The Indiana Pacers fired coach Jim O’Brien on Sunday midway through the fourth year of O’Brien’s contract and named assistant Frank Vogel interim coach for the rest of 2010-11.
O’Brien went 121-169 as Pacers coach and began this season 17-27 before being relieved of his duties.
The first thing to take away from Sunday’s news is that the Pacers are doing the right thing in parting ways with O’Brien. He wasn’t getting it done at a point in his contract when Indiana should be a solid playoff contender in a weak Eastern Conference. I’ll have more on that later, but O’Brien’s dismissalย presents an opportunity for the Pacers to start fresh.
The question is,ย is it just the first one?
By Drew Allen
Once again, it was time —ย perhaps past time — for O’Brien to go. The veteran coach went 36-46 inย each of his first two seasons at the helm of the franchise and then regressed in 2009-10, going justย 32-50. Inย his fourth season, aย yearย in which team president Larry Birdย believed the Pacers should make the playoffs,ย O’Brien hadย Indiana headedย toward a similarย result.ย He suffered too many losses for too many reasons. To name a few …
- Lack of continuity in lineups and rotations. This was probably the biggest complaint among Pacers fans about O’Brien’s tactics. Questions about the coach’s lineupsย gained steam during the 2009-10 season when O’Brien aimed toย play “small ball” by starting ex-Pacer Troy Murphy at center and playing Danny Granger, a natural three, at the power forward position. Thatย strategyย backfired,ย heightening Indiana’s defensive woes and perhaps hindering the growth of center Roy Hibbert.ย O’Brien came under more fire this season for his rotations; the coach often would sit players atย crucial points in games (ex: Josh McRoberts in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 111-96 loss at Chicago). Come to think of it,ย O’Brien’s constant shifting of the lineup created anotherย problem …
- Not playing the young players on the roster. I would find it funny if O’Brien wereย sitting his young talent in favor ofย winning; the young players give this team the best chance to win. Maybeย the coach feltย it would be in the best financial interests of theย franchise to utilize the expiring contracts of veterans Mike Dunleavy, T.J. Ford and Jeff Foster to make them attractive options on the trade market. While each of those guysย has played well for the most part, their extensive playing time has limited opportunities for the youth on the Pacers’ roster.ย The teamย traded for Darren Collison in the summer to make the second-year man its franchise point guard. Thisย season, O’Brien has given Ford similar minutes to Collison in many games. Dunleavy and Foster, both of whom are not expected backย in Indianaย next season at their currentย salaries, haveย trimmedย playing time for formerย first-round picks Brandon Rush, Tyler Hansbrough and Paul George, much to Bird’sย frustrationย early in the season. Bird also mentioned he’d like to see some contribution fromย rookie guard Lance Stephenson, who has not seen any action inย 2010-11.
- Being tuned out by theย team. Whether O’Brien actually lostย connection to his players is something weย may never know, but it seemed at timesย as thoughย his messages weren’t getting through to the Pacers. Perhapsย O’Brien brought some of it upon himselfย byย calling out individual performances in public.ย In March 2010, heย calledย a career night for McRobertsย “irrelevant” after aย 122-99ย loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center.ย In December, he said Hibbert, whoย at the timeย was averaging almost a double-double on the season, wasย “not having aย very good season.” Now, I’m not one to feel sorry for players who get called out by coaches in press conferences, but O’Brien’s comments in these instances seemed quiteย unwarranted and probably didn’t sit well in the locker room. Bird evenย said Sundayย he believed Hibbert’s recent struggles could be traced back to O’Brien’s remarks.
So, long story short, the Pacers likely will be better off withย O’Brien’s departure.
However, Indiana’s long-term prospects are far from certain even after eliminating perhaps the biggest problem.
Bird and everyone in the front office and on the coaching staff are in the final years of their contracts, and Bird has publicly stated he’s unsure if he wants to return to the organizationย after this season. Bird stood firm in his desireย to refrain fromย replacing O’Brien as interimย coach, a move Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz deemed a necessity last week. That might or might not speak to hisย long-term commitment to improvingย the franchise. Therefore,ย the Pacers might be looking at wholesale changes in management upon the season’sย conclusion, perhaps by bringing in someone like Kevin Pritchard, the former Portland Trail Blazers general manager and an Indiana native.
Such a change wouldย almost certainly promptย a search for a new coach and staff unlessย Indiana realizes drastic improvement and a playoff berth under Vogel.ย Names that have been tossed aroundย for the jobย include former Pacers guardย Mark Jackson andย former teamย assistantย and Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown. Another name to consider is Lester Conner,ย a former Pacers assistantย who was dismissed last June after publicly stating he wouldย do things differently than O’Brien. Conner coached the teamย to a 130-115 win against Toronto last February while O’Brien attendedย his mother-in-law’s funeral.ย
In the meantime, however,ย Vogel is the man. To makeย a case forย himself as a viable coachingย option for the Pacers — or any team, for that matter —ย he must keepย the team level-headed as it attempts toย chargeย closer to .500, where it stood for much of the season before a recent slump. To do that, Vogel needs to find a way to utilize the youth on the roster whileย runningย consistent, effectiveย rotations. Bird could helpย his new coachย by striking deals for some ofย the team’s expiring contracts.
We’ll get our first look at this “fresh” Pacers teamย at 7 p.m. today against the Toronto Raptors at Conseco Fieldhouse.
