Round Table Discussion: 2015-16 Season Expectations and Predictions
By David Ramil
Sep 28, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Nick Collison (4), Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) pose for photos during media day at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
What are your expectations for Billy Donovan this season?
Lambert: Just be better than Scott Brooks. That means managing the minutes of Durant and Westbrook, running some plays, and getting creative with lineups. It’s unrealistic to expect Donovan to be Greg Popovich in his first season, but I think we’ll all be happy if he’s Steve Kerr.
Livingston: My expectations are pretty high considering he’s an experienced coach with arguably the most talented roster in the NBA. I understand all the caveats of him only coaching college ball but I’ve always seen Billy Donovan’s system as one that translates well to the NBA. To be honest, not only do I think Donovan is a candidate for Coach of the Year, I expect him to win the award.
Woods: Probably unrealistic. Donovan was one of the most successful college coaches during his reign at Florida and has been complimented endlessly since practices have started. The most difficult part of coaching is managing the personalities throughout the season. While Donovan has experience at the college level, managing NBA players is an entirely different task.
Ahmed: The expectations really haven’t changed from those I set for Scott Brooks every year. This team has always been constructed to be a finals-or-bust team. Billy Donovan will be forced to learn on the fly while navigating this team back to the upper echelon of the West. Piece of cake.
Haringey: My expectations for Donovan are pretty straight forward. I want to see him inspire the team and get them to play with more emotion than they did under Scott Brooks. He’s got a great reputation for managing egos/personalities and that’s going to be his biggest task during his first season.
Next: Bold Predictions?