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Borrego Having Positive Impact on Players' Confidence

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John Denton

Feb. 28, 2015

ORLANDO – To fully understand how interim coach James Borrego was able to make so many about-face changes with the Orlando Magic in a short period of time you must know the genesis of his coaching background and how his basketball ideals were forged.

Tucked away in a dark room in the bowels of a San Antonio practice facility – ``a cave,’’ as fellow NBA coaches Monty Williams and Brett Brown called it – Borrego would often arrive at work well before sunrise, leave long after sunset and rarely see the light of day in between. His official designation was ``intern,’’ but other staffers somewhat mockingly referred to him as the ``co-head video coordinator.’’

Borrego’s boss at the time, Gregg Popovich not only didn’t even know his name at the time, but didn’t even really care what it was. In fact, the nickname ``J.B.’’ came about, in part, because Popovich had no clue what to call the tall and skinny kid who had an intense love for basketball.

When the early-morning knock to the door came, Borrego knew that school was in session and it was time for him to learn from the master and absorb knowledge the way a sponge does water. Only Popovich – he of the five NBA championships – doesn’t do the one-way street thing; he prods and pushes, fully expecting staffers to be givers as much as they are takers.

It was at this point that Borrego not only learned how to study basketball and make adjustments in basketball, but to also have the force and conviction with which to do so as a head coach. This, he says now, is where he first started to learn what it would take to really be a coach if his shot someday came around.

``My greatest memories of San Antonio were postgame or the next morning after a loss and at 6 or 7 in the morning Pop would knock on the door and say, `Let’s watch the film,’’’ recalled Borrego, now 37, but 25 at the time of his San Antonio start. ``Sitting in a theater with Coach Pop for two hours before the staff comes in, just he and I. The first couple of sessions, I just sat there and took notes and he told me what he wanted. As our relationship grew, we would just sit there and talk basketball and I learned a lot during those moments – what he would look for and what he valued. It was an incredible experience for me.’’

Flash forward to this season, and now it’s to see why Borrego was ready when called upon as interim coach on Feb. 5 and why he has been able to have such a dramatic effect on the Magic. Orlando, which hosts Charlotte on Sunday at 6 p.m., is 4-4 since he took over for the fired Jacque Vaughn – a record that very easily could have been 6-2 had some last-second luck not conspired against the Magic in crushing losses to Chicago and Miami.

Still, the progress that Orlando has made over the past three weeks in undeniable – even in close losses such as Friday’s to the Atlanta Hawks or the flubs against the Bulls and Heat. In the 14 games before Borrego took over, the Magic yielded 100-or-more points each time. But in each of the eight games in which Borrego has stalked the sideline – whistling most of the time to get the attention of his teammates – the Magic have made life miserable for foes and held them under triple digits.

And the dramatic differences don’t stop there. In eight games – two of which went into overtime – Orlando ranks first in the NBA in paint points allowed (32.8 ppg.), second in fastbreak points allowed (10.6 ppg.), third in points allowed (93 ppg.) and fourth in field goal percentage allowed (42 percent). To put that into perspective, Orlando ranked 24th in the NBA in points allowed (102.3 ppg.), 29th in field goal percentage allowed (47.1 percent) and 25th in 3-point percentage allowed (36.1 percent) before Borrego was put in charge.

Teams don’t often change their stripes 60 games into a season, especially on the defensive end of the floor. But Borrego has brought an accountability to the Magic (19-41) where if players don’t defend there are repercussions. For example, when Orlando got off to a slow start defensively on Friday in Atlanta, Borrgeo used two timeouts in the game’s first three minutes, replaced starter Channing Frye with defensive-minded reserve Dewayne Dedmon and played 11 of the team’s 12 players in the first half.

``I’m not one bit surprised at how J.B. has been able to have an impact on that team,’’ Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said not long after coming out of a film session and seeing the way the Magic have been defending of late.

