OT: Mike D'Antoni steps down as Lakers head coach

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I'm not going to wax poetic about the D'Anoni Era. His arrogance and blind devotion to his system is the reason we don't have any banners hanging up in USAC. He was a whopping one game over .500 in the playoffs here with some pretty loaded rosters.

 

[JustWinBaby]

I'll never understand the classless, angry hate from Suns fans towards Mike D'Antoni. He gave this franchise some of the best years it ever had. Every night the D'Antoni Suns played, it was an event, a party. It hadn't felt that way since Barkley was in town.

The obsession with titles is so annoying. Sure he didn't win the whole thing, but wasn't the journey fun? I don't understand going through one's sports viewing life with so much anger towards a person you've likely never met.

I thank Mike for what he did with the Suns and wish him well in future endeavors.

Amen

The hate is really unbelievable. He has his flaws like everyone but he is better at his craft than most.

 

[BC867]

I'm not going to wax poetic about the D'Anoni Era. His arrogance and blind devotion to his system is the reason we don't have any banners hanging up in USAC. He was a whopping one game over .500 in the playoffs here with some pretty loaded rosters.

Mike D'Antoni as Suns coach was indeed a one-trick pony. "Gimmick" coaches are not going to last with any one team. They are transition coaches. Short-term.

Nor are they going to build a team for the future, especially when his most outstanding quote was that it was not his job to develop young players and make jokes to the Press about lack of defense.

D'Antoni's NBA coaching path has been exactly what you'd expect from a "gimmick" coach with one skill -- SSOL. He ran Steve Nash into the ground to accomplish it. Remember that no Suns backup Point Guard could succeed running Nash's offense.

 

[chickenhead]

I have a bit of a different take. Paul Westhead won the championship in 1980. Yes, he had Magic and Kareem, but I don't think that other teams were prepared for Westhead, or especially for Magic. We remember Pat Riley for Showtime, but Westhead hired Riley, and his championship was only the second in Los Angeles. West and Chamberlain won the same number as Westhead. Maybe it couldn't last--and it didn't--but they won once.

I'm cribbing from my brother here, but I don't think many other teams were that prepared for the Suns, Nash, or D'Antoni in 2005-05. The rest of the D'Antoni era may have played out exactly the same way, but without the Joe Johnson injury...the Suns may have beaten San Antonio, and San Antonio beat Detroit. I think the Suns could have, too. Detroit was a bit of a defensive anomaly in a reverse way, who (delightfully) destroyed the Lakers the year before. The year after? The Suns lose to the Mavs and the Pistons lose to the Heat (both 4-2 series).

We'd clearly look at the era a lot differently had the Suns even made the finals. They didn't. But in my opinion, not because it was predetermined.

 

[Bert]

Who is Mike D'Antonio? BIM

And regardless how any of us feel about D'Antoni that Tweet by Magic Johnson was a real dick move. Seriously, who does that?

I've known some people who were really bad at their job and they eventually got fired and while not surprising I was not celebrating when they finally got the axe. That's just classless.

 

[BC867]

Who is Mike D'Antonio? BIM

And regardless how any of us feel about D'Antoni that Tweet by Magic Johnson was a real dick move. Seriously, who does that?

I've known some people who were really bad at their job and they eventually got fired and while not surprising I was not celebrating when they finally got the axe. That's just classless.

I am not supporting Earvin's behavior, but responding to your question about "who does that?"

Unlike you and I, he is a celebrity and many celebrities tend to do outrageous things.

Magic Johnson was a Laker legend who wanted desperately to own a basketball team (like the other MJ). But he had to settle for a baseball team.

It is in his best interest to gloat when it became obvious that the Lakers made a bad choice.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Who is Mike D'Antonio? BIM

I thought that was a joke. Wasn't he introduced as D'Antonio when he went to the Knicks or something?

 

[Mainstreet]

I thought that was a joke. Wasn't he introduced as D'Antonio when he went to the Knicks or something?

It was was simply a typing error on my part in the thread title.

I accidently putting an "o" after D'Antoni. I respected Mike D'Antoni as coach of the Suns and would not have intentionally misspelled his name. If a moderator can correct the spelling I would appreciate it.

 

[Mainstreet]

Many thanks to the moderator who made the correction. It is very much appreciated.

 

[JustWinBaby]

What Suns Head Coach was your favorite?

Why was he your favorite Coach?

How many times did he take the Suns to the WCF?

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Who is Mike D'Antonio? BIM

Mike D'Antonio

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_D'Antonio

Michael "Mike" D'Antonio (born May 19, 1973) is best known as the bass guitarist and founder of Massachusetts metal band Killswitch Engage and of the band Overcast.

D'Antonio's writing influences include old New York Hardcore bands like Cro-Mags, Leeway, Madball and Agnostic Front, and he cites Cliff Burton of thrash metal band Metallica and Harley Flanagan of the Cro-Mags as personal influences.

D'Antonio's latest side project band is Death Ray Vision.

 

[Mainstreet]

What Suns Head Coach was your favorite?

