Willie Green Grinding Away For Another Successful Season
Any NBA organization employing the third head coach in three seasons will have to give the new person on the job a bit of leeway. Any coach able to tread water without two All-Stars on the roster will get the benefit of the doubt for a while. After a 1-12 start to his coaching career, Willie Green ended his rookie campaign with a season-saving “Gotta Fight” speech during a play-in before falling in six games to the Phoenix Suns.
With all of the turmoil surrounding the team, including a season without Zion Williamson, it felt like Green was still in a honeymoon period of sorts to start his second season in charge. Fans had those first love butterfly feelings the first few weeks of the season, with the Pelicans in the mix for first place. Now, in the midst of an eight-game losing streak, critiques of Green are coming from a different place, with seemingly different levels of emotion than those first couple dozen games on the job.
In effect, the honeymoon period is over, though it did last almost 1.5 seasons. That's more than most coaches get, especially first-timers. CJ McCollum brought up how fickle fans who “live in the moment” can sometimes get extremely reactionary over some regular season slumps. It’s not an accepted or necessary response inside an NBA locker room. These things happen during an 82-game grind. It’s the response that matters most.
I asked Green about honeymoon periods in the coaching profession, with a nod to some of the fan gripes over lineups and rotations. Green tuned out most of the noise, replying, “I really haven’t experienced the fickle portion of our fans. I think our fans have been fantastic. They have supported us, supported our team. You know, everybody has their own perspective and, respectfully from me, it hasn’t been that way. I think the fans have been behind us and, you know, we look forward to going out and trying to make the city and community proud of the way we represent them.”
Getting back into the fight for home-court advantage is simple. The team has the blueprint. Green explained before a loss to the Washington Wizards, “We have to get back in transition. When we miss shots, teams are rebounding the ball and pushing it. We are not getting back. That will help us be in a position to defend better. We had it going in the first quarter but had it drop off at least one quarter the past few games. Continue to move the ball and have consistency in our pace. Take open shots with confidence. It will come around.”
Coach Green continued, “You just have to be able to play with joy and confidence, that’s my message to the team. And because of the string of losses, it’s kind of jolted us in a negative way. We’ll find it, we’ll get back to playing our style and playing with joy. Right now, like I told our team, nobody’s going to rescue you. We have to be a part of our own rescue.”
Nov 4, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) shoots the ball against Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) during the first quarter at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
Brandon Ingram and the other leaders in the locker room echoed Green’s advice. Ingram said, “We can either feel sorry about ourselves or stay positive. Look at ourselves in the mirror and see what we can do better. That was the message not from the coach but from our veterans on the team. We just need to look forward as we have been through times like this during the season, especially last year. Trying to get to the playoffs and trying to be a winning basketball club. We just have to go back and work on the things that we have to. Just try to get better.”
It’s tough to improve when half the team is listed on the injury report. Zion Williamson’s update was positive but it’s still unclear exactly when the All-Star will return. Until then, Green will keep grinding. The honeymoon might be over but marriages take constant work.
This rough patch is nothing more than an opportunity to improve, not signs of more worrisome issues things considered. The Pelicans are still within striking distance of a top-4 spot in the Western Conference.
Just days away from the trade deadline, the nature of the business is not lost on anyone in the building on a daily basis. Besides, the same fair-weather fans grumbling now would put Willie Green back into the Coach of the Year conversation with a post-All-Star game break winning streak.
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