i officially apologize to mike d'antoni

[therobg125]

he gets the d put back in his name, he was right about nash coming back...he has shown that he's willing to make adjustments on off and def the past few games, which is completely shocking and mind boggling....even though i got played out by this chick today, this lakers win made my day and i couldn't have had a better xmas....anyways dantonit...i officially apologize...anyone else willing to apologize may do so, and if not then maybe you are realizing something i dont or maybe you weren't blaming him to begin with....

[JustAwesome]

Still a lot of games left in the season.

[john248]

Jury is still out. Nash was a difference in that he protects the ball better since Kobe was running the offense and had a bit of a turnover problem. With less TOs, the Lakers won't hurt as much on transition defense. Great seeing him out there too as we all got to see him give Gasol and Howard ear full of advice about where to be on the floor. I'd like to have seen more post and repost opportunities for Howard though. He needs to get more buckets.

[loganido]

Mm the win was great and the team seems to be starting to gel, but I'll apologize when Pau doesn't play in the corner shooting 3's lol

[MoLakers]

A healthy Nash is a difference maker. Execution down the stretch u got a great passer/ball handler. Most of all, in the past everyone knew its going to Kobe and he had to make tough shots for lakers to win. Now Nash can create and make more efficient opportunities.

[lakerz12]

I don't feel I can make a good judgment on Dantoni until the end of the season, however, to his defense: A coach's system is only as effective as his personnel's ability/willingness to implement it

[Dr Aki]

lol, i bet once we lose a couple of games, we're all going in on MDA again

[dockingsched]

obviously this team, d'antoni included, will be judged on how they perform in the playoffs. along they way, critiques will be made about player's roles and rotations, and thats fair.

this thread makes me laugh though at all those people that wanted to pass final judgement on mike before seeing steve nash first. was just absolutely mind blogging to me.

[DEEP3CL]

lol, i bet once we lose a couple of games, we're all going in on MDA again

To borrow the immaculate words of Steven Jackson, this is how we'll sound.......

"Somebody tell Mike D'Antoni. He aint bout dis life. Next time he loses a game we goin in his mouth.That's a promise.He ain't doin 2 much to get wins".

[Dr Aki]

lol, i bet once we lose a couple of games, we're all going in on MDA again

To borrow the immaculate words of Steven Jackson, this is how we'll sound.......

"Somebody tell Mike D'Antoni. He aint bout dis life. Next time he loses a game we goin in his mouth.That's a promise.He ain't doin 2 much to get wins".

otherwords: lakers fans be fickle and there's no NFL team to distract the LA masses

[LAKESHOW]

Sorry, the Lakers measure things on a greater level, which all coaches know of and understand. A standard Coach Brown understands all too well

[TyCobb]

Nash going Mariano Rivera for us.

[john248]

I don't feel I can make a good judgment on Dantoni until the end of the season, however, to his defense: A coach's system is only as effective as his personnel's ability/willingness to implement it

That goes both ways. A coach has to be able to utilize the talent that he is given. It seems like he's trying to do that by splitting Pau and Howard and having them play together at the beginning and end of games, and having MWP as a utility guy off the bench and covering multiple positions while also being a spot up shooter. But this is something MDA is understanding now and clearly didn't when he was with NYK. It still remains to be seen if MDA can give specific roles to players and then have them gel together. Right now, it's still an adjustment period. This team should've been winning with Kobe and a 80% Howard as any team would with 2 great players while not being so reliant on Nash. But with Nash back, it'lll make MDA's life easier since he has an on court coach as well offensively. Hopefully the defense comes with it as long as it is stressed in practices.

[Gunner24]

I think people on this board are very harsh and very quick to judge Mike D'Antoni, especially when we are losing.

Sure he may have told Pau Gasol to shoot some 3's but who really cares? D'Antoni has made a special effort to adjust his system for Pau Gasol. Pau and Dwight have had more than enough opportunities one on one in the post throughout each game. A lot more of the offense is run through Pau whenever he is on the court and I respect D'Antoni for that.

People say that D'Antoni doesn't want to change his system, but if you actually open your eyes he has adjusted it to suit his players and I find its working well.

[KingNith]

Are you guys serious?

To quote Stephen A. Smith, "Mike D'Antoni is the type of guy that'll be very happy if Lakers win and the score is 141 - 132". The problem with D'Antoni is these games (for the most part) are really neck and neck and a few shots that went in by the opposing team could have been a game changer and changed the momentum and therefore making the other team win.

Yeah yeah, with Nash in the equation they are starting to gel, Howard is getting those freethrows, Pau is playing and not being benched however, what happens if Nash get's re injured? Howard still isn't impressing me on defense (like in Orlando), not to mention I am not to confident in his free throwing abilities (LOL I am still remembering when he hit the second 3 pointer of his career, how happy he was).

So yeah I am happy Lakers rae geling, and I really want to see Kobe vs King James in the finals but this Lakers team needs to do more to really prove to me and many fans that they can be more than a contender team.

[Gek]

Knee jerk reactions are the best kind. Nice to see after judging him without a healthy line-up that you're going to judge him two games into a healthy line-up.

[therobg125]

lol all i did was say i was a bit quick to judge him and that i took the d out of his name....and i apologized because we are winning games, his offensive system is starting to mesh and he is making an effort on def.... that's all i said...never said the playoffs don't count, or that he shouldn't be able to coach without nash....but i give props where props are due....there's nothing wrong with that...and again, as a man, i'll apologize to him for what i have judged him on...but we do need to get better before we start playing the elite...

[Gek]

In two weeks when we lose 3 in a row you're going to go back to Antoni is my point. You judged him too quickly to start and you're judging him too quickly again. The key is to watch, think, give it time, and prepare a semi-legible paragraph to share your opinion.

[therobg125]

umm im not going to judge him, im going to hold him accountable...he's the coach and he should be held accountable as well as the players....my point is that i did prematurley judge him....but i didnt say we wouldn't lose a game or that we wouldn't go on losing streaks in the future....but atleast i know that he has the ability to coach def and off now...that's my point....i scolded him for losing, the same way your parent's would get mad at you for getting a bad grade on a report card ( the years isn't over with though)....and the next semester you get a good grade in that same class your parents would praise you (but the year still isn't over with)...im just beginning to respect him and he can have his name back....for now...lol but im not trying to argue though...

[Bandwagon1]

Not sold on D'Antoni.

That Pau dunk was like a big i told you so to D'Antoni lol.

Give it up for Metta though. Do people still want him traded?