If anyone in the NBA knows about the countless hours that Borrego put in behind the scenes learning about the dynamics of basketball, it’s Budenholzer. Budenholzer worked with the Spurs from 1996-2003, overlapping several years with Borrego (2003-10 in San Antonio) and executing a similar rise from video coordinator to assistant coach to head coach. While in San Antonio, Budenholzer saw how Popovich took to Borrego, pushed him to grow his basketball knowledge and eventually trusted him. He joked that Borrego remained firm and resilient even when Popovich challenged his every fiber as an up-and-coming coach.

``I’ve spent probably more physical hours with J.B. than anybody in the NBA, spending a lot of time in the film room putting together edits. He’s a great friend and a great person,’’ Budenholzer said.

``I was the one putting my arm around J.B. telling him, `He loves you,’’’ Budenholzer continued. ``There are so many memories of J.B. being the co-head video coordinator and then becoming the head video coordinator. Then, he was basically the boss, because he’d be with Pop all of the time and J.B. would just tell us what he wanted us to do. He became invaluable to Pop and he was an integral part to what we did.’’

FROM ``THE CAVE’’ TO COACHING

Borrego is the latest in a long line of successful coaches who got their start, not necessarily on the bench, but tucked away in the film room – or ``the cave’’ as so many of them affectionately refer to it. Others, such as Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, Atlanta’s Mike Budenholzer and Indiana’s Frank Voegel have made the climb from video coordinators to head coaches – a monumental jump almost akin to Michael Jordan leaping from the foul line for a dunk. Many of those coaches feel that the time in the film room provided them with a strong foundation of basketball knowledge which they use now as head coaches.

``I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t gotten my start in the film room,’’ said Budenholzer, who worked with Borrego in San Antonio and someone who has become coach of the Eastern Conference’s best team in Atlanta. ``We all have different ways of getting to where we are as head coaches. But (coming up through the video room) trains your eye and it makes you more aware of all 10 guys on the floor. You are more aware of spacing and cutting and where everybody is supposed to be. Most people just follow the ball, but being in the film room gives you an appreciation for all 10 players and what makes plays work. So being in the film room is invaluable.’’

Like with Borrego’s relationship with Popovich, Spoelstra had a direct line to Pat Riley when he was the video coordinator in Miami and Voegel developed a close relationship with Larry Bird in Indiana. Spoelstra said the video coordinator role has not only become an important one, but it’s changed dramatically because of that person’s abilities to pick up tendencies and trends and assist in player development.

``You have to have a great work ethic to come up through the video room and you learn the league. You learn how to scout, you learn how to prepare and you learn tendencies. And if you work for the right organizations, you see what winning teams do,’’ Spoelstra said. ``It’s not as gloomy as that (cave mentality), but I think the position has changed. There’s such a commitment to player development now that video guys aren’t just in front of a screen any more. You have an opportunity to scout and prepare teams now. The video position seemingly always has a direct line to the head coach. Now, you are seeing opportunities (for video coordinators) to get on the court and do some work as an extra hand. Every staff needs an extra hand. A lot of guys who come up through the video room get a lot of varying experiences now and not just sitting in front of video screens.’’

Brett Brown, head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, said that his time in the league has taught him to always listen when a video coordinator speaks up because they usually have a fresh and informed perspective on the game. While also working in San Antonio, Brown said it didn’t take him long to figure out that Borrego was a sharp thinker and a person highly respected by Popovich because of his humble nature and driven work ethic.

``J.B.’s very well-studied. You look at his background and I always have time for those guys who come out of a video room because they are just in the cave the your whole life and this is a knowledge-based league,’’ Brown said. ``The NBA isn’t NCAA or FIBA Basketball and (Borrego) is – in a good way – NBA (experienced). He came through that (NBA) environment.

``And in my last few years (in San Antonio), (Borrego) spent a lot of personal time with (Popovich),’’ Brown added. ``He’d sit in a room with J.B. and knock out a tape. Those two spent quality time and that’s a pretty good tutor. From a human aspect, J.B. is a great person and he came from a studied background. And just from his personality, I think he’s got what it takes.’’

