979 SEA 56 26 55 27 .683 .671 +.012 +0 1980 SEA 34 48 35 47 .415 .427 -.012 +0 1981 SEA 52 30 53 29 .634 .646 -.012 +0 1982 SEA 48 34 48 34 .585 .585 +.000 +0 1983 SEA 42 40 40 42 .512 .488 +.024 +1 1984 SEA 31 51 24 58 .378 .293 +.085 +1 1986 CLE 31 51 29 53 .378 .354 +.024 +1 1987 CLE 42 40 43 39 .512 .524 -.012 +0 1988 CLE 57 25 62 20 .695 .756 -.061 -1 1989 CLE 42 40 39 43 .512 .476 +.037 +1 1990 CLE 33 49 33 49 .402 .402 +.000 +0 1991 CLE 57 25 57 25 .695 .695 +.000 +0 1992 CLE 54 28 60 22 .659 .732 -.073 -1 1993 ATL 57 25 57 25 .695 .695 +.000 +0 1994 ATL 42 40 45 37 .512 .549 -.037 -1 1995 ATL 46 36 45 37 .561 .549 +.012 +0 1996 ATL 56 26 59 23 .683 .720 -.037 -1 1997 ATL 50 32 53 29 .610 .646 -.037 -1 1998 ATL 31 19 31 19 .620 .620 +.000 +0 1999 ATL 28 54 23 59 .341 .280 +.061 +1 2000 TOR 47 35 48 34 .573 .585 -.012 +0 2001 TOR 42 40 39 43 .512 .476 +.037 +1 2002 TOR 24 58 21 61 .293 .256 +.037 +1
[DIFF is the difference between actual win% and expected win%. SIG means was the difference significant enough to say it was a positive or negative season. I used a .025 difference to determine this. The first four years in italics are when Wilkens was both a player and a coach. I’ll ignore them for now, since we can’t split his contribution as a player from his contribution as a coach.]
So what does this chart tell us about the different stops Lenny has had?
Seattle: 8 seasons, 4 significantly better than expected, 0 worse.
Cleveland: 7 seasons, 2 better, 2 worse.
Atlanta: 7 seasons, 1 better, 3 worse.
Toronto: 3 seasons, 2 better, 0 worse.
According to this Seattle was his best tenure, which most people would agree with since that’s where he won his only championship. It’s ironic that Atlanta shows up as his worst job, since he’s credited with taking an average franchise and turning it into a contender. Even more ironic is Toronto, where he was booed last night, because Wilkens has no negative seasons.
Another way to measure a coach’s effectiveness is how the team performed before and after the coach’s arrival. When Wilkens took over Seattle in 1977 the team changed radically, so it’s impossible to say whether the impact was Wilkens or let’s say Gus Williams. After he left the Sonics, Bernie Bickerstaff took over the reigns. Bickertsaff had the same exact record, despite adding the 4th overall pick Xavier McDaniel to their starting lineup. I would say that this could be a “plus” for Wilkens.
George Karl’s ’85 Cavs bear little resemblance to the ’86 team that Wilkens led. In fact all 5 starters were different, as Ron Harper, Brad Dougherty, and Hotrod Williams all played their first year in the NBA. When he left Cleveland, Mike Fratello won 7 less games the next year. An old Larry Nance played half a season, but the Cavs did make a few additions in Tyrone Hill and Chris Mills, so it’s hard to make a determination either way. You could argue another “plus” or “neutral.”
Wilkens won 14 more games than his predecessor in Atlanta his first year there. Danny Manning was an addition for that team, but I don’t see Manning as making a team 14 games better, so I’ll credit Wilkens with some of this improvement. Lon Kruger won 3 less games than Wilkens, but the team was significantly different, so I can’t credit or condemn Lenny there.
In Toronto Butch Carter’s ’99 team had Tracy McGrady and won 45 games. McGrady left via free agency for Wilkens’ first year, but the coach ended up winning 2 more games than his predecessor. That could be a “plus” as well. As for last year, Vince Carter missing half a season is not enough an excuse for winning only 24 games, and I have to give Wilkens the blame.
The three methods I’ve used:
Visual (a.k.a. my opinion) – Wilkens looks good as the Knicks coach, but it’s very early.
Actual Wins vs. Expected Wins: Good for 2 teams, bad for 1, 1 tenure neutral.
Wilkens’ vs. other coaches with similar teams: 2 to 4 times he was better vs. only 1 worse.
These are only three methods of evaluating a coach, and even though I tried to be as objective as possible and use statistics (except in the first), it’s nearly impossible to get a non-subjective viewpoint of a coach’s impact on a team. Of course I didn’t even touch any other things like player development, rotation management, or chemistry.
As for the Raptor fans dislike of Lenny I can say that it might be warranted. Dean Oliver’s Basketball On Paper goes in depth on the 2002 Raps, if you ever want to read a whole chapter on them. That team had three extended winning and losing streaks. That kind of inconsistent play will draw the ire of fans. Last year’s expectations were much higher than the 24 games he won. It gets worse when the team’s franchise player criticizes the coach.
As for his current role, it’s unknown if Wilkens will be the coach of the Knicks after this year. But as far as I can tell, he’s a good coach for ths team.
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