Mike D'Antoni is Hired and Ready for Battle: Well I Hope

Demands, demands and more demands of Phil Jackson led to the hiring of ousted former New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni. Phil would have been a great fit for the Lakers but he wanted the moon and stars and whatever else came with it. Jackson knows that he has nothing else to prove and he is the best coach in sports that ever lived. Some might argue that, but you know where I’m going with that. They reached out to Phil and he did answer the call with allegedly demands of a stake in the Lakers organization and Dr. Buss wasn’t having it (Bresnahan, 2012). So who could be next in line, oh I know D’Antoni; the same guy that was called a good offensive coach but not a good one all around. This hiring is a good hiring for what was out there at the time.

I do think that D’Antoni will boost the spirits of the team and will bring his up-tempo offense with him. I can’t lie I want to see this offensive scheme real bad because you have the best center in the game which is Howard and still a top player in Kobe. This will be a sight to see but where there is smoke there is fire. Offense is great and all but will the D’Antoni system work without implementing a desire to play tough defense. In this league you have to have both offense and defense to win a NBA title. D’Antoni has proved that he is quite stubborn on giving an open ear to defense. I really hope this changes with him now in LA and given a great opportunity to coach a legendary team that has championship aspirations.

I know Steve Nash is excited about reuniting with his old coach from Phoenix, where he had great success winning his two MVPs. So my question is who will Nash partner up with on the great pick and roll that D’Antoni brings? I just hope that 3 years/$12 million is enough to keep the coach motivated and happy because we all know he got much more coaching the Knicks. I guess he had to take a cut to prove himself again because we all know how that job ended. Congrats to Mike and we all wish him well but we want to see a different side to his coaching and maybe some surprises. Can Mike be successful and last in Tinseltown?

References

Bresnahan, M. Mike D'Antoni to be next coach of the Lakers. LAtimes.com, 12 November 2012, http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakersnow/la-sp-ln-lakers-hire-mike-dantoni-20121112,0,7850509.story, Retrieved 12 November 2012.