Behind Every Good Man

On Tuesday, NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich hired former WNBA star Becky Hammon as an assistant coach. The hiring makes Hammon the first woman to be a full time, paid assistant coach in the history of the NBA. Once again, the NBA is ahead of the curve of social progress.

WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?

Beyond the fact that Hammon’s gender makes her hiring historic, I think this story is going to fade quickly. It will come and go whenever a member of the media wants something to write about or talk about, likely with more going than coming. Someone at some point will do or say something insensitive related to Hammon’s gender. It, too, shall pass.

I don’t know anything about Hammon’s knowledge of X’s and O’s. We are all acutely aware of the legacy and elite level of achievement of Popovich’s NBA head coaching career. Pop is five time NBA Champion as coach of the Spurs. He is the most accomplished active NBA head coach.  He is going to coast in to the Basketball Hall of Fame when he decides to retire and is eligible. In short, Coach Popovich’s selection of Hammon is all I need to know about her qualifications.

Considering the man who made the hire, I have little doubt about Hammon's coaching potential. 1

THE BIG DEAL IS….

What none of us can truly know until we see the curtain rise on the 2014-2015 NBA season is what differences, if any, will there be in the dynamic of a woman coaching men. As human beings, we approach the opposite differently, even if slightly, in different situations. How will it translate in the hyper-competitive NBA on a team seeking its third consecutive Western Conference title and back-to-back NBA Championships?

Also, whether Hammon is successful or not (see her boss for why I think she will be), she will not be the last woman to coach in the NBA. She will not be a one-off. The WBNA has a plethora of knowledgeable players with high basketball IQ’s. The NBA is always looking for talent. It is inevitable that the men’s league will pick people with coaching potential from the women’s league, just like it does from the Developmental League and did with the now defunct Continental Basketball Association.

The question is: as more women enter the NBA coaching ranks and succeed, how long will it be before there is a woman hired as the Head Coach of an NBA team. It may not happen this year or even this decade, but Hammon has broken the glass ceiling of coaching. It’s only a matter of time before a woman is hired for the top job.

How long will it be before that happens and how long before a woman is the leader of men? What kind of personality in a woman will it take to manage and coach and lead and discipline 15 elite, millionaire, alpha-male jocks? Being an assistant coach is at a completely different level of demand than being the guy (or the girl).

Hammon in the WNBA. 3

HIS AND HER LOCKER ROOMS?

Another question I have seen floated since Tuesday’s announcement is: will there ever be a woman to play in the NBA. Hammon gave the answer that every knowledgeable sports enthusiast already knew: “No.”

This isn’t the playground, it is major league sports. Sure, a high school girls hoops team could smoke a bunch of dudes without the technical knowledge or benefit of coaching that the girls team possesses. However, on the whole, men are bigger, stronger, and faster than women. The same applies when skimming the tiny, elite percentage of people occupying the 450 active roster spots in the NBA.

People who have played and closely followed sports know this truth. Casual fans or non-fans simply intrigued by the historic nature of Hammon’s hiring may not grasp or even buy into this concept. Consider that dunks are a routine occurrence, often a dozen times per night, in an NBA game and the vast majority of NBA players can go above the rim with ease. In the 18 year history of the WNBA, there have only been 20 dunks recorded by five players*.

This is the only competitive dunking involving a woman most of us will ever see live with our own eyes. 2

SO WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?

Hammon’s hiring is because of what she has upstairs, developed by years of what her body could do while competing against similarly talented peers. She need not be able to posterize Tony Parker to be effective from the sideline. Talk about it today. It will be yesterday’s news before tomorrow.

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*Source: wikipedia.org

1) Image from www.businessinsider.com

2) Image from www.wikipedia.org

3) Image from www.espn.com

Best of Three

The defending NBA champion Miami Heat handed the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs a decisive defeat last night, beating the Spurs at the AT&T Center, 109-93. The Heat tied the series at two games apiece and guaranteed that the series would return to Miami for a Game 6. The NBA Finals are essentially down to a best-of-three series, with one game, Game 5, remaining at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

Only Game 1 in this series has been close at the end of the game. Game 2 was a thumping of the Spurs in Miami and Game 3 was an historic vaporization of the Heat in San Antonio, a 36 point mauling by the Spurs. The Heat's victory in Game 4 was not in doubt throughout most of the first quarter and was on the way to becoming very lopsided as the final buzzer sounded.

Are the sleeping giants out of hibernation? 1

KEYS TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP

Miami wins the series if: They continue to get a "Big Three" effort from their Big Three. Chris Bosh broke out of his lengthy slump with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and a host of hustle plays. The Heat got 30 or more points from both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade for the first time in the series. If that happens in two of the next three games, it won't matter how San Antonio tries to counter the Heat; the Heat will win the series.

