9001230259
DETROIT FREE PRESS
900614
Thursday, June 14, 1990
METRO FINAL
1D
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 1990, Detroit Free Press
DALY FINALE? IF SO, MAKE IT A DOUBLE
PORTLAND, Ore. -- It is time to say good-bye to Chuck Daly. No, he hasn't
quit yet. But whether anyone wants to admit it, tonight could be his last game
as Pistons coach -- if they win, I'll bet it is -- and I think we ought to at
least be prepared for his farewell performance.
I remember the first time I really talked to Daly. We did a lunch interview
at the Silverdome. He ordered clam chowder. Big mistake, Chuck. You are a
snappy dresser and a brilliant people manager and I say this with all the
respect in the world: You have the worst eating habits I've ever seen. That
clam chowder was on your elbow, on your wrist. And you slurp. There. I said
it.
But, personally, I kind of like a guy who slurps. I think most people do,
and maybe that's why, when I walked around the Pistons practice Wednesday
talking to players, almost all of them sighed when they thought about your
leaving. And these are the same guys who look as if they're ready to kill you
when you take them out of a game.
What was the phrase they kept repeating? "Players' coach." That doesn't
mean Daly shoots hoop with them, or cruises the local nightclubs. It means he
treat them like men. Even when he's chewing them out. "We don't really mind
his screaming because we know he's got that Irish temper," said John Salley,
who has often been on the receiving end. "Chuck screams at you, but then, 20
minutes later, he forgets what he said. He's like President Reagan. Can't
remember a thing."
Ah. Yes. The age jokes. Well. You know what I find so remarkable about
Daly's age? That it is so far from his players' and yet his personality is so
close. How many 59- year-olds do you know who can talk style with a
23-year-old, laugh about movies with a 26-year-old, and feel indebted to a
29-year-old? If there is a magic to his coaching, it is not on the
chalkboard. It is his ability to run with his own youthful pack.
Maybe it's the hair.
No movie deals in the works
No, actually, it's more than that. Did you see the other day, when Pat
Riley quit the Lakers, how he said, "I've had enough of coaching"? Riley is
45. He had monster talent. He did nothing but win. Now he's out. For some
reason, it got to be too much. Daly, in typical self-effacing manner,
explained it this way: "Pat has a lot of other things he can do. I don't. I
read where he was already offered movie work by (producer/ director) Robert
Towne. I'm going to call and ask for the part of Pat's father."
More age jokes. But, movies aside, I think there is a reason why Daly
outlasted Riley in this coaching business. This is the reason: Daly is better
at managing people.
I don't know where he gets this. Maybe it comes from being one of the
managed for so long. Maybe it comes from having worked in the lime pits as a
young man, or as a furniture mover, or a bar bouncer, or having been an
assistant coach all those years. All I know is that Daly has managed to pull
together 12 divergent Pistons personalities -- and believe me, were another
man in charge, you would see sparks flying between these guys -- and he has
spread around the minutes and ignored a lot of whining and done just enough to
get the players to play hard and still be content. Not happy. I don't think
coaches makes players happy. But the good ones give them tools to do it
themselves.
Daly is a good one.
Well, nobody's perfect
Talent? Sure, he's had talent. But let's not forget, Daly has managed to
build a mini-dynasty here based on guards -- real guards, little guys, not
6-foot-9 oddities such as Magic Johnson. When was the last time a coach did
that in the NBA? And the man has turned team defense into an art form.
Oh, he's made mistakes. He's been too deferential to Isiah Thomas,
allowing him to take over games whenever he chooses. Also, there is this "Woe
is me, I'm so poor" bit. Listen, Chuck, I know when you came to Detroit nobody
offered you a radio show, a TV show, or any car commercials. But you've got
all of them now. You can drop the welfare act.
Or maybe that's part of the shtick. One of the guys. Blue collar. Don't
come across too high and mighty. Here was an interesting question: What
percent of what Chuck says to the team do the players actually listen to?
"Oh, 100 percent," said Vinnie Johnson
"I'd say 86 percent," said Salley.
"Less than 50 percent," said Bill Laimbeer.
The genius in this is that they all believe what they're saying. The
coach has succeeded.
In truth, Daly has succeeded -- "Finally" he will add -- beyond his or our
wildest dreams. Three straight NBA Finals? Perhaps tonight his second straight
championship? This is a man, don't forget, who began six seasons ago with
players such as David Thirdkill and Ray Tolbert.
He will be gone soon. It's the smart move. TV is calling, it's a good
job, no phones ringing late in some Denver hotel room to tell you Dumars is
out for four weeks. When Daly leaves, there will be the press conference and
the speeches and plenty of time to recap his career. For now, let us
appreciate the man racing up and down the court tonight, yanking on his
jacket, barking at the referees, hair coiffed, suit pressed. One more game.
Maybe the last. Time has come to say it, Chuck. You've done a hell of a job.
Got rid of the soup stains, too.
n