NYK Edition: What we've learned in the first ten games

[JYD]

So the season is about 10 or so games in, maybe a few more. Feel free Knick fans to chime in with what you've learned about this team so far. I don't want this to be exclusively about my opinions...I want to hear from the rest of ya'll.

 

I've watched most of the games, not all, and not every minute of each by any means, but here's some glaring things that have jumped out at me:

Amar'e Stoudemire is GOOD, but he is not GREAT. Amar'e is constantly forcing shots, and he's already been called for many charges because of this. He misses a lot of shots near the rim, a lot more then a big man with his size/athleticism should, and his jumper hasn't been impressive so far. It's clear he misses Nash. He's provided more on the defensive end then I thought he would...but with that said, he's provided less on the boards then I thought he would.

 

Danilo Gallinari has been a bust. This guy doesn't play a lick of defense...he's a [expletive] on the court, plays with virtually no enthuisam so far, and he's an overrated shooter. I laughed when he was compared to Dirk a few years back. And I am still laughing. What is so great about this guys game that anyone likes? He's not good defensively, he's slow, and he can't guard anyone. So he can make an occasional three pointer? Who cares.

 

Landry Fields is a star in the making. I love this guys game. A lone bright spot, but for sure Landry has impressed me thus far. He seems to have a constant motor, always grabbing lose balls and rebounds. He can leap out of the building, and he just has a lot of intangibles you can't teach.

 

The Knicks won't win more then 35 games with the current roster. 35 games is the most I see this roster winning, as predicted at the beginning of the year...and at this point that might be a stretch. The lack of outside shooting is disappointing, and because of that Stoudemire is struggling. But anyway, the Knicks really need another star (CARMELO!) to get over that 35 win mark. All they are at their best is mediocre. It's quite disappointing...for the 10th year in a row.

 

 

Obviously...just the first ten games, and there has been a few bright spots like Fields, Chandler, a SLIGHT (but not really) improved defense...but overall this team just continually disappoints.

 

So what are your thoughts on the season in the first ten games?

[Check my Stats]

Expectations were too high from the get go for this team. Nice to see Amare getting exposed, he might be a better complimentary player than Bosh, but individually, or with the ball in his hands, Bosh is far superior.

[fish7718]

I don't know how you can mention this season without mentioning, Wilson Chandler has been the best player on this team. The guy has been blocking shots everywhere and making huge plays on offense and defense, I feel it's a mistake we don't let him handle the ball at the end of games. The kid just keeps getting better and better.

Edited November 17, 2010 by STATCity

[JYD]

I don't know how you can mention this season without mentioning, Wilson Chandler has been the best player on this team. The guy has been blocking shots everywhere and making huge plays on offense and defense, I feel it's a mistake we don't let him handle the ball at the end of games. The kid just keeps getting better and better.

I didn't make it a "bold" point because he's been obvious thus far. Lol.

 

But I did mention him in my last paragraph if you read that. He has been very impressive.

[crabbylion]

The Knicks need to strip down and rebuild their identity. Get back to the days when they were bruisers and kept games under 94 pts (per team) a night. D'Antoni is the ceiling for this team, and 'Melo would make this team a title contender either. What the Knicks need is grit, keep Chandler, keep Gallinari, rid Stoudamire and start over. This piss poor soft ball won't do the city of NY justice much longer.

[fish7718]

The Knicks need to strip down and rebuild their identity. Get back to the days when they were bruisers and kept games under 94 pts (per team) a night. D'Antoni is the ceiling for this team, and 'Melo would make this team a title contender either. What the Knicks need is grit, keep Chandler, keep Gallinari, rid Stoudamire and start over. This piss poor soft ball won't do the city of NY justice much longer.

So give up after 11 games?

[The Next Knick]

Good post JYD, and I agree with almost all of it. I'm not throwing in the towel w/ this roster yet, but my optimism is definitely lower then when the season started. We need to develop a better overall team chemistry, and do w/e it takes to win games.

[JYD]

The Knicks need to strip down and rebuild their identity. Get back to the days when they were bruisers and kept games under 94 pts (per team) a night. D'Antoni is the ceiling for this team, and 'Melo would make this team a title contender either. What the Knicks need is grit, keep Chandler, keep Gallinari, rid Stoudamire and start over. This piss poor soft ball won't do the city of NY justice much longer.

