Portland Trail Blazers: 5 takeaways from 2017-18 NBA season
4. Terry Stotts deserves to keep his job
New Orleans’ sweep of Portland is an understandably demoralizing loss for Blazer Nation. In dire times like these, fans want their team to make big changes. However, the head coaching position is one place where things should stand pat.
Following the Pelicans series, the Blazers have now lost 10 consecutive playoff games over three seasons. According to the New York Times‘ Marc Stein, this unfortunate statistic triggered some talk within the league’s coaching ranks.
The mumurs have already started In coaching circles that 10 consecutive playoffs defeats will cost Terry Stotts his job in Portland, but league sources say Orlando would register immediate interest in Stotts if he becomes available
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 22, 2018
Firing Stotts would be a foolish decision on Portland’s part. He isn’t the reason that this team seems to have a limited shelf life in the postseason. If anything, as NBC Sports‘ Dane Carbaugh notes, he has made the most out of the roster given to him:
"“Stotts was a genuine Coach of the Year candidate this season for his role in developing guys like Napier and Pat Connaughton, who were useful at different parts of the season. Stotts pushed Nurkic to be more aggressive, a major factor in their late-season success. He rehabilitated Harkless. Reaching back even further, Stotts masterminded an offense that turned Mason Plumlee into the third creator on offense for Portland before the Nurkic trade last year. He’s been excellent, and firing him would be a colossal mistake.”"
Terry Stotts has come a long way since his days leading the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks and it shows every night. After six seasons, his teams still play hard almost every game. The real issue is the way the Blazers’ roster is constructed, schematically and financially. That is on general manager Neil Olshey, and perhaps he will be able to fix it this summer.
No matter who plays for the Trail Blazers in 2018-19, Terry Stotts has done more than enough to show he can lead them.