Mike D'Antoni: SOLID HIRE

[sly fly]

I'd just like to say that I'm extremly impressed with Mike D'Antoni.

The team is playing really hard. And, they seem to be buying in to his philosophy of up-tempo ball.

And, (most importantly for me), I love his demeanor on the court. Don't know what it is, but he seems to command respect from his players and the refs.

He's not out there cursing and screaming on every bad play or call by the refs.

I really hope he's given the chance to put his philosophy into this team (much like Jerry Sloan, Phil Jackson or Larry Brown).

 

[SunsTzu]

Agreed. I always thought he got a raw deal in Denver. Dan Issel really screwed him there. When I first heard he was going to be on our bench last summer I was pretty excited and am even more so now that he's calling the shots. It's going to be nice to see what he can get out this group the rest of the year. I think he'll have a huge impact next year after running his own training camp and getting some more talent.

 

[George O'Brien]

Mike has something that FJ, Skiles, Ainge, and Westphal did not: previous professional head coaching experience. (Westphal had college coaching experience at Grand Canyon which not exactly the ACC).

D'Antoni had the experience of being an NBA head coach, as an NBA player (if only briefly), as an NBA assistant as well as a coaching professionally in Europe. I think it has made a difference in knowing how to communicate.

One of the side benefits of the big trade was that it eliminated some of the issues related to Mik'es playing style versus what Stephon and Penny wanted to do. It is very hard to get an all star player to change his style to meet that of the coach. (Look at the history of Iverson and Larry Brown). Without Stephon and Penny, there is no who will resist doing what Mike wants and everyone seems to be on the same page (or et least in the same chapter).

Some of his moves have been controversial such as playing Casey ahead of Harvey. But after watching Casey play the last few games, it seems clear he knows what he's doing. Every game shows that he is actually working on making the team better like cutting down on turnovers, going to the basket, ball movement, better defense, looking for matchups, fighting for rebounds, etc.

I think he is doing an impressive job.

 

[cardsunsfan]

I do too I think he is the best coach we've had in years.

 

[Goldfield]

Originally posted by SunCardfan
I do too I think he is the best coach we've had in years.

I have to agree. This team is losing but their still fun to watch now.


Also, he seems to make things alot of fun out there. like the plays he draws up and stuff like that.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by BEERZ
I have to agree. This team is losing but their still fun to watch now.

Also, he seems to make things alot of fun out there. like the plays he draws up and stuff like that.

I have to admit I did not know how mcuh change he would be able to implement in mid season nor why he did not get FJ to make the changes. But every game shows the player have a little bit better idea of what is going on. Considering how young this team is, it is really amazing.

 

[Joe Mama]

I agree. At the beginning of the season under Frank Johnson this team would have been struggling to get decent looks at the basket against a team like Minnesota. For the most part I was very impressed with the ball movement yesterday. He has Joe Johnson and Shawn Marion attacking the basket and everybody pushing the ball up the floor at every opportunity.

Joe Mama

 

[frdbtr]

Yeah, and I would think that with Amare playing the Suns would have won some of these close losses.

 

[schutd]

I was incredibly worried about the D'Antoni hire. I watched him in Denver, and while I share the sentiment that he got bent over by Dan Issel, I also didnt see anything from him that showed he had the fire to be an effective NBA coach. So far we're still losing at an alarming clip, but you guys are right. The team plays hard, looks well prepared, and is apparently (I dont get to see them) is fun to watch.

Im willing at this point to admit my worry was unfounded. D is doing a great job.