Does the popular notion that Mark Jackson surpassed expectations this year actually have any basis to it? With Andrew Bogut getting healthy and the addition of Andre Iguodala, is it acceptable that the Warriors finished this season with only 4 more wins than the previous year?
Perhaps Mark Jackson's rotation and lineup decisions expose his biggest flaws. Why did Jackson allow the Clippers to bust the game open against the Warriors second unit, in game 2, without making any adjustments? The bench unit played seven crucial minutes in the 1st/2nd quarter, allowing the Clips to take control of the game entirely. Steph and Iggy saw no playing time in this crucial part of the game; yet Mark Jackson somehow found it fit to play these two in all of the third quarter instead, when the Clips had already built a 30 point lead. If the Clippers strategy includes triple teams being thrown at Steph every time he steps over half court, why not use the veteran Steve Blake to bring the ball up? Such an adjustment would release the pressure being put on Steph, allowing him to play off the ball. Why does Mark Jackson allow his starters to continue to play in the first quarter when they already have two fouls. At one point, I thought Mark Jackson was going to let Klay pick up 6 fouls in the first half.
Mark Jackson has found success in building a sense of family and unity in the locker room; his success as a coach, however, stops there. The biggest concern with the firing of Mark Jackson is the reaction of Warriors players. At the end of the day these guys are professionals and are going to have accept the hiring of a new coach. If the Warriors' players are persistent enough, I'm sure Lacob and Myers can pull a few strings and hire Jackson as the team pastor. Such a job would be more fit to suit his talents.