Lol...

 

The league isn't what it was in the 90's (IMO unfortunately...I liked the NBA a lot more back then)...but i do agree the knicks need to develop a grit and toughness and some f'in defense. stoudemire is the least of our problems. we need to build around him, chandler, and fields. other then those 3 i'd say get rid of 'em all.

[Real Deal]

Stick Gallo on the block, do whatever it takes to get Melo. If Denver still wants Gallinari, there ya go. Give them Gallo, Douglas, Randolph, Mozgov, whatever. The idea is to form that Melo-Amare-Chandler trio, and put a big and a point around them (Raymond works for now, but not in the future).

[Nitro]

All that I've learned from the first 10 games is that the team simply doesn't have the talent required to be a good NBA team, and certainly doesn't have the talent to play in D'Antoni's system. They desperately need more depth, size and rebounding in the frontcourt. They also desperately need more 3pt shooting, as well as a true go-to scorer on the perimeter.

[EastCoastNiner]

Expectations were too high from the get go for this team. Nice to see Amare getting exposed, he might be a better complimentary player than Bosh, but individually, or with the ball in his hands, Bosh is far superior.

 

And, what does Bosh have to do with anything in here? Once again, you are pimping that idiot that actually showed up for the first time all season tonight. Stop bringing him up in every thread.

[Big Penny]

they need to fire D'Antoni.

[Oliver P]

I haven't learned anything of those first ten games. I already said it but it's just way too early to judge, ten games is nothing and I will not comment on this team until the end of December. There we'll be able to truly judge them but certainly not now. Same with Stoudemire it's totally unfair to judge him now.

 

Just one thing, let's not be unfair with Gallinari, he's had quite a good season last year, alright he's been struggling this season so far, that's true, but he's only 22 and can still become a very good player in this league. I still believe in him. And I'm sure that he's the first one to be pissed off at the way he's played so far, so let's not be unfair.

 

Oh and I know that you hate D'Antoni Lil' Penny but firing him wouldn't solve anything. D'Antoni is in a bad situation since he's arrived in New York, this team's been a total mess these past two years, I don't think that any other coach would have done any better... I'm a not a fan of D'Antoni's system, never been, I'm a fan of defense, but still the man showed us in the past that he wasn't a bad coach contrary to what many people think, he's showed in Phoenix and in Europe that he was a good coach indeed. So even if I would prefer another system in New York it would be totally unfair to fire him as the guy has had no chance whatsoever to prove what he can do. This year the team is better than those past two years, if there is no improvement maybe it'll be time to fire him then, maybe, but certainly not now.

 

I said before the season that this team had the potential to win 40 games and I stick by it. As I said it's way too early to judge, let's not rush into easy conclusions because we haven't played very well in our first ten games... The season is long, we have to be patient. I watch this game for long enough to know that the very beginning of the season means absolutely nothing (especially for a team that has a lot of new players)... And that is why I will wait till the end of December.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Oliver P

[Check my Stats]

And, what does Bosh have to do with anything in here? Once again, you are pimping that idiot that actually showed up for the first time all season tonight. Stop bringing him up in every thread.

 

I was trolling you, you little Amare fanboy lol.

 

I wonder if Fields would interest DEN for Melo.

[Big Penny]

Oh and I know that you hate D'Antoni Lil' Penny but firing him wouldn't solve anything. D'Antoni is in a bad situation since he's arrived in New York, this team's been a total mess these past two years, I don't think that any other coach would have done any better... I'm a not a fan of D'Antoni's system, never been, I'm a fan of defense, but still the man showed us in the past that he wasn't a bad coach contrary to what many people think, he's showed in Phoenix and in Europe that he was a good coach indeed. So even if I would prefer another system in New York it would be totally unfair to fire him as the guy has had no chance whatsoever to prove what he can do. This year the team is better than those past two years, if there is no improvement maybe it'll be time to fire him then, maybe, but certainly not now.

i don't hate D'Antoni, i've neve rmet the man and he's never done anything to make me hate him. i don't see how you think i hate him when i'm simply stating he's a bad coach. he will never ever win a championship with his 'score lots and don't worry about playing defense.' he might do well as an assistant coach, but as a head coach, it just won't work.

