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I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

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  • #1

    I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

    I am bolding the quotes by Jermaine O'Neal.

    If what he say's is true, and from what I have seen so far on the court I think it is, then this may be the start of something special.

    http://www.philly.com/dailynews/spor...ldnt_stay.html

    Sixers - O'Brien knew early he wouldn't stay
    By PHIL JASNER
    Philadelphia Daily News

    jasnerp@phillynews.com

    INDIANAPOLIS - It wasn't easy making the 76ers 10 games better than they were the previous season, taking a team that had been in the lottery to the playoffs and getting fired with two guaranteed seasons remaining, but Jim O'Brien found a way to do it.
    There's an old saying: In Philadelphia, you're going to get it, you just don't know when. The fascinating part of O'Brien's experience was that it took only the first month of 2004-05 for O'Brien to know exactly what was coming, not to mention when.

    "I just had a pretty good feeling of the lay of the land as early as December," O'Brien said before coaching the Indiana Pacers to victory over the Sixers last night.

    The Sixers essentially paid him $8 million to leave, giving him the balance of the guaranteed portion of a 4-year contract. Did someone in management or ownership tell him something during that first month that told him he would be one and done?

    "It's observation," he said. "Really, absolutely nothing [else]. Nobody ever said anything. It was just observation of people."

    At the same time, O'Brien admittedly made no effort to take his feelings to anyone above him in the organization.

    "I don't think there was anything that I was doing that I wouldn't continue to do," he said. "I was trying to build a team. I thought we were building it the way I was hired to build it, change the culture."

    In a statement released yesterday via Comcast-Spectacor publicist Ike Richman, chairman Ed Snider said: "I feel this is in the past. It's really water under the bridge. We remain focused on the future of this franchise and don't want to dwell on what may or may not have happened."

    O'Brien has no regrets.

    "We had a team that was out of the playoffs [go] into the playoffs," he said. "I signed a huge contract, so financially it was a windfall [after getting fired], from the standpoint of being able to get a sabattical. I just had the best 2 years of my entire life. I don't regret 1 second of it . . .

    "I went there with the idea - I go to every job with the idea - that I'm going to be there forever. I thought I was brought in to change the culture.

    "Prior to getting there, there was a lot of nonsense going on in the paper. One of the things I said in the interview process was, I would stop that nonsense from going on, from the standpoint of public stuff, players [seen] in a negative media. It just didn't work out, I guess."

    Let the record show, the Pacers love him. Let the record also show O'Brien said, "I think we really have better pieces here than any other place [I've been]."

    "I like him a lot," star big man Jermaine O'Neal said, "because he reminds me of a coach when you're coming through rec league and high school, where they really care more about the person than they do the actual basketball player.

    "We've had some real emotional meetings at this part of the year. As a player, I say I'd go to war for this guy any night. I think all the guys in the locker room feel that way, also."

    O'Brien's style, which includes lots of freedom at the offensive end, is a major change for the holdover Pacers, who were accustomed to the slower pace and more controlling approach of Rick Carlisle. Viewed as stubborn, aloof and difficult with the Sixers, O'Brien is considered by people around the Pacers to be open, friendly, approachable and cooperative.

    "He tells us the offensive end is ours, the defensive end is his," O'Neal said. "We have to play the way he wants us to play [defensively]."

    O'Neal said he had no concern for whatever the problems might have been in Philadelphia.

    "The group of players means everything to a coach," O'Neal said. "The acceptance from the team is something that goes under the radar in sports in general. A lot of teams won't accept the coaching style, the philosophy, demeanor. We accepted the change right away."
    As for what went wrong in Philadelphia . . .

    "Let's put it this way - I didn't fire myself," O'Brien said. "I would say that's a pretty safe bet. Management or people above me decided the culture that I was trying to build was not necessarily the one that they wanted to see built."


    Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

    We finally have Team Chemistry

    AUSTRALIA'S NO.1 PACER FAN

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    • #3
      Re: I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

      Originally posted by Peck View Post
      "He tells us the offensive end is ours, the defensive end is his," O'Neal said. "We have to play the way he wants us to play [defensively]."
      Brilliant. Simple, but brilliant.

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      • #4
        Re: I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

        Yeah you can tell this team is starting to Gel. When we Gel well, and the team gets at 100% the NBA better watch out...thats all im sayin
        If you havin' depth problems, I feel bad for you son; I got 99 problems but a bench ain't one! - Hicks
        [/center]
        @thatguyjoe84

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        • #5
          Re: I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

          As the crowds get smaller and smaller (this had to be the smallest Conseco crowd I've ever seen, preseason included (OK, maybe the snow game of 3 years agao against the Wizards)
          But the point is I can hear more and more of what O'Brien is saying to the guys and he's pretty tough. In the first quarter as they were coming to the bench for the first timeout, O'Brien yelled in a very strern voice at Owens, "get the ball into the middle please" I know that sounds so polite and everything, but believe me he was upset.

          He also showed visible signs of disgust whenever the pacers missed layups last night

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          • #6
            Re: I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

            Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
            As the crowds get smaller and smaller (this had to be the smallest Conseco crowd I've ever seen, preseason included (OK, maybe the snow game of 3 years agao against the Wizards)
            But the point is I can hear more and more of what O'Brien is saying to the guys and he's pretty tough. In the first quarter as they were coming to the bench for the first timeout, O'Brien yelled in a very strern voice at Owens, "get the ball into the middle please" I know that sounds so polite and everything, but believe me he was upset.

            He also showed visible signs of disgust whenever the pacers missed layups last night
            I keep asking myself why more people aren't starting to fall in love with this team. OK, they aren't individually talented, and maybe Indiana has caught Superstar Syndrome from David Stern like the rest of the NBA.