Miami loses the series if: They revert back to "The LeBron James Show". Last night's game was a case in point of why James needed to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to win a championship. Other players had to step up when it counted most. In Game 1 and Game 3 of this series, too often, James was the only player creating shots for himself, being aggressive, and pushing the ball towards the hole. When he was stifled, nobody was there to pick him up and the Heat lost.

San Antonio wins the series if: They shoot at a high percentage. Miami's perimeter defense is its crippling weapon against opposing offenses. Should Spurs guards Danny Green and Gary Neal be able to continue their three point shooting circus and guard Manu Ginobli can wake up, even a little, the Spurs are going to be an extremely tough out. Tony Parker's injured hamstring is another x-factor. If he can penetrate the lane effectively, the Spurs have a good chance to take the series.

San Antonio loses the series if: They continue committing turnovers. I cannot recall the last time I saw a team make their opponent pay for turnovers with points as often as this year's Miami Heat. Spurs turnovers that the Heat convert into a transition play appear to equal automatic Miami points. The Spurs average 12 turnovers per game during this year's playoffs. In their two Finals losses to the Heat, they have averaged 17 turnovers per game. That can't happen if the Spurs expect to win two of the next three games, especially with two of those games being in Miami.

If you see this look on San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich during a game, the Spurs have a problem. 2

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1) Image from www.usatoday.com
2) Image from www.stamfordadvocate.com

The End of the Beginning and the Beginning of the End

The Western Conference Finals are set. They were set quickly, too. Both Western Conference semifinal rounds were decided in five games or less. The top seed in the conference, the San Antonio Spurs, swept the Los Angeles Clippers in five games. The Oklahoma City Thunder, the second seed in the West, eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.

END OF THE BEGINNING

Basketball fans have watched the Oklahoma City Thunder take baby steps over their four seasons in Oklahoma City as they have grown from a young, talented, but inexperienced team, to a legitimate championship contender. In 2009, the Thunder, in their first year in OKC (after relocating from Seattle, formerly as the SuperSonics), only won 23 games. Kevin Durant (28 PPG, 8 RPG) was in his second season and Russell Westbrook (24 PPG, 6 APG, 2 StlPG) was a rookie. Both would become perennial All-Stars.

In 2010, they took the top seeded, defending champion Lakers to seven games in the first round. Last year, they lost the Western Conference Finals to the eventual NBA Champion Mavericks in five games. Three of their four losses came with the Thunder trailing by six points or less at the end of the fourth quarter.

This year, OKC faces another Texas team in the conference finals. The Thunder at times had the best record in the NBA. They were passed by the San Antonio Spurs, coached by four-time NBA Champion and 2012 NBA Coach of the Year Gregg Popovich. Now the Spurs are all that stand between Oklahoma City and the city’s first ever trip to the NBA Finals. The Thunder are approaching the end of their role as the NBA’s new kids on the block.

STOP! Poster time...! 2

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

Aside from the Lakers, no NBA franchise has enjoyed more success over the past 15 years than the Spurs. Future Hall of Fame forward Tim Duncan (15 PPG, 9 RPG) and Coach Popovich have won four NBA Championships together (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007). Guards Tony Parker (18 PPG, 8 APG) and Manu Ginobli (13 PPG, 4 APG) have been on board for the last three title runs. All three players are over 30. All three are playing at a high level. However, with the exception of Parker, the ability to continue to play at a high level over the next few years can be called into question due to age.

Regardless, the Spurs had the best record in the NBA in 2012. They have swept the Jazz and Clippers in the first and second rounds, respectively, of the NBA playoffs. The Spurs have not lost a game since April 11, having won 18 straight regular season and playoff games. They are executing at a nearly flawless level. The Thunder are the first opponent the Spurs have faced in the playoffs that appear to have the personnel capable of beating the Spurs.

The Spurs are fully capable of making a championship run. They are the favorites in this round and, should they advance, will have home court advantage in the Finals. Father Time is undefeated and untied in eventually bringing runs of athletic greatness to an end. Without a doubt, this current crop of Spurs has very few, if any, serious championship runs in them after 2012, especially considering the rapid ascension of the Thunder. Still, the future is not here yet and the present is here right now. The NBA could not have asked for a more poetic and fascinating matchup in the Western Conference Finals.



"T. Duncan: DND (did not dress) - OLD"; Very funny, but only a little funny because it's a little true. 1



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To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.

The Daily Hat Trick is sponsored by Sports N Stuff. For great deals on jerseys, shirts, cologne, and other guy stuff, visit http://www.sportsnstuff.biz/

 
1) Image from www.thesportsdump.com
2) Image from www.yougotdunkedon.com