Some of the first pressure that Borrego felt while working for a NBA team came in the film room with the fiery, no-nonsense Popovich. Because the head coach wasn’t particularly tech-savvy, Borrego would be responsible for the videos working properly and if a remote ever failed Borrego said there would be ``nightmare moments’’ for him.

Still, he wouldn’t give anything for the time he got to spend studying game footage – both with and without Popovich – in ``the cave.’’ And because the Spurs were playoff fixtures and won a NBA championship in 2007 during Borrego’s time there, he got to see ways that teams can have huge impacts with various kinds of adjustments.

``I think it’s a great way to learn,’’ Borrego said of his time as a video coordinator. ``You’re in that cave for hours, you’re breaking down film, talking to coaches and figuring out tendencies. You are learning from the coaches, figuring out the sets that they use and how they use offense and defense. For me, I watched so much basketball in my first year or two and it gave me a great base to see what I liked as a coach and what worked and build a philosophy that remains today.

``And in San Antonio, I was fortunate to be a part of a program that is probably the best at (studying film),’’ he continued. ``We made so many playoff runs and there were so many adjustments that we would make throughout those series. And when you get through four playoff series, that’s making adjustments in games, post game, within a series and the next series. So the background from the film room, is invaluable. It changed my career, how I see the game and how I coach.’’

COMMANDING RESPECT

A former 6-foot-4 ``vertically challenged’’ forward who preferred playing with his back to the basket as opposed to facing it, Borrego knew soon after his playing days were over at the University of San Diego that he wanted to be a coach. Through coaching, he’s able to similarly scratch the itch of competition that he loved as a player.

As a coach, he’s mostly mild-mannered, but occasionally Borrego’s fiery side comes out – something that often surprises players and coaches alike.

``J.B. actually surprised me a little bit because he’s mild-mannered and kind of quiet, but as a head coach he’s still himself, but he demands respect when he walks into a room,’’ Green said. ``He lets guys know that this is how it’s going to be and he’s going to hold guys accountable. Guys are buying into that.’’

Added Monty Williams, who hired Borrego away from San Antonio as an assistant coach in 2010 and hated seeing him leave for Orlando in 2012: ``He’s got great patience and a great way about him. Nothing rattles him, but he’s not afraid to speak his mind. He’s understands the game and he’s been around the so many good basketball minds – minus mine. His way is different from any other coach that you are going to see in the NBA. He’s just real patient and he plods along. You almost think he’s too laid back at times, but he’s got a bit of a streak in him too and I’ve seen it come out when he wants to make his point. I just think that he has a great personality to be a head coach.’’

Borrego didn’t get much notice upon landing his first head coaching job, taking over on a Thursday and beating the Los Angeles Lakers in overtime on a Friday for his first victory. Even he marvels now at what the Magic have been able to accomplish in such a short period of time – the team has had five full-scale practices since he took over – and he thinks it’s just the start of how good the Magic can truly be.

Borrego has changed the focus and the culture around the Magic, improved the defense and beaten four teams that they had already lost to earlier this season. There hasn’t been time, he said, to reflect much on the satisfaction of a job well done in a three-week period. And even though he desperately wants to be considered for the full-time job when the Magic begin their coaching search this summer, Borrego said that worrying about that would distract his focus from the task at hand.

His purpose, he stressed, is to keep grinding, keep learning and keep pushing for more – similar to the way he got started in the sport while being tucked away in ``the cave,’’ watching film until his eyes became bleary.

``I don’t think about (the success); I think about how to help these players get better and that’s it,’’ said Borrego, who was told by GM Rob Hennigan two weeks ago that he would be the team’s coach the rest of the season. ``I don’t think about how I’m doing or the team’s done under me; I think about how to get that (next) win. … I thought the biggest challenge (upon taking the job) was establishing an identity and what our message was going to be. In season, you can’t change an entire program, but we had to pick a few things to identify and emphasize. So far we’ve committed to those areas and we’ve seen growth and we’ll stay with that.’’

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