This whole game is Cotter's fault. Any replacement tips?

Cotter thought he had another timeout, by the sound of things.

Why would u call a timeout before the free throws? Obviously thought he had one more left.

You call one to ice the shooter and get them thinking.

It's a good strategy if you have a Timeout left for after.

The Powerhouse/Dome/Arena scoreboard claims another victim

It is a sound strategy, even if you don't agree with it.

Cotter believed he had another timeout for one reason or another. Will be interested to hear why that was...

Yes it is, the Pro player is not 100% accurate so doing something to mess with their rhythm is a good strategy.

Same thing has been done in HS, NCAA, NBA, Olympics, World Champs.

But of course you're the only one who's right.

Does not detract from the fact it was a sound thing to do.

I agree it was the correct thing to do to put off Randle IF they had another time out. Futhermore, if Randle did miss the second one you can't call time out on the court so he can give them instructions on what to do in that situation.

You kings supporters are brainless twits. Understand the game and understand coaching. Asst coaches should be on top of timeouts!!

Cotter can't make free throws for the team.

Pathetic ignoramuses whom always blame the coach.

Cotter can coach!! Melb United have overs on salary cap. Players need to accept responsibility. For fuck sake wake up and get off Damian's back.

Think the problems go beyond Cotter. If he doesn't get to pick his team like all the other coaches why doesn't he like management?

Succeeded at SEABL and Under 19 National team but NBL is different obviously.

Gave him a pass last year given what he had to work with and injuries.

The question is if you fire him who replaces him? Sydney have a similar feel this year to Heal his second year.

Also what is up with Markovic at the moment?

Markovic was tweeting encouragement to the team during the game, doubt he would do that if he has gone walkabout.

Missed free throws was the biggest influence in the loss. Can't pin that on the coach.

What is Mick Downer doing these days? He left the Taipans in the off-season to 'spread his wings'

Assistant Coach should have been on top of the timeout situation, its his job. Chilldress a couple of times during the game went up to the assistant coach to tell him stuff he knew he has missed and should have been on top of.

Missing 15 out of 31 free throws was the major loss factor but not the only one.

Team was not prepared for the last quarter full court man on press. Cotter will accept blame for that i am sure. But Management must accept the buck stops with them. They have hired too many square pegs for round holes.

I think there's something more going on with Marcovic. Anyone know?

Alan Black

Last season with the Crocs I heard his problems weren't (entirely) with the hamstring. For his sake I won't disclose but apparently the issue wasn't just physical. Haven't kept tabs on the Kings much this year -- and less on Markovic himself -- but I hope it's not the same thing

When Childress is in casuals its always going to be tough to win no matter how good you play for 3 quarters. If they had this record and the equilavent of lbj was in id say gotta go. No one could do better job with current situation.

Cotters mistake with the TO didnt lose the game.

The team shot 50% from Free Throws.
The team missed chances of "easy" baskets in the last quarter. ( the easiest Garlepp not converting )
The team did not handle the PRESS, maybe a portion of the blame for that can be put on Cotter?
All the 50/50 calls in the last quarter went against the Kings.

Something must have been going right to be up 25pts, with many thinking the game is "in the bag"

#562411

You kings supporters are brainless twits.

Would be interested to know how many people commenting on here have actually coached. Let's say at an NBL, seabl, state, or rep level?

In hindsight it is easy to make comment.

A timeout before is a sound decision as stated above.

One it could get in head of shooter.

But more importantly he would have been talking thru scenarios and wanted was needed should the player miss one or both, or make both.

Ideally he could have done this after the free throws but if Randle misses the second the ball is live.

Obviously some issues at Sydney but cotter isn't the biggest problem.

At that level you should have a play to run of the missed free throw without needing to call timeout. Same as a side ball or endline. ATO calls need only be counters or different plays.

With the ability to tell the point guard and have them tell the team you shouldn't need a timeout to organise as that should already be managed at practice.

The team has been without their star all season, they've introduced, what, 6 or 7 new players? Thornton has only just started to find his feet and Harrington has come in overweight and out of retirement, Markovic has clearly lost something, Garlepp has been MIA. I would let Cotter see the season out.

Kings also struggling with stuff off the court. They have taken down the Entertainment Centre's parking area before taking down the Entertainment Centre itself! You have to pay close to $50 for parking in the closest parking station, clearly effecting the crowd numbers this season.

Personally the faster they get out of there, the better.

The only good things about the season so far has been Khazzouh and Cadee's improvement.

https://www.change.org/p/sydney-kings-fans-get-sydney-kings-head-coach-damian-cotter-sacked?recruiter=408367819&utm_source=share_for_starters&utm_medium=copyLink


Just found this lol

If any of you coached or played for a good coach over your lives, which not many seem to have.

Cotter made a great and bold move. Some times it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Last night. It didn't.

If I were the free throw shooter, down by 1 with 6 seconds left, Id rather shoot my shots in the flow of the game and not have to go huddle and then come back out and shoot, a minute or so after I was fouled and in rhythm

Cotters been a disaster .. Yes, this is just one game, but he's had two seasons now and has never been able to get the team to gell .. He also fails to react or doesn't seem to know what to do when things start going against the Kings. There was a game last year where the Kings were up by about 14 early in the last quarter and ended up losing, he didn't call a time out for the whole qtr .. Presumably he was just "hoping" things would get better .. The cameras in the timeouts show that the team doesn't really listen to him anyway ..

