Washington Wizards Q and A: Thunder Writers Discuss Scott Brooks
By Ben Mehic
2) Brooks was criticized for his unimaginative offense in Oklahoma City. Is he capable of stabilizing the Wizards on that end of the floor or was his success in Oklahoma a result of the talent, not the coaching?
J.A. Sherman (@WTLC):
I think that Brooks’ rudimentary offensive system being detrimental to the Thunder’s title hopes was a little overblown. Compared to a team like the Spurs or LeBron’s Heat? For sure, it was straightforward. But by and large, it wasn’t much different than any other team’s.
Where I think Brooks took an unfair amount of criticism, however, was in getting his players to execute well.
There were a number of times throughout his OKC tenure where he drew up well-designed plays in crunch time, but Durant/Westbrook ignored it and freelanced. Is that on Brooks? A little bit ,for sure, but ultimately, the players will make the plays.
Shawn Woods (@Shawn_Woods15):
The obvious answer is “both,” but judging by the offense I watched during the Brooks’ tenure, I’m not sure he’s a good offensive coach.
It took him far too long to understand the idea of pace (as detailed by Royce Young last year), so there’s no telling what his offense will look like. I think Brooks can do really good things for the Wizards’ defense, but I’m less sure about the offense.
Next: Brooks' Player Development