Style over substance?
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- May
- 10
I know what a lot of you are thinking.
There is probably a lot of head scratching as fans attempt to figure out why Donnie Walsh settled on Mike D’Antoni, whose formula seems contrary to what many were hoping for. He’s not known to possess any fire and brimstone. And the lack of commitment on the defensive end might be alarming.
Still, he’s a pretty darn good coach.
It’s worth remembering D’Antoni isn’t going to be coaching last year’s roster. And there will have to be adjustments to the system he used successfully in Phoenix unless Steve Nash comes riding into town on a white horse. Don’t even start that rumor, please.
Walsh is making the personnel decisions.
The players he acquires to help speed this latest rebuild will determine the style of play. I’m thinking defense will become more important. Heck, if nothing else, the scores will come down simply because the Knicks will be forced to pass the ball a little more on the other end.
Yes, that’s a joke.
Walsh might be wise to stipulate D’Antoni hire a hardcore defensive assistant. Who got much of the credit when the Pacers used to be a playoff fixture? It was Dick Harter. His job was to make sure the defense was tuned up.
Tom Thibodeau is doing the same thing for the Celtics right now.
No matter how this falls into place, the entire roster better crack open those offseason workout guides right now, because D’Antoni will not tolerate anyone slowing down the offense
Anyway, get in on the conversation. I apologize for the late start, there was a full slate of soccer and Little League games to attend.
Do you like the move? Do you believe D’Antoni will adjust his style of play to fit the Knicks?
This entry was posted
on Saturday, May 10th, 2008 at 5:16 pm by Mike Dougherty.
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I keep coming back to this question, how do D’Antoni’s offense and Eddy Curry go together? I don’t see how that combination could possibly work, but I also can’t think of a scenario where the Knicks could trade Curry. This will be an interesting summer to say the least.
This is not my first chioce here. I though Walsh should have waited. D’Antoni is only coming here because the Bulls would not match the $$$$. That makes me wonder if he really knows what he is getting into. All of that being said, I will keep at least as open a mind on this as I did with Zeke. We will see what happens. The press conference next week should be interesting.
hey MJ, just pointing out that people notice when you post the exact same thing, word for word, on two different blogs. Your comment should have something to do with the main blogger’s post, making it impossible to say the exact same thing twice, unless Mike Dougherty and Alan Hahn posted the exact same series of words. Like, I might say, “It’s definitely a good idea for D’Antoni to find a defensive minded assistant. But implying that D’Antoni is set in the way he coached in Phoenix is misleading. A good coach can coach anyone, and D’Antoni’s style in Italy was not as up-tempo as it was in Phoenix.”, because those are comments on two points that Mike brought up – D’Antoni’s “formula” and the need for a defensive assistant.
I would love to believe that “D’Antoni won’t be coaching last year’s roster,” but how will this be? Isiah was the only GM in the league who wanted Curry, Randolph, etc in the first place, so how will they move? If you’re talking about Crawford, Lee, Chandler, and Balkman, does it make sense to trade away the closest thing a team has to a core?
I’ve always viewed D’antoni as a whiny little bitch on the sidelines, there has been talk that he may be too sensitive for NY media scrutiny, and not big on defense or discipline which is something these players severely need, so I’m not crazy about it at this point.
That said, he has one the great offensive systems in this league and like the decisive direction Walsh is taking this club, so I, too, will reserve judgement
What if Herb Williams had coached Nash, Staudemire, Marion, etc? Is D’Antoni more style over substance? Time will tell. At least he doesn’t effect our cap #.
Meanwhile, he’s not crazy. A strong case can be made that our last two coaches were. I think, in Walsh and D’Antoni we have a couple of thoughtful guys who are going to make a careful and smart decision or two. It seems like the people skills around MSG, as far as relating to the media, are already improving. Maybe some personnel decisions will start getting made correctly and the team will start doing more homework as far as practice/ playbook.
It’s out of the box thinking, so I like it. I’m confident that D’Antoni will adapt to the exigencies of coaching in the Eastern Conference.
Curry will get his points off the break and by playing a high/low game when the team is in the half court offense.
