Do Players Respond to Criticism?

Last night the Atlanta Hawks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 103-100 and the head coach of the 76ers, Doc Rivers, blasted the team for not being as tough as the Atlanta Hawks.  Rivers said, “We stopped passing. I thought we started the game off [not passing] that way. Then we got back to the ball movement, then we went back to hero basketball, basically, everybody wanted to be the hero instead of just trusting the team, trusting each other. When you do that, you usually lose. Especially when the other team outworks you the whole [expletive] game, and that’s what they did today." 

He continued to blast his own team, “Give the Hawks credit,” said Rivers. “I thought they hit, I thought they knocked us around the floor, I thought Collins was the toughest man on the floor, all night. You’re going to see everybody else’s numbers, but I thought Collins was the guy. Just hitting the glass all night and keeping things alive. I just thought they were the more physical, tougher team, and it wasn’t close.”

The last time a professional coach from the great state of Pennsylvania blasted his team they had just won their 11th game in a row. Yes, 11th game in a row. The Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL were 11-0 yet after getting blasted by the coach they lost the next five out of six games including a playoff game. 

Professional athletes know where their mistakes are. Professional humans also know where their mistakes are.  So does this method of coaching still work with adults? It didn't for the Pittsburgh Steelers. We'll see if it works for the Philadelphia 76ers (I sure hope not).