Why was he your favorite Coach?

How many times did he take the Suns to the WCF?

My favorite Suns head coach was Cotton Fitzsimmons. He was an excellent communicator and went out of his way to get the fans involved. He had open practices before the Suns went to Summer League and regularly appeared on local sports radio to answer questions from the fans. The fans could experience the development of players up close in practices. I don't think he ever won a Western Conference Finals, but he made me love the game more than any other coach. Also he was instrumental in trading Larry Nance to Cleveland which dramatically helped rebuild the Suns.

Bottom line, Cotton made basketball exciting and fun.

 

[JustWinBaby]

My favorite Suns head coach was Cotton Fitzsimmons. He was an excellent communicator and went out of his way to get the fans involved. He had open practices before the Suns went to Summer League and regularly appeared on local sports radio to answer questions from the fans. The fans could experience the development of players up close in practices. I don't think he ever won a Western Conference Finals, but he made me love the game more than any other coach. Also he was instrumental in trading Larry Nance to Cleveland which dramatically helped rebuild the Suns.

Bottom line, Cotton made basketball exciting and fun.

I expect Cotton will be at the top of many peoples list. I believe he did a lot of work on broadcasts when he wasn't the head coach as well. I expect this helped with his popularity. People really got to know him. This was in spite of not winning a championship.

 

[elindholm]

D'Antonio's latest side project band is Death Ray Vision.

Oh how I wish I had the PhotoShop skills to make a picture of D'Antoni on the sidelines with death vision projecting out onto the court. Anyone?

 

[AzStevenCal]

I expect Cotton will be at the top of many peoples list. I believe he did a lot of work on broadcasts when he wasn't the head coach as well. I expect this helped with his popularity. People really got to know him. This was in spite of not winning a championship.

It probably did but he also won Coach of the Year twice (once with us) and he was the Head Coach for our first truly competitive team back in 1970.

Steve

 

[BC867]

When Cotton was coaching the Kansas City/Omaha Kings in the playoffs vs. the Suns (in between his two stints with us), he knew what it took to win in the post-season. I think it was 1981.

Both of his backcourt starters were out with injuries and he went with power -- a starting lineup of two Centers and three Forwards. The Kings eliminated us!

If only Cotton had brought that philosophy to Phoenix his second time around, undoing the John MacLeod philosophy of lose-your-Center-replace-him-with-a backup-Small Forward (which he used vs. the Sonics).

 

[elindholm]

Both of his backcourt starters were out with injuries and he went with power -- a starting lineup of two Centers and three Forwards. The Kings eliminated us!

It's amazing how often you bring this up without ever acknowledging that there are just as many instances, if not more, of small lineups defeating big ones. Yes, including in the playoffs.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Mike DAntoni was a perfect fit for the Suns at the time. He made the whole league better with his ssol style that was incredibly fun to watch. I loved him when he was here.

I just had a couple of problems that still sting for me:
1. He was unwilling to develop rookies and that set this franchise back for years following when he left.
2. The team defense did need to improve, and when Kerr suggested he do this, he bolted.
3. He failed to realize how good a situation he had with Nash here and left for misery in NYC.
4. He needed a 9-10 man rotation with that speed of play. When we got to the playoffs we were always dealing with nagging injuries and fatigue.

He should have stayed. He should have hired a defensive specialist coach like Kerr said. He didn't need a top notch defense, just something better. He should have developed rookies. He should have played a deeper bench with that style. I guess that is my big gripe. I don't mind him believing in his system, but he was stubborn beyond reason.

 

[Covert Rain]

Bottom line, DA has been proven to be a one trick pony...and that pony's name is Steve Nash. He's been a HC of FOUR teams and the three without Nash have been ABYSMAL and he's resigned from his last two, while leaving a host of NBA superstars hating him in the two biggest markets in the game. That's as epic failure as a coach can have.

D'Antoni is a crap coach. Sorry. He just was. He was the right fit only from the perspective that he wouldn't completely get in the way of the talent on this roster. The problem is that only worked to a point and he never got over that hump because of his ego and lack of coaching skill at the NBA level. He was slow to make adjustments (in game was non-existent), couldn't adjust to the playoff pace, stubborn to a fault when things were not working (running same pick and roll after it fails over and over) and believed to fault that defense was outscoring the other guy. The team accomplished what they did despite D'Antoni.

He just happened to be the guy that hit lighting in a bottle with a style of play that ultimately turned out to be nothing more than the NBA version of the NFL Run and Shoot offense. He found a perfect fit in Nash to execute it. Seven seconds was a great gimmick but nothing more. Look at all the teams that tried to implement 7 seconds after the Suns success? How many are still doing it? How many won titles?

IMO, if we had the same guys with Pop coaching us or someone like PJ, the Suns have a title IMO. He had one of the most talented rosters in the NBA and couldn't get it done because of the faults above.

Glad he left and I called it when he went to the Knicks he would fail and people said I was crazy. I called it again when he went to the Lakers and people gave me a hard time. The one trick pony is exactly what he was and Cheesebeef is right. How much more proof does anybody need?

