Canned goods? NBA coaches already on hot seats

Heery: Are there any other coaches who should be sweating? Are any decent coaches in danger of having to fall on the sword for the sins of their front office? And, on the other end of the spectrum, give me a new coach that you think is having a positive impact on his team this season (because we're not all negative here).

Keane: I think Fizdale should and will be the first coach fired. We all loved it when he said “they’re not going to rook us” during a playoff news conference in Memphis, but it seems like he really just hates rookies and young players in general. Somehow Allonzo Trier and rookie Ignas Brazdeikis can’t get minutes even when the Knicks are getting blown out. The Knicks are getting outscored by 10 points a game, and the poor fans at the Garden must watch Marcus Morris and a truly wretched season of Julius Randle. They have no future in New York.

Steve Clifford is a guy who always gets his team to play great defense, but the 2-6 Magic are easily the NBA’s worst offense so far. When Markelle Fultz, who has the famously broken jump shot, leads the team in field-goal percentage (47.9), it’s a really bad sign. Clifford’s not just a decent coach, he’s good! But he was let down by his general manager this summer -- the main acquisition was all-defense, minimal-offense Al-Farouq Aminu, even though the team was already full of Al-Farouq Aminu types. The personnel isn’t there, the offense is stagnant, and if shots don’t start to fall, Clifford’s going to take the fall himself.

On the plus side, Monty Williams has transformed the Suns (5-2) in his first few months on the job, mainly by simplifying the game. The Suns’ defense is devoted to pressuring the ball and stopping dribble penetration, and if they commit fouls or give up three-pointers, so be it. They still don’t necessarily have great defenders outside of bulldog backup point Jevon Carter, but they’re playing hard and smart. 

On offense, they’re getting great results from Ricky Rubio taking the ball-handling burden from Devin Booker. They’ve played without last year’s No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton, who's serving a 25-game suspension for using a diuretic. But honestly, a lot of Phoenix’s improvement comes from realizing their player development sucks. Recent lottery picks Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss and Josh Jackson are all gone, replaced by players old and experienced enough to develop good habits the Suns can’t ruin. Are Frank Kaminsky and Aron Baynes exciting additions? No, but they’re competent, and competent is a giant upgrade for this franchise.

Keane: Is there a returning coach you see making a difference this season? And did any GM screw up enough this summer that the owner pulls the trigger on his firing rather than axing the guy on the sidelines?

Heery: Along the same lines as Monty Williams, Frank Vogel seems to be having a very good impact on the Lakers (6-1), especially on defense. L.A. has the No. 1-ranked defense in the league. Sure, the Lakers have six former All-Defense players on their roster (Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Danny Green and Avery Bradley), but all of them except AD and Bradley are over 30. With AD, Dwight and JaVale McGee protecting the rim, and LeBron’s recent fascination with drawing help side charges, good luck getting to the basket against LA. 

As far as returning coaches making an impact, I’m looking at the standings right now, and see that the five teams in the East with at least five wins:  Boston, Milwaukee, Miami, Toronto and Philly. All have good, returning head coaches. Hot take: There’s a positive correlation between having a smart basketball mind at the helm for multiple years and winning basketball games. Who would have thunk it!?!

And besides the aforementioned failures of the various front offices, I think most other front offices are safe for now -- although I think Portland might be heading toward making a desperation trade of  Anfernee Simons for a fading star forward here shortly. (Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and Danilo Gallinari all make sense there). If that happens, it will have signaled that jobs are on the line within the Blazers' organizational leadership. 

Heery: Wrapping things up, what do we make of Alvin Gentry down in New Orleans (1-6)? Obviously, he’s been without Zion for the entire season and without Jrue Holliday for a couple games, but golly, the Pelicans have a horrendous defense despite all their talent. Brandon Ingram’s been great, but do they have to start winning games soon for Gentry to keep his job?

Keane: Alvin Gentry is coaching like a man with a lot of job security, almost as if the organization collectively decided they weren’t making the playoffs once Zion got hurt. Twelve different guys played double-digit minutes in the opener, which is a great approach if you’re coaching a children’s team or evaluating players for the future, but not a great way to max out your wins. I think Gentry’s safe, because this approach –- essentially taking a redshirt year for the franchise -– must have the blessing of executive VP of basketball ops GM David Griffin and the rest of the front office. 

You know who isn’t safe in New Orleans? Everyone over the age of 27 who’s on a short-term deal –- that means you, Derrick Favors and E’Twaun Moore. And for teams that need outside shooting for the playoffs, it’s safe to assume the J.J. Redick trade market is going to look like Black Friday.