Mike Bresnahan: Lakers hire Mike D'Antoni

[picc]

I trust any insight Jerry West has entirely and completely.

[GAME TIME]

Mike Trudell‏@LakersReporter

Quote:
Kobe just addressed reporters, saying he's thrilled w/the D'Antoni hire. Called him an "offensive genius," loves his competitive fire.


Quote:
Kobe told LAL brass that D'Antoni was his top choice, unaware Phil Jackson was a candidate. Of course would have been happy w/Phil too.


Quote:
When Jim Buss told Kobe they were also considering Phil, Bryant obviously signed off. But remains very happy with D'Antoni.

[JDLAW]

Long time Suns fan here. You got an excellent hire with D'Antoni. He will make the necessary adjustments in his system to fit the personnel.

Most of the Suns half court offense was pick and roll with shooters to spread the court. You have two excellent partners for Nash's pick and roll offense in Gasol and Howard and you have the one of the best wing players in Kobe. All three (along with Nash) will get excellent offensive looks in his system. Artest is the big question mark. He will also get a lot of spot up open looks and will need to hit shots. Meeks is perfect for the system. I do not know your other personnel well enough to comment.

What you will not likely get from this group is a lot of fast breaks - because there does not seem to be a lot of team speed, but you might get some from second unit players.

Finally, I believe he might actually a better hire than Jackson at this point. The Lakers are 2 years and many players away from the Triangle and it would take time to reinstall it. The pick and roll is easier to implement at this point in the season - Nash ran it for the last 8 years as did Howard Orlando. Gasol will have no problem picking this up. You will need spacing from the rest of the players.

[Leaguepass]

The main difference between Phil run teams and other coaches isn't the offense... The offense is just a means to an end...
The main difference is that he gets guys to buy into a 'System of Superiority'... It's called "The Triangle" but what happens on the court is just part of it...
If you watched what happened when he first came to LA, you know what I mean. There was this infectious mystique about him... That team was loaded with talent but just couldn't achieve to their potential... They could win, but they didn't believe they could win it all... Phil and Tex and the rest of his staff changed that literally over night. It was like a switch was flipped and all of a sudden, the team just believed they were the best team in the league and started to dominate like it.
The Triangle is a foundation of the comfort zone he instilled in his players, but it's not the whole reason they were successful. They heavily modified it to suit the talent, but still called it the Triangle and still had guys buying into the mystique...
That is, until the last couple seasons... I think the Sweep by the Mavs may have single-handedly destroyed that mystique... Especially because Phil left after and didn't have a chance to do damage control and build up his guys after.
With Tex out of the picture, with Phil getting older and seemingly less intensely motivated (he's clearly not the same coach he was even 3 or 4 seasons ago), and with the mystique of the Triangle in LA probably permanently broken, I think it may be foolish to expect him to transform this team into one of his previous juggernauts.

So, while I'd love 2007-2008 Phil back, I'm not so sure about 2012 Phil...

The only other coaches in the league that bring similar "Superiority" are Pop, and to a lesser extent, Doc Rivers...
Outside of them, there really isn't anyone.

So to me, the questions about D'Antoni's style of offense, and lack of Defense are kind of just part of the picture... I know he can win games... I know this team has the personnel to be successful, and I know he's a good enough coach to modify his previous systems to fit our players.

What I don't know and frankly don't have a lot of confidence in, it whether he can make this team believe in him and what they're doing enough to feel like no matter who they face, they can't loose...

But then again, the only 2 coaches that have that mojo right now are Doc and Pop, and we can't get them anyway.

And more importantly, I don't think Phil would have it either... Not with these players, after how they went out against the Mavs.

So to me, it all comes back to our incredible roster... We have a starting 5 like the league hasn't seen in a while and at least 3 of them have maybe the highest BBallIQ at their positions...
Then we have the most dominant Defensive force in the middle.

So maybe, we don't need a coach to bring that mystique... Maybe it's our players that do that for us...
Maybe they just need the freedom to do it...

And maybe Jerry and Jim Buss, and Mitch Kupchak, realized this... That's why they hired an excellent X's and O's coach that will let his players do what they do best.

Seriously?You must not have followed D'Antoni at all because he absolutely cannot modify his system to fit his players. That was one of our biggest problems with him....he was just stubborn: we literally had PFs and other mediocre shooters hoist up 3s at breath taking pace because they were told to do so. Essentially everyone would hoist up a three, contested or not didn't matter.

