Official Detroit Pistons thread

[chemiclord]

His ability to manage personalities was severely overrated. Oooh, he kept Rodman in line. So did Chuck Daly. Big fuckin' whoop.

His strategic genius was overrated. Deciding to put Jordan in iso isn't exactly a 200 IQ observation.

I maintain that the only sunlight between him and someone like Larry Brown is because Phil Jackson never went anywhere that he might have to be the underdog. Because he knew the instant he needed to actually... ya know... coach up mediocre talent that he'd be exposed for the psuedo-zen fraud that he really was.

[Forsh]

I'm not the biggest Phil fan ... but Rodman wasn't the same guy pre 1991 or whatever it was

[Mainevent]

Chuck Daly is a HOF coach known for managing players, hence his job with the Dream Team. So comparing Jackson to him is the highest of compliments.

[chemiclord]

Chuck Daly is a HOF coach known for managing players, hence his job with the Dream Team. So comparing Jackson to him is the highest of compliments.

My point is that Jackson didn't have some unique "zen" ability to manage personalities. He gets far more credit on that score than he deserves because he made sure he was never in situations where he actually needed to. In Chicago, it was simple; "if someone pissed off Jordan, that dude was gone." Doesn't exactly take a delicate grasp of psychology to handle that. It wasn't until his time with the Lakers that he had two players butting heads, and he was about as useful managing that as if he was Dr. Phil.

In fact, that's his career in a nutshell; a good coach that got far more credit than he deserved.

[Mainevent]

Pippen and Kukoc were not easy to handle situations. I think Jackson is overrated, but as a manager of egos and personalities, he’s there with Daddy Rich and Riley and a few others.

[froot loops]

Larry Brown fucking flaked out in the 2005 playoffs and was negotiating with the lowly Cavaliers. . To the point where Chauncey was running practices in the ECF. That dude couldn't handle the pressure of big games, he needed to be the guy who took crap teams and made them better. Like I said, I'll ride with Big Chief Triangle any day, although probably not now. Managing personalities is the #1, #2 and #3 priority as an NBA coach.

[chemiclord]

Listen, my logical brain is saying you're right. My logical brain is saying "yeah, he was a bit overrated, but few people are getting 11 championships even with that talent he had."

My hater "Fuck the Bulls and anything associated with them" brain is refusing to accept anything other than he was a total fraud and an entirely replacement level coach. Right now I'm letting the hater brain win, alright?

[froot loops]

He actually has 11 championships as a coach.

[chemiclord]

Whatever. Hater brain says it should be zero. It can't be bothered to count the number of coattails he needed to ride on.

[The King]

Shut the fuck up.

[chemiclord]

Shut the fuck up.

No. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

[jaadam4]

He actually has 11 championships as a coach.

That’s incredible even if he was playing with a stacked deck

[Futureshock]

This thread got funny real quick

[Mainevent]

I appreciate Chemi’s irrationality on the subject for sure. I would never give Jackson any credit around a Bulls fan.

[whatever_gong82]

Not Pistons related, but this story is interesting and the fact that the person in this story played in the NBA is even more remarkable. Posted in 3 parts.



Loren Woods was an NBA center, and then he got ‘Spirited’ away into Hollywood

Mike Vorkunov

Mar 9, 2023


Loren Woods didn’t discover acting until he was in college. By then, it was too late.

He was already 7 foot 1, sturdy but athletic. Not only did he have size, but he also had talent — enough to start for a premier college basketball program.

Woods’ path was almost preordained. In high school, he became a fan of the stage and the performing arts — theater, television, film — but he also sprouted into one of the top basketball recruits in his class. After two underwhelming years at Wake Forest, he transferred to Arizona and found his footing at a national powerhouse.



Still, Woods sought out his other passion and explored its depths. He learned about Shakespeare and Molière, two of the world’s greatest playwrights. He took an introductory acting class and modern dance at Arizona. He loved it.

His teacher offered high praise. If Woods wanted to be an actor, to truly pursue the craft, he remembers the professor saying, he could make it.

“OK, that’s very nice,” Woods, now 44, recalled to The Athletic. “I appreciate the compliment, but I am 7 feet tall, and I am going to the NBA.”

Woods didn’t need to look for a job in the entertainment industry; he had a job waiting for him.

That lasted for a while too. Woods did make the NBA as a second-round selection and then stuck around for six seasons. A few years in Europe followed. It wasn’t an extravagant career, but it was successful because making the league is hard enough. Booking a role isn’t easy, but neither is sticking around as the 46th overall pick.




A few years ago, though, Woods’ acting ambitions were rekindled. He not only was ready for his close-up, but he also wanted it.

In December, right at the heart of the Christmas season, he finally got his break. In a movie starring Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds and Octavia Spencer, Loren Woods was on the same call sheet, the same IMDB page; he was the first person viewers saw when “Spirited” came on their screens, finally making his dream — dormant for decades — come true.

“There’s never going to be anybody in the NBA that when they turn 43 and they’d never played before and they were just playing at the YMCA for a few years,” he said, explaining how inexplicable his career change feels compared to basketball. “And then they just get to be on the same court as LeBron and Steph Curry. It doesn’t happen, right? It’s almost hard to believe because I come from a world (where) that would never happen.”

A pinch of semantics: Woods is the first person viewers see when “Spirited” begins … but they don’t see him.

continued..