I don't have a problem with Riley here per se, but I think he's got a bit of a Teflon cloak here.
Those Lakers teams that he won all but one of his coaching rings with were arguably one of the most stacked teams in history. KAJ, Magic, Worthy for most of those rings, one of the best wing defenders ever in Michael Cooper and other top quality players for at least one or more of those titles like McAdoo, Scott, Nixon...
Add to that the west was generally without any other elite team throughout his time there (for a short period Houston with the twin towers was an exception) and the Lakers basically had a free ride to the finals. He never won anything of note in NY with Ewing.
He won one in Miami, but the 2006 handcheck parade to the line for Wade and a still pretty great Shaq had a lot to do with that. He also coached that team to dead last two years later with only 15 wins.
Jackson got flak because his teams were supposedly so stacked. For all he was blessed with, I'm not certain Riley doesn't get a bit of a pass for not winning more.
Its iffa, could, woulda stuff we can never know, but I suspect Daly or Brown would have won at least as many titles given the same set of circumstances.
vcsgrizzfan wrote:I don't have a problem with Riley here per se, but I think he's got a bit of a Teflon cloak here.
Those Lakers teams that he won all but one of his coaching rings with were arguably one of the most stacked teams in history. KAJ, Magic, Worthy for most of those rings, one of the best wing defenders ever in Michael Cooper and other top quality players for at least one or more of those titles like McAdoo, Scott, Nixon...
Add to that the west was generally without any other elite team throughout his time there (for a short period Houston with the twin towers was an exception) and the Lakers basically had a free ride to the finals. He never won anything of note in NY with Ewing.
He won one in Miami, but the 2006 handcheck parade to the line for Wade and a still pretty great Shaq had a lot to do with that. He also coached that team to dead last two years later with only 15 wins.
Jackson got flak because his teams were supposedly so stacked. For all he was blessed with, I'm not certain Riley doesn't get a bit of a pass for not winning more.
Its iffa, could, woulda stuff we can never know, but I suspect Daly or Brown would have won at least as many titles given the same set of circumstances.
vcsgrizzfan wrote:I don't have a problem with Riley here per se, but I think he's got a bit of a Teflon cloak here.
Those Lakers teams that he won all but one of his coaching rings with were arguably one of the most stacked teams in history. KAJ, Magic, Worthy for most of those rings, one of the best wing defenders ever in Michael Cooper and other top quality players for at least one or more of those titles like McAdoo, Scott, Nixon...
Add to that the west was generally without any other elite team throughout his time there (for a short period Houston with the twin towers was an exception) and the Lakers basically had a free ride to the finals. He never won anything of note in NY with Ewing.
He won one in Miami, but the 2006 handcheck parade to the line for Wade and a still pretty great Shaq had a lot to do with that. He also coached that team to dead last two years later with only 15 wins.
Jackson got flak because his teams were supposedly so stacked. For all he was blessed with, I'm not certain Riley doesn't get a bit of a pass for not winning more.
Its iffa, could, woulda stuff we can never know, but I suspect Daly or Brown would have won at least as many titles given the same set of circumstances.
I almost went with Brown over Riley. That 2004 Pistons squad was something else. But ultimately, I gotta give it to Riley due to his more winning ways.
vcsgrizzfan wrote:I don't have a problem with Riley here per se, but I think he's got a bit of a Teflon cloak here.
Those Lakers teams that he won all but one of his coaching rings with were arguably one of the most stacked teams in history. KAJ, Magic, Worthy for most of those rings, one of the best wing defenders ever in Michael Cooper and other top quality players for at least one or more of those titles like McAdoo, Scott, Nixon...
Add to that the west was generally without any other elite team throughout his time there (for a short period Houston with the twin towers was an exception) and the Lakers basically had a free ride to the finals. He never won anything of note in NY with Ewing.
He won one in Miami, but the 2006 handcheck parade to the line for Wade and a still pretty great Shaq had a lot to do with that. He also coached that team to dead last two years later with only 15 wins.
Jackson got flak because his teams were supposedly so stacked. For all he was blessed with, I'm not certain Riley doesn't get a bit of a pass for not winning more.
Its iffa, could, woulda stuff we can never know, but I suspect Daly or Brown would have won at least as many titles given the same set of circumstances.
I almost went with Brown over Riley. That 2004 Pistons squad was something else. But ultimately, I gotta give it to Riley due to his more winning ways.
That's fair. He has a lot of hardware. But let's just keep in mind that he had some incredible horses to work with, especially in LA.
dwcmwa wrote:With regards to Riley not winning anything in NY, let's not forget he had to go against the Greatest Dynasty in Sports History, The Chicago Bulls.
If the Bulls didn't stand in their way, they appear in at least a few Finals and probably win at least 1 title.
