New Orleans Pelicans: Pros and cons of Doc Rivers as head coach

New Orleans Pelicans: Does Doc Rivers’ style fit in New Orleans?

X’s and O’s

Doc Rivers has always been known as a great leader and molder of players but never really as a guy who has a cutting edge playbook.

In the end, you don’t have to reinvent the game to be successful and often gimmicky playbooks get exposed quickly. Does Doc have the X’s and O’s to lead this team?

Pro: Doc Rivers knows how to coach defense. Doc’s teams are almost always near the top of the league in defensive rating and this year’s Clippers’ team was no different, finishing 5th overall in team defense.

In Doc’s seven years in LA, his teams finished in the top-five in defense twice and never finished outside the top-20.

He was even better in Boston, where he took a Celtics team from the 20th ranked defense to number one in the NBA within two years. In his nine seasons in Boston the Celtics finished in the top-ten in defense six times and five of those were in the top-five.

The Pelicans are atrocious on defense and Doc Rivers could almost certainly improve that. They were the 20th ranked defense and the 4th ranked offense so it is obvious where they need to improve.

Con: It is arguable that Doc Rivers had little to do with all that defensive success, as he’s coached two of the greatest defensive players of all time in Kevin Garnett and Kawhi Leonard.

Last year’s Clippers squad, without Kawhi, was 19th in defense overall, then jumped to 5th this season with the addition of two All-Defensive players. Shocker.

Did Doc suddenly remember how to coach defense? The point is that defense is about effort, skill and athleticism more than coaching. Sure, a coach can devise schemes and put players in good spots, but he can’t make them move their feet, dig in for more effort or react more quickly to plays.

Doc Rivers knows how to coach defense but he has also had the players to get it done, which the Pelicans do not. Would he be able to coach up this group? Could Doc bring enough veteran free agent defenders to make up for it? These are all fair questions.

Doc Rivers has the resume to be the Pelicans’ next head coach, there is no doubt of that. He has won everywhere he’s been, is a respected leader in the league and would bring accountability and credibility to a franchise that lacks it.

If the Pelicans decide to bring on Doc Rivers, the pros outweigh the cons.