            O'Brien has this team playing the Right Way. They work extremely hard even when they are inconsistent. I've never seen them give up or even blame things on circumstances beyond their control.

            To be honest, for all that people have accused the Indy media of being kiss-ups to the Pacers, this year they've seemed to go the opposite way. We need the media to help build things up, and that just isn't going to happen until the end of the Colts' season.

            If we build some momentum going into the All-Star Break, and the media cooperates, we might see a different attendance profile once the NFL playoffs are over.
            BillS

            A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
            Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

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            • #7
              Re: I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

              Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post

              He also showed visible signs of disgust whenever the pacers missed layups last night
              He must have been really disgusted at Danny then. I was, and he's my favorite player. I don't cuss or swear, but Danny had me wanting to.

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              • #8
                Re: I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

                Nice to see that culture change has worked out for Philly so far. Oh wait...

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

                  So, any ideas on what they didn't like about JOB in Philly?

                  Is it as simple as: Iverson is a punk, and we would rather not work hard--I mean, it's just PRACTICE and all.

                  ???
                  "Look, it's up to me to put a team around ... Lance right now." —Kevin Pritchard press conference

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                  • #10
                    Re: I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

                    Originally posted by BillS View Post
                    I keep asking myself why more people aren't starting to fall in love with this team.

                    O'Brien has this team playing the Right Way. They work extremely hard even when they are inconsistent. I've never seen them give up or even blame things on circumstances beyond their control.
                    It takes time. People tune out, then it takes while for them to notice things are looking better. Even then, they're skeptical - they've been burned before.

                    IMO, it will take continued positive momentum, especially going into the playoffs, to start bring the crowds back. The better regular season crowds won't come until next year, at the earliest.

                    As for me, I really, really like what I'm seeing.
                    You're caught up in the Internet / you think it's such a great asset / but you're wrong, wrong, wrong
                    All that fiber optic gear / still cannot take away the fear / like an island song

                    - Jimmy Buffett

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                    • #11
                      Re: I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

                      If I didn't know the Pacers record the past 3 or 4 seasons and if I just based my opinons on what most people in Indianapolis say about this team and the number of people that are currently attending the games - I would truly believe that the pacers must have been just a horrible team the past few season, I mean 15 win horrible. But they missed the playoffs one season, they had one losing season (35 wins) and yet 10,200 tickets are sold and people act like the Pacers are a joke of the entire sports world.

                      I simply don't understand why so much hate for the team, these players, the NBA and the whole scene. I really do not understand it.

                      10,200 tickets sold is really evidence that there is a crises here - I mean that is horrible - that has to be the smallest crowd in the NBA this season - and really it might be the smallest in about 5 seasons - if that number continues that is somehting that will make me believe the team will move out of town. I try not to dwell on it too much (and yes I know the reasons) but if I were the owners, I would be looking to move soon.

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                      • #12
                        Re: I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

                        Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
                        If I didn't know the Pacers record the past 3 or 4 seasons and if I just based my opinons on what most people in Indianapolis say about this team and the number of people that are currently attending the games - I would truly believe that the pacers must have been just a horrible team the past few season, I mean 15 win horrible. But they missed the playoffs one season, they had one losing season (35 wins) and yet 10,200 tickets are sold and people act like the Pacers are a joke of the entire sports world.

                        I simply don't understand why so much hate for the team, these players, the NBA and the whole scene. I really do not understand it.
                        But it wasn't just about wins and losses.

                        The Pacers did their damage with the brawl, then continued with off-court incident after off-court incident. Ron's trade demands, etc.

                        IMO, the drop in attendance has much, much more to do with that than with the record.

                        People were (and still are, I guess) absolutely embarrassed to be a Pacer fan.

                        Trust was broken, and that takes time to earn back.
                        You're caught up in the Internet / you think it's such a great asset / but you're wrong, wrong, wrong
                        All that fiber optic gear / still cannot take away the fear / like an island song

                        - Jimmy Buffett

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

                          Well, considering earlier reports telling us that JO'B was an emotionless stats machine Bill Belichick clone, I'd say this is very good news!

                          And, despite not living in Indiana, I absolutely DREAD the prospect of the team moving. That cannot happen! But maybe that low mark was because two of the three worst teams in terms of attendence were playing.

                          http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/attendance
                          We are 28th! Only about 40 people more per game than the team below us.
                          Last edited by LG33; 12-20-2007, 10:38 AM.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

                            Originally posted by LoneGranger33 View Post
                            Well, considering earlier reports telling us that JO'B was an emotionless stats machine Bill Belichick clone, I'd say this is very good news!
                            It had to help JOB that he followed an emotional corpse.

                            I like Rick a lot, but passion is not his forte.
                            "Look, it's up to me to put a team around ... Lance right now." —Kevin Pritchard press conference

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: I don't mean to start another O'Brien thread but from today's Philly news.

                              Originally posted by Doug View Post
                              But it wasn't just about wins and losses.

                              The Pacers did their damage with the brawl, then continued with off-court incident after off-court incident. Ron's trade demands, etc.

                              IMO, the drop in attendance has much, much more to do with that than with the record.

                              People were (and still are, I guess) absolutely embarrassed to be a Pacer fan.

                              Trust was broken, and that takes time to earn back.
                              Those are all good points, and I think you are correct. My guess is people don't like the pacers like they used to for the reasons you cite, but they often don't say all of that, they more often will say they don't like them because the team is terrible.

                              People might be absolutely embarrassed to be a Pacers fan - but I'm embarrassed by the lack of fan support and the overall attitude of the city towards this team, this season, right now. I don't think it is right.

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