You Had to be Better Than You Have Ever Been

Until I read this article, I didn't realize just how great Hall of Famer Bobby Orr was.An eight-time first-team NHL All-Star, Orr was voted the league's best defensive player eight times.In 1969-70, "Orr became the only player to sweep the league's top awards — MVP, defenseman, playoff MVP and scoring title — and capped it off by scoring the Stanley Cup -- winning goal over St. Louis in overtime."Despite his dominance on the ice, "Orr bristled at the attentions of superstardom." According to this article, during the 1974-75 season, "he scored 46 goals but probably gave away a half dozen more by insisting that teammates had deflected the puck in."One of Orr's former teammates says that Orr "brought others with him; he wanted them involved."

"That's what made him so different: It felt like a five-player stampede moving toward you—and at his pace. He pushed his teammates, [because] you're playing with the best player in the league and he's giving you the puck and you just can't mess it up. You had to be better than you'd ever been."

This is the same quality that Michael Jordan had, Kobe Bryant has, and LeBron James is improving upon. Time will tell how developed LeBron's leadership is when they meet a challenge in this year's playoffs. Thus far they haven't broke a sweat whereas Kobe's Lakers had to survive a game 7 already and a tough come from behind win last night against Denver and their star Carmelo Anthony.

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NBA Honors Longtime Piston Mentor

The NBA’s coaching fraternity is dedicating this Playoff season to the legendary Chuck Daly: “The National Basketball Coaches’ Association announced today that it will dedicate the 2009 NBA playoffs to former Pistons coach Chuck Daly. NBA coaches throughout the playoffs will wear a lapel pin emblazoned with the initials ‘CD’ as a show of support for Daly, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February and is currently undergoing treatment…In addition to honoring Daly throughout the 2009 NBA playoffs, the NBCA also announced that it is developing the ‘Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award’ to honor a current or former NBA coach (head coach or assistant).”

Some famous Chuck Daly coaching axioms - more well known as "Dalyisms"

1. Offense is spacing and spacing is offense
2. The defense cannot guard two good things in a row
3. You are most open when you first catch the ball
4. Get to the free throw line to stop a fast break team
5. Defense doesn't break down on help, it breaks down on recovery
6. The first shot won't beat you

Miami Heat 'No Go Out' Policy

Leadership by the best players is what separates the good NBA teams from the average NBA teams. It is the same at any level from college to high school. Just take a look at what Cleveland has been able to do under the leadership of their superstar Lebron James.

This is a good story about the Miami Heat and their superstar Dwyane Wade. His leadership for the Heat has put him in the MVP discussion. This weekend the playoffs begin and the Heat open up in Atlanta. This can be a burden on some teams since NBA players are often treated like rock stars in the night clubs and bars. Ask any player which NBA cities are the most fun to visit, and Atlanta quickly comes up. The scene, the nightlife, it's a tantalizing combination. And this week, it's forbidden to Heat players. Not by decree of the coaches -- but by captains Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem.

"I think it's the best leadership and the strongest leadership that these guys have shown here in a Heat uniform," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "That's the most powerful. We've talked about it all the time as a staff. Sometimes that can fall on, you know, not deaf ears, but when your veteran guys and your captains say that, I think that's a beautiful thing."

"The veteran guys before us, when we came in to the league like Brian Grant, Eddie Jones, that's what they believed in," said Wade, referring to two former Heat captains. "So this is the core of what we know. This is focus time. This isn't play time. Play time is the summer. You can do what you want in the regular season, too. Not now. We're the leaders, so we're just going from what we know."

"The No. 1 focus right now is to take care of business," Haslem said.

Go to A Winner

In his autobiography, "Stuff It," Dick Motta tells the story of how in 1968 Bulls owner/GM Dick Klein introduced the former Weber State coach to the press after hiring him as head coach of the Bulls, who were 29-53 the previous season:

"We've checked him out thoroughly. From the junior high to high school and college levels of basketball his teams have won over 80 percent of their games. When you have a toothache, you go to the dentist. When you're sick, you go to a doctor. When you have a losing team, you go to a winner. We have a losing team. And we have gone to a winner."

Coach Motta won 50 games or more in four of his eight seasons with the Bulls and later won an NBA title as coach of the Washington Bullets.

Lessons from Pat Riley

At 37 years old, Erik Spoelstra is living a dream and coaching one the NBA's MVP candidates in Dwyane Wade. His path has been one of the most original stories of any coach in the NBA. He was not a former NBA player instead beginning his professional career as the video coordinator with Pat Riley. As a young assistant he was often seen taking notes on plays, poetry, motivational talks, or anything else he could learn from hall of famer Pat Riley. Read more on this quote from Orlando newspaper. When Riley stepped down as the Heat coach, he turned the reins over to the young assistant who had worked his way up from the bottom: Erik Spoelstra. One thing he learned from the Showtime coach is, "I loved hearing [Riley's] motivational talks," Spoelstra says. "I'd get fired up hearing them. But there's only one person who can talk like that. If I tried, it would sound false, so I don't." His talks? Full of preparation and passion. "You can motivate in different ways," he says. For coaches of all levels, we must learn to ADAPT and not ADOPT the philosophies of our mentors.