AUBURN HILLS – To Richard Jefferson, it means the little things. To Jason Kidd, it represents teaching. To Byron Scott, it’s all about coaching greatness.
That is the difference the Nets see in the Pistons under Larry Brown. And all three have had a chance to see Brown operate up close and personal.
Detroit last year finished the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the East. The Pistons advanced to the Conference Finals and promptly were swept by the Nets, losing the first two games on last-second heroics by Kidd here at the Palace, where last night both teams renewed the rivalry. But that team slugged it out with New Jersey under Rick Carlisle.
The Pistons, who won four of their first five, now are guided by Brown, the one-time Net coach who has a niche awaiting in Springfield. Brown is one of the great coaches, period. Jefferson and Kidd – along with still-injured Kenyon Martin – played last summer for Brown on the U.S. Olympic qualifying team that earned a bid for the Athens Olympics. Scott played for Brown in Indiana.
“Attention to detail,” said Jefferson, stressing the one point that impressed him most about Brown. “I don’t know Coach Carlisle, and Carlisle has had a lot of success – over 100 wins in two years, Coach of the Year, took the Pistons to the Eastern Conference Finals.
“I could go on and on about what he accomplished in two years. So I can’t say what Coach Brown will bring that Coach Carlisle didn’t. With Coach Brown, it’s in attention to detail all the time, whether it’s shootaround, practice games, whatever. It’s amazing,” Jefferson continued.
Kidd sees Brown’s strength in his instruction. Above all else, Brown views himself as a teacher and one who has respect for the game. Kidd says it comes through in all Brown does.
“With Coach Brown, it’s his knowledge of the game, his love of teaching. Just everything he’s brought to every other team he’s coached,” Kidd said.
And that’s a lot of teams, going all the way back to the ABA. Then it was the Nuggets, UCLA, the Nets, Kansas, the Spurs, the Clippers, Pacers, Sixers, and now the Pistons, with assorted Olympic assignments tossed into the mix. And it was during his stint in Indiana that he told the veteran Scott that he would make a good coach someday.
“They (Pistons) got a guy who has an unbelievable track record, they definitely got one of the better coaches in the league. Adding Larry as a head coach gives them a much better chance, obviously, so they’re definitely a big challenge for us,” Scott said.