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Inconvenient Truth II: Curious why the statheads have not called out Phil Jackson on contending that Dwight Howard is being misused or under-utilized by Mike D'Antoni and his up-tempo offense, particularly when it comes to posting up Howard more. I'm told that Synergy has Howard second in the NBA only to the Utah Jazz's Al Jefferson in paint touches. Howard also is second only to Greg Monroe in field-goal attempts inside five feet. Considering that the Lakers can't go to Howard in the final minutes of most games because of his aversion to, and struggles with, shooting free throws with a game on the line, it's extraordinary that Howard ranks that high in either category.

Now, I have immense respect for Phil Jackson, and D'Antoni has made his share of decisions with which I've taken exception, but all the criticisms and complaints about him being ill-suited for the Lakers have proved to be premature, at best, and flat-out wrong, at worst. They had a disastrous start, thanks to injuries (Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Steve Blake) and a poorly-timed coaching change and pressure from unwarranted sky-high expectations. Yet the Lakers have weathered the storm and are officially in the postseason picture. Kobe Bryant has been sensational, but I'm a little tired of the seemingly rote Kobe-wins-games and D'Antoni-loses-them storyline. Have we forgotten that the relationship between Phil and Kobe wasn't always rosy, in part because Phil wouldn't entrust Kobe as D'Antoni has? The truth is, D'Antoni hasn't forced his system on the team; in fact, he's had his star disciple, Steve Nash, adjusting his game to everyone else's. Their defense is essentially the same as the Knicks, D'Antoni's previous stop, yet Mike Woodson is a defensive coach with equal or better defensive personnel and I haven't heard anyone rip Woodson the way D'Antoni has been this season.

The part I really don't get is Jackson undermining a fellow coach and everyone quietly going along with it; perhaps that's the power of 11 rings, but count me out among those who believe that success is license to do whatever you want. The NBA coaching fraternity is a small one and, while they certainly don't all like or even respect each other at the same level, they do realize how hard the job is and there's usually a line drawn when it comes to making the job harder for a fellow coach. Commiserative texts, be they about a back injury or anything else, to a struggling star from the coach espousing how his system would be better for said star crosses that line. Yet D'Antoni and the Lakers have survived it all. Mea culpa, anyone?

DEEP3CL wrote:I keep saying it and will continue to keep saying it.....

You can't expect a coach to come in on the fly and really implement his system with virtually not running "his" training camp.

DEEP3CL wrote:I keep saying it and will continue to keep saying it.....

You can't expect a coach to come in on the fly and really implement his system with virtually not running "his" training camp.

kobeaki wrote:It is what it is. I'm very pleased that my beloved lakers are turning the corner. I'm not sure how much of that is because of dantoni, or if it's just chemistry gelling and body's being healthier., having Kobe be pg and Nash more of a spot shooter is a big part, again, is that Nash/ Bryant? Or dantoni? Both? Neither?

AcecardZ wrote:

DEEP3CL wrote:I keep saying it and will continue to keep saying it.....

You can't expect a coach to come in on the fly and really implement his system with virtually not running "his" training camp.

Except maybe when you have a team as talented as the Lakers. Dwight is improving every week and If Pau returns at 80% or better the rest of the league is in a lot of trouble.

SlavaMedvedenko wrote:D'Antoni has had a fairly difficult time since taking over but Bucher seems to forget that Phil & Mike had their issues when Mike was coaching in Phoenix. So Phil wouldn't mind taking a pot shot or two whenever he can. I appreciate that Mike is taking it well, on the other hand if he criticizes Phil, there will a bigger backlash from the fans, who hold him in the highest esteem, so its a no-win situation for him there.

You also cannot rule out the fact that Mike is running Kobe high and dry to save our skin and Kobe is leading the league in minutes played. While we do not have another option, a few losses like the one against Toronto & New Orleans turning the other way and this column would look very laughable.

There's also a recent article where Mike has said that they are "having to" slow down the offense to get results and he's not really a fan of the post up offense that Kobe has been getting us to run with Nash playing off the ball. So this is still a fairly inconvenient marriage for the time being.

Michael Lucky wrote:Bucher actually being right???? I need to archive this.

pressure from unwarranted sky-high expectations.

SlavaMedvedenko wrote:

kobeaki wrote:It is what it is. I'm very pleased that my beloved lakers are turning the corner. I'm not sure how much of that is because of dantoni, or if it's just chemistry gelling and body's being healthier., having Kobe be pg and Nash more of a spot shooter is a big part, again, is that Nash/ Bryant? Or dantoni? Both? Neither?

I hate this kind of attitude towards D'Antoni, he's a very good coach when making in-game adjustments and far less stubborn than Phil to change things on the fly. As recently as yesterday, he noticed that Artest setting screens was allowing Boozer to defend Kobe on the switch and exploited all day long.

It took Thibodeu until the fourth quarter to adjust to that switch by playing Deng and Butler together.

You can see some of these in all the games he has coached once he got a grip of the roster. Kobe isn't just doing lip service by calling him an offensive genius.

kobeaki wrote:

SlavaMedvedenko wrote:

kobeaki wrote:It is what it is. I'm very pleased that my beloved lakers are turning the corner. I'm not sure how much of that is because of dantoni, or if it's just chemistry gelling and body's being healthier., having Kobe be pg and Nash more of a spot shooter is a big part, again, is that Nash/ Bryant? Or dantoni? Both? Neither?

I hate this kind of attitude towards D'Antoni, he's a very good coach when making in-game adjustments and far less stubborn than Phil to change things on the fly. As recently as yesterday, he noticed that Artest setting screens was allowing Boozer to defend Kobe on the switch and exploited all day long.

It took Thibodeu until the fourth quarter to adjust to that switch by playing Deng and Butler together.

You can see some of these in all the games he has coached once he got a grip of the roster. Kobe isn't just doing lip service by calling him an offensive genius.

To be fair to myself and what you quoted, I wasn't killing him, as I have in the past, but I am questioning him, as well he should be questioned... Based mainly on his past hc gigs. Where he seemed to be very rigid and inflexible ...

I framed what you quoted as a question, is it him , the players , both? Neither? Something else? All of the above?

Just don't pretend he was a flexible coach in New York or Phoenix, because the word on the man is that he sticks closely to HIS script...