The player who needs to go is Randolph.
btw, Nate and Balkman will thrive in this situation, maybe Lee and Chandler as well.
It’s ironic that D’Antoni will be reunited with Stephon Marbury and Q-Rich. Which are shadows of their former selves. Two former players of his. I believe this goes back to Isiah’s comment about how the league has gotten smaller and quicker. What this does open up is a possible defection of Shawn Marion from the Heat. Mike will have to deal with what we fans have to deal with night in and night out – layy, underachieving, out-of-shape, sloppy basketball. He has his work cut out for him.
Lets get this straight, we are embarking on a 2-3 year rebuilding phase.
With that said, what is most important in the next 2-3 years?
1. Establish a disciplined culture with a focus on Defense and accountability.
2. Develop and covet young talent
3. Raise our players trade value
Mike D’antoni in my eyes is not the man to accomplish steps 1 and 2. But he could accomplish #3.
I dont like this move, Because Mike D’antoni’s system is not winning any championships… But this roster isnt winning any championships no matter WHO coaches us.
So what does it boil down to?
We will probobly get a lot better during the regular season and our players will look a lot more appealing to other teams within the run and gun offense. We might even make the playoffs.. Maybe even next year!
So what do we sacrifice? We are not truely rebuilding.. As usual.. because we wont get the great kinds of draft pick we are going to get this year. Also its kind of fools gold for guys like David Lee to think this is the way to win, when we ALL KNOW very well Mike D’s system DOES NOT WIN inthe playoffs where it counts.
Mike had a PERFECT roster in phoenix for his system, it cant get any better… Yet he still lost over and over again in the playoffs.. So why should we think hes going to come here and do anything worth caring about with our terrible roster?
Knick fans want to build towards WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP
not make the playoffs next year
Dolan continues to be behind moves that improve our chances of making the playoffs next year every year, while hurting our chances to actually win a championship in the long run.
I feel like Isiah is still in charge
Internet anonymity emboldens people to post some strange stuff.
Jeez, what a transparent fraud.
Let’s see.. Mike D couldnt win in Phoenix with possibly one of the most loaded teams in the league, but he’s gonna win in NY with a marginal mix of talent and bad attitudes? C’mon Walsh..
I ope the media gives you hell for this hire as much as they would if Zeke made this move.
Mike D did as bad as a job this year in the playoffs against The Spurs as I can remember.. Well maybe not as bad as Doc Rivers or Coach Brown in Cleveland but he’s still pretty sad.
Only funny thing will be me watching him every game and laughing at how much he looks like the Pringles Potato Chips logo.
Bring back Zeke.
Check it out, my racist groupie is still posting.
The Knicks had tried every coaching talents available in the land to lead the team but all failed. Each kind of coach characters had been fitted in but all were misfits to the system. Pat Riley, Jeff Van Gundy, Lennie Wilkens, Larry Brown, Rick Pitino, Hubie Brown, Don Nelson, John Mcleod, Stu Jackson, Don Chaney and even Isiah Thomas are basketball gurus . And now comes Mike D Antoni whom Im certain to fail again. What I will suggest for the Knicks to try is OPEN AND TITULAR COACHING where a coach will be designated and he will heed the yells of the fans cum mobs to do on the players during the game and in the locker room its the New York scribes turn to lecture the designated coach and the players. Mr dolan try this formula.
hRY gEROR, WHATS THAT SAYING, IF THE RECIPE KEEPS FAILING, GET NEW INGREDIENTS. Whats up with this poster, Whoa, you boted? Go see a therapist, I,m a med student at Columbia, need a referrel.
I’m really unsure about this hire. I’m going to keep an open mind because it’s Walsh making the hire not IT and I get the feeling Walsh is thinking long term. But get ready, the knicks could REALLY stink next year (of course then our first round pick would be protected, hmmm, maybe that has something to do with this move). I hope Mike’s right about a defensive specialist AND that D’antoni is such a good coach that he’ll adjust his style to the players. That said, this one doesn’t give me a lot of confidence. Not at all.
Interesting article. Were did you got all the information from… :)