Regular season: Terry Stotts was mentioned as a Coach of the Year candidate after leading the Portland Trail Blazers to 49 wins and the three seed in the West, led by a top 10 defense.
Playoffs: Portland was swept out of the postseason in the first round by Anthony Davis.
The latter part of that is going to lead to some real soul searching and changes coming to the Trail Blazers. That could include Stotts losing his job, reports Marc Stein of the New York Times.
The mumurs have already started In coaching circles that 10 consecutive playoffs defeats will cost Terry Stotts his job in Portland, but league sources say Orlando would register immediate interest in Stotts if he becomes available
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 22, 2018
From a purely observational perspective: Frustration with the Blazers’ playoff sweeping is understandable ... but pinning all this on the coach who helped a team with the frontcourt issues Portland has secure the West’s No. 3 seed strikes me as an incomplete picture
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 22, 2018
There is plenty of blame to go around for Portland’s quick exit from the postseason, Stein is right that it’s not all on Stott’s shoulders. In fact, I would argue most of it is not.
However, this is the third time in four years Portland is out in the first round, and it leads to the question “what is it about their style that makes them so defendable and beatable in the playoffs?” This is a little like Toronto in recent years, where despite a lot of talent they were predictable and therefore defendable in the postseason. How much of that falls on Stotts vs. the roster he has to coach?
After a period of reflection in Portland, there are going to be changes in the wake of this sweep. Stotts’ job will be part of that discussion, no matter how good a job he did. The question for Blazers management is, if not Stotts then who is next? Who are they getting that’s better?
That said, if Stotts were to be let go he would hand on his feet very quickly.