Time to get a new coach and start winning some games !

I'm not sold on Cotter, but to say he's a disaster is wrong. Wen he has had Childress in the lineup the Kings have been a decent team. Without him they haven't. I don't like what he's doing defensively, but he's battling against the odds without the league's best player.

If you need the league's best player in order to be 'a decent team', you're probably not that good a coach.

Did anyone actually watch the first half? Pretty sure the team was gelling then!

The coach only has so many timeouts to use. So if he used more during the quarter to try and calm his team down hed be crucified for wasting them and not having one left to set up a play.

Save them for that possibility and hes crucified for not calling time out to try and break the run.


Is he the greatest coach ever? No of course not, hes made mistakes and is clearly still learning how to manage the team both with regards to tactics and managing egos. Seeing as Childress was happy to return this season, knowing Cotter was coaching probably indicates he has at least some faith in the direction Cotter is trying to take the team

Fact remains, Kings kit 40% of their free throws in the last 1/4 they win, and everyone would be saying Joey was a shit coach. Instead the Kings players buckle under a bit of pressure and their coach is supposedly 100% to blame.

Even if the Kings hit 100% of their free-throws in that last quarter, they gave up a 24-point lead to win by five.

A name that hasn't come up but might be worth a call by the kings. I saw liam Flyn at the game last night at the Dome. Experienced NBL assistant - 36ers and Crocs? Coached overseas the past few years. Is he back here for good now?

"If you need the league's best player in order to be 'a decent team', you're probably not that good a coach."

It's obvious to most that when you sign the league's best player it impacts what else you have to spend. When you lose that big a chunk of your roster due to injury it has a big impact on the talent you have on the floor.

Yeah, like that talentless hack they've got playing centre.

This team, on paper, should be better than the wooden spoon.

No Childress, no whatever team he would playing for, he is simply that important in every area of the game. I dont know enough about Cotters situation, but to say all the issues in Sydney are on him purely is a bit over the top. As a fan of the Kings no matter what I would've come to understand shit was gonna suck when Childress broke that hand.

Bit different if the Kings were full strength, then thats definitely on the coach with these results, but they are no where near good overall without Childress.

Khazzouh is a talented offensive player but probably the worst pick and roll defender in the competition. That has a massive impact on everything the coach can do defensively.

With Childress this team is a playoff contender talent wise, but not championship level, without him they are a bottom two team.

How many GAMES has Downer coached in the last 5 years. As a Head Coach? Made subs, called timeouts at the right spots (unlike DC), played the right 5 guys? Get someone who has actually made the moves.

If he had two time-outs left I can understand it, one for a play if the second FT misses, the second to advance the ball if the second is made. Getting the number of time-outs wrong is very poor though.

Anon, do you seriously expect Cotter to have fixed Khazzouh's significant, career-long defensive issues in just a few months?

Serious question for you, Paul:

What is it about the Kings' defense you don't like? I've only watched their round 1 game this season, so I don't know what they're doing differently compared to other teams.

He just got the public support of the board, so there's only one thing left, sadly.

Yeah, reports are Cotter was right and the scorebench was wrong.

Totally irrelevant. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with a 5 point win in a road game against a superior opponent.

Obviously 'support of the board' = 'you're fired', but why that choice of words exactly?

Nothing wrong with beating a good team, no matter how much you were up and how much you win by, basketball is not a linear sport.

That might be true, but giving up a 24-point lead is generally a sign of some level of incompetence somewhere. You can't just brush it off because you won anyway.

If one team can get up a big margin a similarly talented team can make a comeback, especially at home. While there are negatives in allowing the run, there are positives in steadying and claiming the win. Of course, that didnt happen last night.

I do recall Mike Krzyzewski having some losing seasons before he turned things around at Duke..
I understand its a professional team, and winning is desirable, and that Damian Cotter is not Coach K, but there is a process, and sometimes you need to have a little faith in in the process.
They're missing arguably the best player in the league, and seem to have replaced him with an out of shape retiree. Losing sucks, but firing the head coach isn't always the solution.

Sydney Kings chairman Phil Hudson has backed besieged coach Damian Cotter as speculation increases about his future following the team's 2-7 start to the NBL season.

It is understood management recently told Cotter his job was on the line and he needed to win more games to remain at the helm.

Cotter can coach!!

Sydney Kings management need to let him select his team.

Sydney fans are fickle!

Give Damo a chance - 2 year contract and to choose his players and support staff.

Then and only then do you twats have the right to judge. In the meantime STFU!!

"Sydney fans are fickle! Give Damo a chance - 2 year contract and to choose his players and support staff."

Are you kidding? Another 2 years?

What is his record so far? 12 Wins, 27 Losses something like that. Only Sydney can make history like this. And don't blame it on Childress being out. Other teams have superstars sitting out as well. Hawks are playing with 1 import and half of last year's Sydney team.

That time out was the joke of the round, may be of all time.

Bob Turner

Samuel L Jackson as Coach Carter

How many coaches don't pick their rosters in the league? Just out of curiousity.

What a good win by Coach Cotter against the 36ers. If Cotter was in charge of Melbourne with their roster he would also have them on top--well coached Damian.