Another dose of humility
I really can’t find anything bad to say about Mike D’Antoni, who actually spent time on the phone today going one-on-one with all of the Knicks beat writers.
We’re not used to random acts of kindness.
Of course, I’ll figure out something edgey to fill this space the first time the Knicks lose 124-112.
Nothing with D’Antoni feels rehearsed, and that’s kind of refreshing. There was no hard news to share today, just a chance to get into topics left uncovered after the press conference. It sounds like the coaching staff isn’t likely to come together until after Phoenix hires a replacement and contract issues are resolved. He’s more concerned with finding a place to live here in Westchester and meeting with the players to share a little enthusiasm.
There’s been no finger pointing.
D’Antoni freely acknowledges the mess he’s inheriting, but spins it forward. Since there wasn’t a lot of accountability here last season, I was curious about the way he polices the locker room.
“I treat them like men,” he said. “I expect to be treated with the same kind of courtesy. I’m not a disciplinarian in the fact that I’m not a screamer. It’s not like my way or the highway. I just think, ‘Hey guys, this is the way we’re going to get it done.’ And if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem, and we’ve got to take care of the problem. I expect them to want to do the right thing. It doesn’t have to be confrontational. I think everybody wants direction. And they’re going to screw up once in a while, but we’ll try to set a positive atmosphere where they can function, and then it’s up to them to take the last step.”
May 15th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
I really like coach D. He is going to set things straight with this program. He will demand respect and he will want the Knicks to claim their right to respectability again once we play like New Yorkers can. He’s the type of coach who can scream without screaming and deliver the message to win to his players. I would love the fact that he will pace the side lines with fire and more gusto than Isiah displayed through the regular season. His will to win will rub off the younger players. Isiah looked like he gave up before the players did sitting on games down on the bench. Isiah was rarely animated and when he was he didn’t inspire the team. In fact, he made them want to lose.
May 15th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Hey Mike,
Do you know if he will be bringing the strength and conditioning coaches he had in phoenix as well any members of their medical staff?
May 16th, 2008 at 8:16 am
“Coach D”, thats a good name for him.
Anyway, I like his laid-back approach here, and feel like this may be the route taken in today’s NBA of million dollar cry-babies used to having the world handed to them since pre-school. The days of the screamers may be ending.
But, it was exactly this approach that had me and so many others worried about Coach D as the choice here. Do these Knicks seem like the self-motivated type that just needs a little nudging? It seemed to me that this young and out of shape Knicks roster needed a boot camp to reach them. But I could easily be wrong. Some times all you need is a slight change of scenery and a fresh start. And like he said, if you’re not working hard, you are part of the problem, “and we’ve got to take care of the problem”. That thinly veiled passive aggressive threat may be all it takes. Thats the accountability I’ve been dying for. And it seems like Coach D and even more so Donnie Walsh is the kinda guy to keep his word on a statement like that.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Trin,
You’ve already got perhaps the best strength and conditioning coach in the league, Greg Brittenham, right here. He started with Pat Riley and has survived every coaching change since. And there’s a reason for it. Don’t mistake the players’ apathy for a lack of competence. As for the medical staff, things usually don’t change much on that front unless there’s a major issue. That will be up to Donnie Walsh. If he wants new faces, they won’t be coming from Phoenix. There are too many good people right here in New York.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:00 am
I can’t tell you how psyched I am to have Coach D on board. I will not pretend that I closely followed him at Phoenix, but now that he’s here, he seems like just what the Knicks need. This only works, however, because Walsh is in charge and was given complete control. Had IT hired D’Antoni 2 years ago instead of Larry Brown, the results would likely have been the same. You do not have to be a screamer when the players know that you are in charge and have management’s support. Can we start the season already?
May 16th, 2008 at 10:01 am
It’s good to hear that writers are getting access to the coach. Before Coach D got on the phone, was there a recorded messages saying, “This call may be monitored for quality and paranoia purposes?”
As I think about next season, the one player it’s more important to move than anyone is Zach Randolph. He’ll score points, but he only looks for his own shot. Once the ball hits his hands, that’s it. He can’t pass. He won’t pass. He’ll only shoot, and that will never work in Coach D’s system. Not to mention the fact that he plays no D whatsoever.