 

[Cheesewater]

Gregg Popovich on Mike D'Antoni:

"He's probably by now stopped trying to convince people he cares about defense because he's not an idiot," Popovich said. "He knows you have to play defense. People act like he's never heard of the word, doesn't know how to spell it, and nothing could be farther from the truth. But he's wasting his time trying to convince all you guys that he cares about defense because it’s a better story the other way."

- From http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers/post/_/id/35385/popovich-defends-dantonis-defense by Dave McMenamin, ESPN

 

[Covert Rain]

Gregg Popovich on Mike D'Antoni:

"He's probably by now stopped trying to convince people he cares about defense because he's not an idiot," Popovich said. "He knows you have to play defense. People act like he's never heard of the word, doesn't know how to spell it, and nothing could be farther from the truth. But he's wasting his time trying to convince all you guys that he cares about defense because it’s a better story the other way."

- From http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers/post/_/id/35385/popovich-defends-dantonis-defense by Dave McMenamin, ESPN

He is defending a fellow coach. Class thing to do. However, I will take the word of people who have reported on his practices and the players that have played for him. I will defer to examples of shedding a defensive player from his starting lineup for offensive oriented players (see Knicks).

Probably one more reason I wish Pop had been our coach during the D'Antoni years.

 

[JustWinBaby]

He is defending a fellow coach. Class thing to do. However, I will take the word of people who have reported on his practices and the players that have played for him. I will defer to examples of shedding a defensive player from his starting lineup for offensive oriented players (see Knicks).

Probably one more reason I wish Pop had been our coach during the D'Antoni years.

I expect you are talking about Amare complaining about how he never was taught defense by MDA.

Sure glad he went to New York and became a great defender after MDA left town. How many all defensive teams has he made after he left town? I know Nash didn't make one, did Amare?

As I remember from Amare's days in Phoenix every time he tried to play defense he got into foul trouble and Mike had no bigs on the bench to replace him. That was when he wasn't on the IR.

 

[Errntknght]

Mike DAntoni was a perfect fit for the Suns at the time. He made the whole league better with his ssol style that was incredibly fun to watch. I loved him when he was here.

I just had a couple of problems that still sting for me:
1. He was unwilling to develop rookies and that set this franchise back for years following when he left.
2. The team defense did need to improve, and when Kerr suggested he do this, he bolted.
3. He failed to realize how good a situation he had with Nash here and left for misery in NYC.
4. He needed a 9-10 man rotation with that speed of play. When we got to the playoffs we were always dealing with nagging injuries and fatigue.

He should have stayed. He should have hired a defensive specialist coach like Kerr said. He didn't need a top notch defense, just something better. He should have developed rookies. He should have played a deeper bench with that style. I guess that is my big gripe. I don't mind him believing in his system, but he was stubborn beyond reason.

I certainly agree with your points 1,2 and 4 about his shortcomings but my reaction was different than yours. After the first two years it became too painful to watch the team play - and generally I love fastbreak basketball. But without defense it barely qualifies as basketball in my book. I know many found it entertaining ball but for me it was excruciating to watch.

Cotton Fitzsimmons was my favorite coach by default - the coach I disliked the least, would be more accurate. For example, I hated it when he wouldn't play Xavier McDaniel when his nasty streak was something the team desperately needed. Trying to implement the triangle with his level of experience with it was a boneheaded move - like Frank Johnson trying to implement a motion offense... well, maybe not quite so ridiculous. Also turning the coaching job over to Westfall was way too soon - with a few years of experience as an assistant Westy might have made a decent head coach.

Now Hornacek has leapt way out in front, of course. I guess after one year I was pretty happy with Cotton...

 

[elindholm]

Gregg Popovich on Mike D'Antoni:

"He's probably by now stopped trying to convince people he cares about defense because he's not an idiot," Popovich said. "He knows you have to play defense. People act like he's never heard of the word, doesn't know how to spell it, and nothing could be farther from the truth. But he's wasting his time trying to convince all you guys that he cares about defense because it’s a better story the other way."

Yeah, Popovich respects D'Antoni so much that he had the Spurs spot the Suns a double-digit lead in practically every playoff game they ever had, knowing that the Suns would fold down the stretch because they weren't mentally strong on the defensive end. Thanks for nothing, Pop.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I expect you are talking about Amare complaining about how he never was taught defense by MDA.

Sure glad he went to New York and became a great defender after MDA left town. How many all defensive teams has he made after he left town? I know Nash didn't make one, did Amare?

As I remember from Amare's days in Phoenix every time he tried to play defense he got into foul trouble and Mike had no bigs on the bench to replace him. That was when he wasn't on the IR.

word's been the same out here in Los Angeles for the last two years, with Kobe, Pau and Howard all talking about how they need to focus more on D and not this run and gun style.

And isn't the proof is in the pudding in regards to DA's ability or inability to coach D? His teams are routinely atrocious defensively, ranking in the bottom of the league.