[Oliver P]

i don't hate D'Antoni, i've neve rmet the man and he's never done anything to make me hate him. i don't see how you think i hate him when i'm simply stating he's a bad coach. he will never ever win a championship with his 'score lots and don't worry about playing defense.' he might do well as an assistant coach, but as a head coach, it just won't work.

 

I said that you hate him cause it seemed to me that it was pretty clear that you hated him indeed as I remember you saying all the time things like "fire D'Antoni" and even insulting him on other forums in fact. Well whatever this is not really important...

 

But anyway as I said it in my post D'Antoni clearly proved in the past that he was certainly not a bad coach. Let me elaborate on this :

 

Let's first talk about the Phoenix days, with all the offensive minded players that he had, his purely offensive system was perfect. It's first thanks to this system that the Suns were that good. And that all those players had the best stats, and by far of their career. And were all overrated a bit in fact... It's pretty simple let's take Marion for example. In Phoenix he was a star. After he left Phoenix he was nothing more than a good role player. Q was never as good after he left the team too. Nash wasn't even a top 5 PG before he arrived in Phoenix. Suddenly he became the best PG and a two time MVP... Thanks to his stats, again, a bit overrated by D'Antoni's system. Epecially his APG and FG%, he never gave at least 9 APG before. In Phoenix, the worst he's made was 10.5 APG, only one year, the other years he was at least at 11 APG. And he never shot at at least .500% before he arrived in Phoenix. With D'Antoni's system he never shot under .500 %. Same can be said for Stats, never shot at .500 % before, since D'Antoni's system, he never shot under .548 %.

 

I mean D'Antoni's offensive system had a big influence on all his players, they all gave the best of their career thanks to it. It's impossible to deny that his system was the main reason why the Suns were so succesful. Thanks to D'Antoni's system the Suns were a top three team in the West until D'Antoni's departure. And that's why that Nash wasn't the main reason why the Suns were succesful contrary to what some people think. When the Suns dropped D'Antoni's system in 2008/09 and became a more traditional team, the Suns had their worst year and didn't make the playoffs. Yet Nash was still on the team... And without that system Nash had his worst year as a Suns and people thought that he was done. But last year, Gentry decided that the Suns would use that system again and the Suns were among the best in the West again, and Nash is back at his best level. That is the proof that D'Antoni's system is the main reason why the Suns were so succesful.

 

Now I want to precise that I am not saying that D'Antoni is particularly a "great" coach. All I am saying is that he is not a bad coach. Big difference... His success with the Suns is the proof that he's not a bad coach anyhow. Winning doesn't necessary proves that you're a good coach. But it proves that you're not a bad one. It's impossible to win with a bad coach. A bad coach is someone with whom it's impossible for a team to achieve anything. That's a bad coach. And D'Antoni has proved in the past that he wasn't a bad coach, with the Suns and also in Europe. Let's talk a bit about what he did in Europe now. He led the Benetton Treviso to two Italian titles, and one Italian Cup (it ain't the same thing as a title... Well it's too long to explain) and one European title (Saporta Cup). And he led the Olimpia Milano to one Italian title. Which is a fantastic performance, and he did that in one of the best leagues in the world, as a matter of fact the Italian league is a very good league, among the best European leagues. So yes his system has led teams to titles. In Europe. And it might someday lead NBA teams to titles as well, don't say that it'll never happen cause you just don't know that. Just like all of us, no one can tell the future.

 

And that's why that with all these accomplishments it is just impossible to call D'Antoni a bad coach. I would also like to point out that I never understand why some people think that it's first because of him that the Knicks are not playing very well right now, and so therefore he's a bad coach in their minds, yet everyone thinks that Larry Brown is a terrific coach. Cause it's with Larry Brown that we had our worst season of the decade. Our worst season and BY FAR. That's right D'Antoni has done better than Brown. With less talented players. Cause when Brown was the coach there were still stars in our team... Those past two years there were only David Lee. And a bunch of young players who still had a lot to prove.

 

And all of this is coming from someone who, as I said, is not a fan of D'Antoni. That's right, I never wanted him in New York in the first place cause I'm a huge fan of defense. But it would be clearly unfair to fire D'Antoni now, as it is totally unfair to call him a bad coach for all the reasons I've stated.

