P.J. Carlesimo Fired!

"The Brooklyn Nets organization would like to thank P.J. for his efforts with the team in his roles as both head coach and assistant, and for his contributions to the team's success both on and off the court," general manager Billy King said in a news release.

P.J. Carlesimo did what he could with this current roster. Trying to get production out of a team that was put together in one summer is an hard job to especially if you were thrown into the spotlight. For the most part Carlesimo did well. He finished with a regular season record with 35 wins and 19 losses. He also finished with a great record when beating teams with losing records. The problem with the Nets was beating playoff teams at a consistent level which did not happen at all this year. This problem was illuminated in the recent series against Chicago.

Part of the problem was the mid-season change from Avery Johnson to P.J. Carlesimo. Yes, the change somehow ignited the team to play much better even though the team was 14 and 14. We will never know how Avery would have coached the team but it would be fair to say that he would have done a better job, simply because it was his system. Carlesimo tweaked it and added a few plays for Deron Williams but nothing was really different. Just ask LeBron James. It was probably inevitable that Carlesimo would not be coaching the Nets next season but he had a chance to prove himself in the playoffs but that was a major fail.

Going up against Tom Thibodeau was clearly a disadvantage for Carlesimo and there should be no logical reason for anyone to think Carlesimo would out-coach him. But you have to think Carlesimo would make some adjustments. In game four when the Nets suffered a heart breaking loss, several mistakes were made. The Bulls went with fouling Reggie Evans and Gerald Wallace in the game and Carlesimo did not want to take them out in time, which ended up being crucial. They also went with hedging the pick-n-roll play when Lopez could not handle it. He gave the opposing player too much room and teams exposed that all season. The game-plan was also questionable because Joakim Noah was clearly dominating Brook Lopez in the post and had trouble scoring when doing so, even though he scored his fair share this series. Williams penetrated and attacked the rim at will but they decided to run screens to get Williams open instead. All of this does not fall on Carlesimo since veterans Williams and Joe Johnson should have noticed this too. However, the blame will always go to the coach, especially if he is an intern.

With Carlesimo gone, the Nets will have some names to go after and some players too. Phil Jackson is officially ruled out but there are other popular coaches who have good resumes like Jerry Sloan and Jeff Van Gundy. Check here for the worthy candidates.


Source - ESPN
Follow @NetsTakeOver