In a best case scenario Nate McMillan and Dwight Howard keep you guys in the top 10 on defense and Nash and Kobe run the offense while D'Antoni simply concentrates on giving funny interviews...

[GAME TIME]

The main difference between Phil run teams and other coaches isn't the offense... The offense is just a means to an end...
The main difference is that he gets guys to buy into a 'System of Superiority'... It's called "The Triangle" but what happens on the court is just part of it...
If you watched what happened when he first came to LA, you know what I mean. There was this infectious mystique about him... That team was loaded with talent but just couldn't achieve to their potential... They could win, but they didn't believe they could win it all... Phil and Tex and the rest of his staff changed that literally over night. It was like a switch was flipped and all of a sudden, the team just believed they were the best team in the league and started to dominate like it.
The Triangle is a foundation of the comfort zone he instilled in his players, but it's not the whole reason they were successful. They heavily modified it to suit the talent, but still called it the Triangle and still had guys buying into the mystique...
That is, until the last couple seasons... I think the Sweep by the Mavs may have single-handedly destroyed that mystique... Especially because Phil left after and didn't have a chance to do damage control and build up his guys after.
With Tex out of the picture, with Phil getting older and seemingly less intensely motivated (he's clearly not the same coach he was even 3 or 4 seasons ago), and with the mystique of the Triangle in LA probably permanently broken, I think it may be foolish to expect him to transform this team into one of his previous juggernauts.

So, while I'd love 2007-2008 Phil back, I'm not so sure about 2012 Phil...

The only other coaches in the league that bring similar "Superiority" are Pop, and to a lesser extent, Doc Rivers...
Outside of them, there really isn't anyone.

So to me, the questions about D'Antoni's style of offense, and lack of Defense are kind of just part of the picture... I know he can win games... I know this team has the personnel to be successful, and I know he's a good enough coach to modify his previous systems to fit our players.

What I don't know and frankly don't have a lot of confidence in, it whether he can make this team believe in him and what they're doing enough to feel like no matter who they face, they can't loose...

But then again, the only 2 coaches that have that mojo right now are Doc and Pop, and we can't get them anyway.

And more importantly, I don't think Phil would have it either... Not with these players, after how they went out against the Mavs.

So to me, it all comes back to our incredible roster... We have a starting 5 like the league hasn't seen in a while and at least 3 of them have maybe the highest BBallIQ at their positions...
Then we have the most dominant Defensive force in the middle.

So maybe, we don't need a coach to bring that mystique... Maybe it's our players that do that for us...
Maybe they just need the freedom to do it...

And maybe Jerry and Jim Buss, and Mitch Kupchak, realized this... That's why they hired an excellent X's and O's coach that will let his players do what they do best.

Seriously?You must not have followed D'Antoni at all because he absolutely cannot modify his system to fit his players. That was one of our biggest problems with him....he was just stubborn: we literally had PFs and other mediocre shooters hoist up 3s at breath taking pace because they were told to do so. Essentially everyone would hoist up a three, contested or not didn't matter.

In a best case scenario Nate McMillan and Dwight Howard keep you guys in the top 10 on defense and Nash and Kobe run the offense while D'Antoni simply concentrates on giving funny interviews...

Lakers > Knicks

[GAME TIME]

Chris Mannix ‏@ChrisMannixSI

The Lakers have been dangling Steve Blake and Chris Duhon in trade talks, source said. Predictably, not a whole lot of interest.

[ennui]

They've been dangling since the season started.

[GAME TIME]

They've been dangling since the season started.

Yeah. I don't see how Steve Blake will fit in with this offense. Unless they will use him as a backup SG. Blake was suppose to be a triangle or even a princeton type PG

[GAME TIME]

Mike D'Antoni says Lakers staff should remain intact

A few more tidbits following an early Tuesday morning interview with Mike D’Antoni, the Lakers’ new head coach:

-- He says his brother, Dan, will be joining the Lakers’ coaching staff but the rest of the staff should remain intact.

-- He hasn’t talked to defensive-minded coach Nate McMillan, but he says he intends to this summer, although he wouldn’t be surprised if McMillan is head coach by that time elsewhere.

[Wavy Q]

Chris Duhon for Kevin Durant

[ennui]

Well, I like Bernie Bickerstaff, so if he stays on board, I'm all for it. He's got that Pop like ability to deflect questions.

