Mike D'Antoni to hire defensive assistant

[LAKESHOW]

I take that back. Kobe and Chris Paul have done a wonderful job this year.

[DEEP3CL]

LOL....What, you think they have talent on the Suns roster? Miss me with that.

LOL.....Ty my man I think you misinterpreted what I meant by "wreckage", I didn't mean it in a way that they destroyed teams. I meant it in a way that Gentry isn't a defensive coach and the Suns were putrid on defense.

[AI]

LOL....What, you think they have talent on the Suns roster? Miss me with that.

LOL.....Ty my man I think you misinterpreted what I meant by "wreckage", I didn't mean it in a way that they destroyed teams. I meant it in a way that Gentry isn't a defensive coach and the Suns were putrid on defense.

DEEP, I think you're misinterpreting what Ty is saying. I'm pretty sure Ty is implying that the Suns teams that Gentry coached had not much talent, therefore that is why they were a "wreckage."

[DEEP3CL]

Yeah I get they didn't have the talent......guess we both got crossed up !

[Run-MKE 311]

Ugh, this feels like putting lipstick on a pig.

Not to mention the fact that I can see Dantoni micro-managing the sh*t out of this new defensive specialist.

[dockingsched]

everyone i've seen from d'antoni tells me he's the opposite of a micro manager.

[AI]

everyone i've seen from d'antoni tells me he's the opposite of a micro manager.

I agree with you on that. The micro manager was Mike Brown. D'Antoni understands he's not intelligent enough to handle the full spectrum of the coaching aspect of the game.

[Jakay]

I've never been a fan of the defensive assistant coach as the main D guy. How you transiion between the two greatly affects both, and if the O isn't structured to accomodate the D, then it doesn't matter how good the defensive scheme is after that, like having a wing breaking back first, or how you crash the offensive boards.

Not that McD doesn't get that, but I prefer a system that features both elements more equally than one over the other.

Also since when is Gentry a defensive coach...

[richboy]

I've never been a fan of the defensive assistant coach as the main D guy. How you transiion between the two greatly affects both, and if the O isn't structured to accomodate the D, then it doesn't matter how good the defensive scheme is after that, like having a wing breaking back first, or how you crash the offensive boards.

Not that McD doesn't get that, but I prefer a system that features both elements more equally than one over the other.

Also since when is Gentry a defensive coach...

I was just about to say this. It almost like people see football and think they can bring the same concept in basketball. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Your offensive philosophy greatly impacts the defense. When the Lakers had Dwight in the game and played half court basketball they were very good defensively. They were able to do that because they played slow inside out basketball on the offensive side. My fear would be Mike D get a defensive coach and then try to play his old offensive system again.

[Slava]

That's why you have an assistant other wise you'd have offensive coach and defensive coach for every team separately. Thibodeu has been directly responsible for 3 of the best defenses over the past decade or so in the NBA. A good defensive assistant coach can change the identity of a team.

[Jakay]

But his system was far better when he was the head coach, and he's an excellent head coach.

It's not that I think an assistant wont help, it just always seems like too much of a band aid solution to me.

[EArl]

If I was Mitch i would look into how much money it would take to get Thibs. That guy is a maximizer.

[Kilroy]

But his system was far better when he was the head coach, and he's an excellent head coach.

It's not that I think an assistant wont help, it just always seems like too much of a band aid solution to me.

I hope you're wrong but I kind of feel the same.
And I also agree that isn't all a coaching thing either, we just don't have the personnel to lock down the perimeter. And as the league continues to move more towards a Perimeter-Focused league, we're just going to get in more and more trouble.

That said, hiring a defensive specialist coach certainly couldn't hurt... Especially if it's someone MDA respects and who can gain the support of the Lakers Core.
Why not?

But I agree that the expectations should be set accordingly.

[EArl]

The Lakers championships have been primarily build around having a big man. I dont think we should abandon it it just yet.
We definitely do need a nice perimeter player though.

I hope that Mike hiring a defensive coordinator actually does something.

[kblo247]

I've never been a fan of the defensive assistant coach as the main D guy. How you transiion between the two greatly affects both, and if the O isn't structured to accomodate the D, then it doesn't matter how good the defensive scheme is after that, like having a wing breaking back first, or how you crash the offensive boards.

Not that McD doesn't get that, but I prefer a system that features both elements more equally than one over the other.

Also since when is Gentry a defensive coach...

Phil made it work with Tex and Cleamons, and then Rambis and Tex, as he blended two totally different defensive concepts with the triple post offense in mind. If Dantoni can't use the O floor balance to transition t the D, he doesn't need the job title of head coach

[myersia]

Watching the Bulls-Heat and Nets-Bulls series got me thinking about Dantoni. Thibs clearly is doing a remarkable job getting the most out of all of his players. I understand that the bulls play in a inferior conference overall, but the Heat are clearly the best team in the NBA and the bulls have beaten them both in regular season when they were hot and in the playoffs after the heat destroyed the bucks. I started wondering what would the bulls record be this season had Dantoni been the coach of the bulls? We had a depleted team as well but did Dantoni really get the most out of our team? If Thibs was our coach I feel we would have won at least two games against the spurs without Kobe and Nash. Obviously it is hard to answer these what if questions. But the Bulls started making me really think that is it the coach not the talent that matters most. We need a coach that gets the most out of our guys. I know obvious statement. But clearly Jimmy B doesn't thinks so. Dantoni prior to Nash struggled. I know his system gets a lot of credit but is it the system or talent that made the suns good in 04-07 (marion, nash, joe johnson/bell, diaw, amare)?