By Sam Amico
ProBasketballNews.com
It may be a players' league, but it's safe to say the Indiana Pacers' solid start has at least a little something to do with their coach.
The man's name is Jim O'Brien, and his philosophy on basketball shouldn't be overlooked when it comes to Pacers suddenly being considered a playoff contender.
The last time I spoke to O'Brien was in 2004, the fall before he coached Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. We were sitting in the lobby of Wheeling (W.Va.) Jesuit College, where O'Brien would be the featured speaker at a clinic for high school and college coaches. (O'Brien once
coached at Wheeling Jesuit.)
A few basic things he said then have always stuck
with me.
For one, O'Brien said he wanted his teams to
always "control the middle of the court." That
means he wanted the players to work the ball to
the middle of the free-throw lane for a shot -- as
opposed to getting to the basket via the baseline.
He also tries to create the exact opposite effect on
defense.
"Coach (Rick) Pitino once told me, 'Inferior players
drive baseline; superior players drive to the
middle,'" O'Brien said.
As for defense, O'Brien said, "My goal is to be in top five in defensive field-goal percentage, and I manage to that end."
How does O'Brien do it?
"Well, we do NOT want the basketball to go into the low post, ever," he said. "We to front the low post on every possession, and I'm talking about an aggressive, full front (of opposing low-post players)."
But the key stat O'Brien seeks in his defensive scheme is deflections. When I last spoke to him, he said expected his team to have 35 per game.
"We will challenge everything -- shots, passes, dribbles," he said. "We want the players to have active hands, so that the opponent cannot make a free pass."
Mostly, O'Brien is a big advocate of the staples of coaching, such as conditioning and team chemistry.
"I want the guys to think they are the most conditioned team in the league," he said. "I also believe in character building. That means I want the players to respect themselves, their teammates, their coaches, and their organization."
O'Brien also places a premium on rebounding -- as the Pacers lead the league in the team rebounding department, averaging 46.3 per game. Interestingly, they are also seventh in the league in scoring (103.6 ppg.)
QUICK O'BRIEN FACTS
• Another thing I remember about O'Brien is how he refused to allow weak passes. "Snap your passes," he said. "I like seeing what I refer to as 'frozen rope passes.' It's exactly how it sounds -- we like passes that are crisp and in a straight line, like the ball is traveling on a frozen rope from one player to the other."
• Young players should also note that O'Brien advises guards to "be quick, but don't rush."
• O'Brien is a native of Philadelphia and the son-in-law of former NBA coach and current analyst Jack Ramsey, who won a title with the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers in 1977.
PACER CHECK-MATE
O'Brien also happens to be a chess fanatic. For more on that, read David Friedman's excellent piece on the United States Chess Federation Web site: Chess and Basketball.
As mentioned in Friedman's article, Pacers play-by-play man Mark Boyle played chess in the 1996 U.S. Open, and assistant coach and former NBA player Lester Conner is also a chess (and poker) enthusiast. Friedman, by the way, is a longtime pro basketball writer who teaches chess.
SETTING A NEW PACE
For O'Brien, things may not be going exactly as hoped on the defensive end, as the Pacers are allowing 104.7 points per game. That means there is still plenty of work to be done when it comes to the them bending their knees, shuffling their feet, and keeping the ball out of the middle of the court.
But they are 10-10 overall, and 6-4 in their previous 10 games, including a big road win over Orlando on Friday. Also, guys like swingman Mike Dunleavy, and forwards Danny Granger and Shawne Williams have shown notable improvement.
Granger has gone from averaging 13.9 points per game last season to 18.6 this year, and 4.6 rebounds per game to 6.0. Dunleavy's scoring has gone up from 12.7 points to 16.0, and Williams from 3.9 to 9.6.
So the fact the Pacers are improved -- and exceeding most experts' preseason expectations -- is really the bottom line. And O'Brien deserves a lot of credit for it.
Sam Amico is the editor of ProBasketballNews.com. Contact him or subscribe to his free NBA e-mail newsletter at amico@probasketballnews.com.
