I wonder how many other teams' fan base is calling for the firing of their head coach. I'm not a big fan of knee-jerk reactions on hiring or firing coaches. But, I immediately turn to the Buck's head coach, Jim Boylan, for a coach that has not made the best of the team he was given:
The Bucks have Larry Sanders, Samuel Dalembert, Epke Udoh, Joel Pryzbilla, Drew Gooden, John Henson, and Gustavo Ayon as their PF/C possibilities. The Bucks Have Monta Ellis, Brandon Jennings, and JJ Redick at PG/SG. The Bucks have Mike Dunleavy and Marquis Daniels at SG/SF. And, they have the tremendously talented Ilyasova at the SF/PF spot (they also have Mbah a Moute at SF/PF, but, he's injured).
I won't go into detail on how Boylan has misused (not used) his plethora of PF/Cs, but, trust me, he hasn't taken advantage of them. But, I will go to today's game with the Bucks facing Atlanta. The Bucks are in 8th place in the East, and pretty much guaranteed to make the playoffs-- it would be hard for them to get bumped into the Lottery. They are two games behind Boston to move into 7th-- which would put them in a first round match-up against the ailing NY Knicks, as opposed to a first round match-up against the Heat! That's serious incentive to win! Instead of moving Ilyasova to the SF position to counter Kyle Korver both offensively and defensively, he chose to keep Ilyasova at PF against Josh Smith and Al Horford! This coach had Larry Sanders and Samuel Dalembert (two of the leagues best defensive pf/centers) and five other big bodies he could have used in an emergency to defend Josh Smith and Al Horford. Now, Ilyasova DID play pretty good D against Josh Smith, but got into serious foul trouble doing it. If Ilyasova had been moved to the SF position he would have defended well against Atl's perimeter game, which tore the Bucks up. But, MOST HORRIBLY, at the end of the game with the game tied, and time running out, with Ilyasova with 5 fouls and Atl's worst foul shooter on the line, with the Bucks still having a time-out, Boylan did not substitute Dalembert (the Buck's 2nd best rebounder) for Ilyasova. They could have gotten the rebound and then put Ilyasova back in for offense with their time-out. Instead, Ilyasova, playing with 5 fouls and worried about fouling out, let an Atl player slip by to get the rebound and put it back for a two point lead! THEN, after missing their chance to tie on offense, and wasting their last time-out, and now needing to foul Atl for a chance to tie or win, Boylan left Ilyasova in the game! Atl got the ball to the man Ilyasova was guarding and Ilyasova had to foul him-- and Ilyasova fouled out. Boylan should have substituted ANY other Bucks' player for that inbounds play, then brought Ilyasova back for his offense. The Bucks' coach blew the game. If the Bucks' coach had played it right, they would have had an overwhelming chance of winning the game. The last two minutes were inexcusably bad-- but, the season itself is more in question because the Bucks should be much much much better than 8th in the East!
Home 