[NomarFachix]

Gallo's occasional 3 aka 2nd most in the NBA last year?

 

First 10 games are 10 games, there are 72 more. I'll chime in more after the first quarter of the season is done.

[Nitro]

I mean D'Antoni's offensive system had a big influence on all his players, they all gave the best of their career thanks to it. It's impossible to deny that his system was the main reason why the Suns were so succesful. Thanks to D'Antoni's system the Suns were a top three team in the West until D'Antoni's departure. And that's why that Nash wasn't the main reason why the Suns were succesful contrary to what some people think. When the Suns dropped D'Antoni's system in 2008/09 and became a more traditional team, the Suns had their worst year and didn't make the playoffs. Yet Nash was still on the team... And without that system Nash had his worst year as a Suns and people thought that he was done. But last year, Gentry decided that the Suns would use that system again and the Suns were among the best in the West again, and Nash is back at his best level. That is the proof that D'Antoni's system is the main reason why the Suns were so succesful.

 

Woah there buddy. In 2008-2009 they had a full season of Shaq (a major change), Amare missed 29 games due to his eye injury, J-Rich was on the team for only 58 games, Nash missed 8 games, Barbosa missed 12 games, Bell and Diaw both played only 22 games with them due to the trade, and Dudley only played 48 games with them.

 

...yet they still won 46 games, with no difference in win % before and after Gentry took the head coaching position midway through the season. They simply were killed by injuries and change.

 

I'll reply to the rest of your post later, but I disagree with D'Antoni being a good coach.

[Oliver P]

Woah there buddy. In 2008-2009 they had a full season of Shaq (a major change), Amare missed 29 games due to his eye injury, J-Rich was on the team for only 58 games, Nash missed 8 games, Barbosa missed 12 games, Bell and Diaw both played only 22 games with them due to the trade, and Dudley only played 48 games with them.

 

...yet they still won 46 games, with no difference in win % before and after Gentry took the head coaching position midway through the season. They simply were killed by injuries and change.

 

I didn't talk about this season only anyhow, I just showed that the Suns were only succesful with D'Antoni's system that's all... Besides the fact that they had all those injuries do not show in any way that they would have been better without them. We just don't know... The only thing that we know is that this year, along with all the years when the Suns weren't using D'Antoni's system, were the only years when the Suns were not succesful this last decade. Coincidence ? I am not sure...

 

And the Suns had injury troubles before actually, in 2006 Amaré only played 3 games and Barbose missed 25 games for example, yet the Suns ended the season as the second best team in the West and went to the WCF.

 

I'll reply to the rest of your post later, but I disagree with D'Antoni being a good coach.

 

Actually I didn't say that D'Antoni was a good coach, here's what I said exactly :

 

Now I want to precise that I am not saying that D'Antoni is particularly a "great" coach. All I am saying is that he is not a bad coach. Big difference...

[Big Penny]

I said that you hate him cause it seemed to me that it was pretty clear that you hated him indeed as I remember you saying all the time things like "fire D'Antoni" and even insulting him on other forums in fact. Well whatever this is not really important...

i've never personally insulted him... i think he's a terrible coach but i don't hate him. i'm sure he's a great guy.

But anyway as I said it in my post D'Antoni clearly proved in the past that he was certainly not a bad coach. Let me elaborate on this :

 

Let's first talk about the Phoenix days, with all the offensive minded players that he had, his purely offensive system was perfect. It's first thanks to this system that the Suns were that good. And that all those players had the best stats, and by far of their career. And were all overrated a bit in fact... It's pretty simple let's take Marion for example. In Phoenix he was a star. After he left Phoenix he was nothing more than a good role player. Q was never as good after he left the team too. Nash wasn't even a top 5 PG before he arrived in Phoenix. Suddenly he became the best PG and a two time MVP... Thanks to his stats, again, a bit overrated by D'Antoni's system. Epecially his APG and FG%, he never gave at least 9 APG before. In Phoenix, the worst he's made was 10.5 APG, only one year, the other years he was at least at 11 APG. And he never shot at at least .500% before he arrived in Phoenix. With D'Antoni's system he never shot under .500 %. Same can be said for Stats, never shot at .500 % before, since D'Antoni's system, he never shot under .548 %.