[GAME TIME]

:
@geeter3

New Laker Coach Mike D'Antoni conducting his first TV interview tonight on @TWCSportsNet @ 6:30 with me and @James_Worthy42

[Kalidogg24]

Mike D'Antoni says Lakers staff should remain intact

-- He hasn’t talked to defensive-minded coach Nate McMillan, but he says he intends to this summer, although he wouldn’t be surprised if McMillan is head coach by that time elsewhere.

Actually he said he plans to contact Nate once he arrives to Los Angeles
and with the blessing from Mitch and The Buss family.

[GAME TIME]

Mike D'Antoni says Lakers staff should remain intact

-- He hasn’t talked to defensive-minded coach Nate McMillan, but he says he intends to this summer, although he wouldn’t be surprised if McMillan is head coach by that time elsewhere.

Actually he said he plans to contact Nate once he arrives to Los Angeles
and with the blessing from Mitch and The Buss family.

Yeah I heard that on ESPN radio. He was very high prasied of Nate.

[XtotheDeezy]

McMillan is a must-hire for us. I have faith that D'Antoni will be able to utilize our team's defensive potential and not come out looking like a total fool on defense. Still, it's nice to have that insurance policy in McMillan. He will be able to define and refine the team's defensive philosophy. And the two seem to have a good relationship so no one's seed will overpower the others.

[Sedale Threatt]

Posted in another thread, an analysis from an online bookmaker. (Note, they arrived at these figures by simulating the remaining games on our schedule 50,000 times.)

2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers with Mike D’Antoni as head coach

Projected record: 54.5-27.5

Projected Western Conference Playoff seed: 3 (after the Spurs and Thunder)

Points-per-game: 103.8

Opponent Points-per-game: 97.9

2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers with Phil Jackson as head coach

Projected record: 52.9-29.2

Projected Western Conference Playoff seed: 4 (after the Spurs, Thunder and Grizzlies)

Points-per-game: 101.4

Opponent Points-per-game: 96.3

Ultimately, the analysis is pretty straightforward. Steve Nash is far more important to have on this roster under D’Antoni than just about anyone else ever. With D’Antoni as his coach, Nash became one of the more efficient scorers and dynamic playmakers in the league. A true, distributing point guard is almost an irrelevant position in any other system in the league right now - especially to Phil Jackson who won 11 championships without getting value out of the point guard position. In Brown’s system, Nash’s value was already going to be limited. Now, assuming he can get and stay healthy, it should be maximized.

Defensively, there can be concerns with D’Antoni’s approach, but it is not as if defense is ignored. Plus, while players like Kobe Bryant and Metta World Peace are certainly more than capable defensive players, Dwight Howard has the type of defensive talent and size that I alluded to earlier that can transcend scheme. On that end of the court, he should not really be a much better or worse defender (the rebound rate may go down a little, but his actual rebounds may increase due to pace, while his offensive game will have very little pressure and is a luxury), which will help this team considerably.

And then there is the bench. Long a glaring weakness of the Lakers, output from the bench was considerably lacking in the short-lived Mike Brown era (which is really more the front office’s fault than Brown’s). While it is not like Jordan Hill will become Channing Frye overnight, the rest of the bench looks well suited to adapt to D’Antoni’s style, spacing and pace, as opposed to remaining afterthoughts as they likely would have under Jackson. Watch for Steve Blake to contribute more as an outside shooter, for Antawn Jamison (and starter Pau Gasol) to become an even stronger mid-range weapon and for Jodie Meeks to play the role he was always destine to as he starts launching threes more often (of all Lakers, Nash, Meeks, Jamison and Darius Morris have the most to potentially gain from the hire, while Hill, World Peace, Devin Ebanks and Earl Clark to struggle shoul struggle most as bad fits).

Summing it up, D’Antoni is the better hire – barely – and the team is a threat no matter who coaches.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Why are people saying Gasol is gone? Gasol can run just fine, and has the range. I don't get it.

It has everything to do with Mike D'Antoni's "Seven Seconds or Less" offense and his prior coaching of Amare Stoudemire.

