For the next few weeks, I'm going to pick an NBA-related subject, A-through-Z, and tell you why it's worth your time, and why it's one of the reasons I love covering this league.
Because that's why I wanted to become a scribe who's paid to cover this league. Sharing the things I know and love with those of my kind. All that stuff.
Because I'm lucky enough to have your ear for however long, I don't care that this might come off as a bit twee. A little embarrassing. A little too forthright. I'm OK with that. Hopefully you are, as well.
"S" is for "Scott Skiles."
I can love Scott Skiles, because he's not coaching my favorite team.
I used to loathe Scott Skiles. Well, that's not exactly true. It didn't go that deep. I used to spend a great deal of time being angry at Scott Skiles - that's better -- while he was coaching my favorite team. I used to pace endlessly after Chicago Bulls losses, or rue the idea that the team won in spite of Skiles' sometimes infuriating machinations. Play-calling, rotation issues, minutes allotment, emphasis on either end - you name it, and Skiles' Bulls tried my patience with it.
Underneath that dislike, though, was the fear that the Bulls could dump the man. The fear that dropping Skiles for another coach could reveal more about the team that I cared to learn. By my count, each and every Bulls loss was due to a series of bum moves from Skiles that I obviously would never have dared try from the comfort of my love seat. But what about all those wins? With a roster that he was probably squeezing every possible ounce of production out of?
At the heart of it was respect. Outside for a shared love of the game and a close proximity in postal codes, Skiles and I had about as much in common as a Lexus at a Sturgis rally. But it was clear that he knew this game on a level that a goodly chunk of his peers didn't share, and that's not me fawning because he got every ounce of his own talent out as a pro some 20 years ago. The guy had this team maxed out, because of his smarts.
And it's what made all those Malik Allen minutes so infuriating.
And it's not my problem, any more.
Up in Milwaukee, Skiles is off getting the most he can from a Bucks team that - Andrew M. Bogut Twitter escapades aside - is one of the league's more highly regarded outfits. Not a championship contender, but a team that nobody would dare blink at, were they to take the eventual champs (whoever that might be) to seven games.
Such is that team's talent, but Skiles' presence also clarifies things. Maybe it was the ascension of Brandon Jennings, a player we were told was the anti-Skiles, and the way that last year's rookie flourished under Skiles' care (even if his jump shot did not). It makes you believe that, in spite of Skiles handing all those minutes to less-talented players throughout his career, he'll be able to get something out of Corey Maggette and/or Drew Gooden (with 18 pro coaches between them, through the years) that other sideline stalkers could not.
Or, Scott could flame out again, as was the case (though the teams didn't take spectacular falls, it was clearly a step back) in Phoenix and Chicago. As it is with players, we're hoping the pattern doesn't sustain. We're hoping Skiles keeps up the "squeeze every ounce out of ..." ideal for just another year. Or for the rest of his career. He clearly has the talent, and the drive. Is Milwaukee - this franchise, this fan base, this city, this roster - the one to make it work?
As orthodox and button-down as Skiles may seem, there's no real telling with him. He's a wild card in a blue blazer and red tie. I love that. Maybe because that worry is Milwaukee's worry right now, in spite of the possible fact that a lasting change in Skiles could lead to his Bucks keeping those Bulls out of the top spot in the Central division for the next half-decade.
With Scott Skiles, you never know.
Julius Erving Patrick Ewing Walt Frazier George Gervin Hal Greer
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