 

I mean D'Antoni's offensive system had a big influence on all his players, they all gave the best of their career thanks to it. It's impossible to deny that his system was the main reason why the Suns were so succesful. Thanks to D'Antoni's system the Suns were a top three team in the West until D'Antoni's departure. And that's why that Nash wasn't the main reason why the Suns were succesful contrary to what some people think. When the Suns dropped D'Antoni's system in 2008/09 and became a more traditional team, the Suns had their worst year and didn't make the playoffs. Yet Nash was still on the team... And without that system Nash had his worst year as a Suns and people thought that he was done. But last year, Gentry decided that the Suns would use that system again and the Suns were among the best in the West again, and Nash is back at his best level. That is the proof that D'Antoni's system is the main reason why the Suns were so succesful.

 

Now I want to precise that I am not saying that D'Antoni is particularly a "great" coach. All I am saying is that he is not a bad coach. Big difference... His success with the Suns is the proof that he's not a bad coach anyhow. Winning doesn't necessary proves that you're a good coach. But it proves that you're not a bad one. It's impossible to win with a bad coach. A bad coach is someone with whom it's impossible for a team to achieve anything. That's a bad coach. And D'Antoni has proved in the past that he wasn't a bad coach, with the Suns and also in Europe. Let's talk a bit about what he did in Europe now. He led the Benetton Treviso to two Italian titles, and one Italian Cup (it ain't the same thing as a title... Well it's too long to explain) and one European title (Saporta Cup). And he led the Olimpia Milano to one Italian title. Which is a fantastic performance, and he did that in one of the best leagues in the world, as a matter of fact the Italian league is a very good league, among the best European leagues. So yes his system has led teams to titles. In Europe. And it might someday lead NBA teams to titles as well, don't say that it'll never happen cause you just don't know that. Just like all of us, no one can tell the future.

 

And that's why that with all these accomplishments it is just impossible to call D'Antoni a bad coach. I would also like to point out that I never understand why some people think that it's first because of him that the Knicks are not playing very well right now, and so therefore he's a bad coach in their minds, yet everyone thinks that Larry Brown is a terrific coach. Cause it's with Larry Brown that we had our worst season of the decade. Our worst season and BY FAR. That's right D'Antoni has done better than Brown. With less talented players. Cause when Brown was the coach there were still stars in our team... Those past two years there were only David Lee. And a bunch of young players who still had a lot to prove.

 

And all of this is coming from someone who, as I said, is not a fan of D'Antoni. That's right, I never wanted him in New York in the first place cause I'm a huge fan of defense. But it would be clearly unfair to fire D'Antoni now, as it is totally unfair to call him a bad coach for all the reasons I've stated.

i really appreciate your long post, like i said 'he would be a good assistant coach' because he is a good offensive coach. but at the same time, he doesn't preach defense at all. and defense win championships. he won regular season games, but there's a reason those Phoenix teams would lose during the playoffs. he wins regular season games, but with his 'try your best to outscore them' philosiphy he won't win a title, which is the ultimate goal. you're right i can't tell the future, but i'll say he has a very little chance. and if you have a very little chance to win a title, then you're not a good coach. the euro-league is much different to the NBA. he's a terrible NBA coach. and if he starts telling his teams to defend, starts preaching defense, then i will call him a good coach. but if you look at all the teams who've won titles in the past forever they've all been exceptional defensive teams.

 

if New York can get a decent head coach and then demote D'Antoni to an assistant coach were he can preach his offense and let the others work on D, then sure, he may win a title. but until then, if you want exciting games and playoff losses, he's the man.

[Oliver P]

i've never personally insulted him... i think he's a terrible coach but i don't hate him. i'm sure he's a great guy.

i really appreciate your long post, like i said 'he would be a good assistant coach' because he is a good offensive coach. but at the same time, he doesn't preach defense at all. and defense win championships. he won regular season games, but there's a reason those Phoenix teams would lose during the playoffs. he wins regular season games, but with his 'try your best to outscore them' philosiphy he won't win a title, which is the ultimate goal. you're right i can't tell the future, but i'll say he has a very little chance. and if you have a very little chance to win a title, then you're not a good coach. the euro-league is much different to the NBA. he's a terrible NBA coach. and if he starts telling his teams to defend, starts preaching defense, then i will call him a good coach. but if you look at all the teams who've won titles in the past forever they've all been exceptional defensive teams.