Pau has slumped the past year or two and is off to a slow start. He is not finishing well. The SSOL offense requires bigs who beat opposing bigs down court and who finish. Pau in theory is a very good perimeter big and he's mobile for his size. But is he an explosive finisher? How well does he fit SSOL?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRfJHf-IbeM[/youtube]

Not that I disagree with what you just said, but you think Amare stoudemire, a guy who keeps getting injured and missing months of playtime for repeated injuries is going to do this any better? We just got rid of an injury prone player. We don't need another one. There's nobody good we can get for Pau. Nobody wants him, I don't understand why people don't realize this. Buss spent an entire year trying his heart out to trade him. Nobody wants him, unless we take trash back.

On top of that, D'Antoni isn't necessarily going to run SSOL or less. He can run and gun and set up a higher paced offense, but that doesn't mean it has to be in seven seconds. I think that's a huge assumption to make as well.

I don't think Amare's better. Pau is better. I think Amare is familiar with D'Antoni's system, and he's been a fantastic teammate to Steve Nash. I also recall Stoudemire having some huge playoff games against Tim Duncan. I only suggest Pau for Amare PLUS PICK(s) might be beneficial to both NYK and LAL.

What should happen is the Lakers should let D'Antoni coach about 12-15 games, and then evaluate the feasibility of trading at all. Keep Pau and the core. Edrees, Amare has been injured. Wait to see him (relatively at this point) healthy, too.

Honestly, if Pau were to be traded, the Lakers should hope for someone like Josh Smith in return. I can't see even the Heat having a chance against Kobe, Dwight, Josh Smith, and Steve Nash, with MWP.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

can we at least give him a week of practice with the team and 3 regular season games?

+1

I'd even say give Mike D'Antoni 10-15 games before you judge his coaching, either way.

[EArl]

can we at least give him a week of practice with the team and 3 regular season games?

+1

I'd even say give Mike D'Antoni 10-15 games before you judge his coaching, either way.

[Leaguepass]

Posted in another thread, an analysis from an online bookmaker. (Note, they arrived at these figures by simulating the remaining games on our schedule 50,000 times.)

2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers with Mike D’Antoni as head coach

Projected record: 54.5-27.5

Projected Western Conference Playoff seed: 3 (after the Spurs and Thunder)

Points-per-game: 103.8

Opponent Points-per-game: 97.9

2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers with Phil Jackson as head coach

Projected record: 52.9-29.2

Projected Western Conference Playoff seed: 4 (after the Spurs, Thunder and Grizzlies)

Points-per-game: 101.4

Opponent Points-per-game: 96.3

Ultimately, the analysis is pretty straightforward. Steve Nash is far more important to have on this roster under D’Antoni than just about anyone else ever. With D’Antoni as his coach, Nash became one of the more efficient scorers and dynamic playmakers in the league. A true, distributing point guard is almost an irrelevant position in any other system in the league right now - especially to Phil Jackson who won 11 championships without getting value out of the point guard position. In Brown’s system, Nash’s value was already going to be limited. Now, assuming he can get and stay healthy, it should be maximized.

Defensively, there can be concerns with D’Antoni’s approach, but it is not as if defense is ignored. Plus, while players like Kobe Bryant and Metta World Peace are certainly more than capable defensive players, Dwight Howard has the type of defensive talent and size that I alluded to earlier that can transcend scheme. On that end of the court, he should not really be a much better or worse defender (the rebound rate may go down a little, but his actual rebounds may increase due to pace, while his offensive game will have very little pressure and is a luxury), which will help this team considerably.

And then there is the bench. Long a glaring weakness of the Lakers, output from the bench was considerably lacking in the short-lived Mike Brown era (which is really more the front office’s fault than Brown’s). While it is not like Jordan Hill will become Channing Frye overnight, the rest of the bench looks well suited to adapt to D’Antoni’s style, spacing and pace, as opposed to remaining afterthoughts as they likely would have under Jackson. Watch for Steve Blake to contribute more as an outside shooter, for Antawn Jamison (and starter Pau Gasol) to become an even stronger mid-range weapon and for Jodie Meeks to play the role he was always destine to as he starts launching threes more often (of all Lakers, Nash, Meeks, Jamison and Darius Morris have the most to potentially gain from the hire, while Hill, World Peace, Devin Ebanks and Earl Clark to struggle shoul struggle most as bad fits).

Summing it up, D’Antoni is the better hire – barely – and the team is a threat no matter who coaches.

Sorry but that's complete trash. How in the world are you going to come up with accurate numbers through simulating the games 50000? That's absolute bogus IMO....what's the system behind it?How does the computer calculate D'antoni's impact vs. Jackson's impact?