Poor as he may be, isn’t having a son all about him taking the blame?
Since the son was already thinking about changing jobs, why not make good use of his remaining value.
Facing the ’heart of stone’ old man, young Bickerstaff complained madly, but immediately started to phrase his words carefully...
By the next morning, a few minutes before 9 AM, Zhang Yang arrived at the stadium.
After a four-game road trip, the Mavericks had three days to prepare and adjust. They rested yesterday after returning to Charlotte and had training sessions today and tomorrow.
The coaching staff had scheduled a meeting for 10 AM, but they arrived at 9 because those players at the tactical core had an earlier small meeting.
Last postseason, they held such little meetings to proactively review the previous game and plan for the next.
Now, in the preseason, these meetings were necessary to discuss tactics because otherwise, some might fall behind.
As Zhang Yang passed the home team’s conference room, he paused to listen—they had already started their smaller coaching meeting.
He reflected on some things he had learned from chatting with Carlisle a few days ago.
Carlisle told Zhang Yang about his experience learning under several famous coaches after he could no longer keep up as a player after just two or three years.
The teacher that had the most significant impact on Carlisle was the legendary coach Bill Fitch, who, aside from coaching, taught him a lot, summed up by Zhang Yang in four words—self-reflection and self-discipline.
Another influential coach for Carlisle was Sloan. Beyond coaching, the valuable quality he picked up, summarized by Zhang Yang in eight words, was—discipline first, leading by example.
However, in Zhang Yang’s view, Carlisle learned not just these 12 words but also combined and sublimated them—setting very high standards for himself and expecting colleagues to do the same, constantly urging his colleagues.
Moreover, Carlisle was incredibly competitive, always striving to do better than others.
The coaching staff needed to check each other’s opinions before the team meeting, which was normal. All teams did this. Before Carlisle arrived, the Mavericks did too, but gathering half an hour earlier was usually enough. This season was supposed to be the same.
But things changed after the second preseason game.
As some teammates couldn’t keep up with Carlisle’s pace and grasp tactics quickly, Felton started calling teammates an hour earlier on game days for small meetings to discuss tactics, with tactically capable Zhang Yang and Rondo helping younger teammates analyze.
Seeing that the players started their small meeting half an hour before the coaching staff, Carlisle’s competitive nature kicked in. He moved the coaching meeting to 8:30 and not just that; he raised the meeting requirements, needing every coach to propose tactical adjustments...
It wasn’t too bad when they were playing away since everyone stayed at the hotel, usually on the same floor, just requiring waking up an hour earlier.
But at the home base... Zhang Yang paused momentarily and shook his head with clenched teeth.
If the small meeting started at 8:30, the coaches would have to get up by 7 at the latest, wouldn’t they? They needed to prepare for the meeting, so it had to be done before 8, and they also had to rush to the stadium.
Zhang Yang finally understood why Carlisle had such good results with the Pistons and Pacers, yet he hadn’t heard of any player from those teams complaining about his dismissal or expressing their reluctance to let him go. He understood why the media said that Nowitzki had saved Carlisle’s coaching career in 2011.
With such a coaching style, without that championship, Carlisle would have eventually fallen out with the management, coaching staff, and players of the Mavericks and possibly not had a 20-plus-year coaching career afterward.
He sighed, thinking he should just focus on his duties and head to the players’ meeting in Lounge 3.
Having chosen his coach, what could he do but adapt?
Of course, Carlisle’s capabilities were the main reason, and whatever Carlisle did, it couldn’t be called ’wrong.’
Moreover, Carlisle’s coaching style indeed pushed the players to improve—just look at how he took the Pistons from a 32-win season to 50 wins in his first year, and the Pacers from a nearly collapsed 48-win season to 61 wins, topping the league.
Just by the results, following Carlisle certainly seemed hopeful.
Just as Zhang Yang was about to walk away, he heard a fierce argument erupting inside the meeting room, someone loudly reproaching Carlisle, by the sound of it... it was young Bickerstaff, the one who got along best with the players...
On October 19, 2007, there was internal strife within the Mavericks’ coaching staff.
The general manager’s son, John Bickerstaff, vigorously expressed his dissatisfaction with the newly arrived head coach Rick Carlisle at the coaching staff meeting, criticizing Rick Carlisle for being too harsh on the players, coaching staff, and trainers. He accused him of inappropriately applying the system he used with the mature players at the Pistons and Pacers on the much younger Mavericks team...
After the conflict arose, the team’s 10 AM pregame meeting was abruptly canceled. The general manager Bickerstaff and owner Jordan urgently rushed to Tuhang Stadium.
Upon understanding the situation, Bickerstaff, ignoring the advice of his superiors and subordinates, exercised his executive powers, took a stand against nepotism, expelled the discord-creating John Bickerstaff from the stadium, and issued a dismissal notice to young Bickerstaff.
This incident focused public attention on the Mavericks, sparking lively discussions.