 

if New York can get a decent head coach and then demote D'Antoni to an assistant coach were he can preach his offense and let the others work on D, then sure, he may win a title. but until then, if you want exciting games and playoff losses, he's the man.

 

Won regular season games ? He led the Suns to the WCF twice and once in the semis, I think that even if he won a ring he still has had some success in the playoffs, it's impossible to say the opposite... Let's take the example of Larry Brown once again, Larry is considered by many as one of the best coaches ever yet he never was really succesful in the playoffs... and only won one ring. Everybody thinks that Avery Johnson is a good coach too, yet he never won a ring with the Mavs as well. All of this doesn't make any sense whatsoever, seriously... For example do you think that the Suns would have been better with another coach ? I personally doubt it... Again when Nash arrived in Phoenix he immediately became a top PG, way better than he ever was in Dallas, and when Porter decided to use another system Nash had his worst season since the Mavs days and most people started to think that he was on the downside of his career... Until the next season when Gentry got back to D'Antoni's system and people were surprised to see Nash back to his best and the Suns started to get some success again. With this group of player you could only win with an offensive minded team.

 

Yes YOU say that he'll have very little chances, but it's not because you say it that it's true... So it's totally irrelevant. Besides when you can lead your team twice to the CF, especially in the West which has been the best conference the whole decade, it certaintly means that you have a chance to lead your team to a ring. Besides we can also talk about the 2007 playoffs, when the Suns were eliminated by the Spurs, many people consider this team as the best Suns team of the decade and many still think that without this Horry thing the Suns would have eliminated the Spurs and won a ring that year. And it's clearly the Suns who gave the most trouble to the Spurs that year, they were honestly the second best team in the league. The Suns-Spurs series were the best series this year, no doubt. When we take this in consideration I don't see how we can deny that this system can lead a team to a ring.

 

Euroleague is actually not that different... It's still basketball, you have to put a ball in the hole. People usually tend to exaggerate about this difference but I can tell you that it's not as different as most people (especiallly that most people here do not know about European basketball...) think. But there are differences, it is true. Although those differences actually helps to make a case for D'Antoni, because in fact basketball in Europe has ALWAYS been more defensive minded than in the NBA. And might I add BY FAR. So if D'Antoni managed to have some success in Europe with his system, you can be sure that he can have any in the NBA.

 

And again no you definitely has no right to say that he is a terrible NBA coach. The success that he had in Phoenix clearly shows the opposite.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Oliver P

[JYD]

Stick Gallo on the block, do whatever it takes to get Melo. If Denver still wants Gallinari, there ya go. Give them Gallo, Douglas, Randolph, Mozgov, whatever. The idea is to form that Melo-Amare-Chandler trio, and put a big and a point around them (Raymond works for now, but not in the future).

I agree completely. But I don't think the Knicks have what it takes to acquire Melo, though.

 

 

All that I've learned from the first 10 games is that the team simply doesn't have the talent required to be a good NBA team, and certainly doesn't have the talent to play in D'Antoni's system. They desperately need more depth, size and rebounding in the frontcourt. They also desperately need more 3pt shooting, as well as a true go-to scorer on the perimeter.

Well said...pretty much agree completely.

 

he will never ever win a championship with his 'score lots and don't worry about playing defense.' he might do well as an assistant coach, but as a head coach, it just won't work.

 

I agree with this as well. the teams that win championships are generally very good defensively. but...at the same time, if he can make the knicks exciting and at least take them to the playoffs...I'll settle for that and worry about the championship later.

Gallo's occasional 3 aka 2nd most in the NBA last year?

 

First 10 games are 10 games, there are 72 more. I'll chime in more after the first quarter of the season is done.

I agree. It's too hard to say the team is awful, blah blah blah. But, you can certainly make some quick statements through the first ten.

 

The main idea of the thread was to stimulate some discussion on the Knicks between Knick fans and whomever else.

 

Looks like mission accomplished.

[Oliver P]

Just a couple of things that I wanted to add about D'Antoni :

 

As I said I am not a D'Antoni fan in any way, and I would prefer to have a defensive minded coach in New York. I want to be very clear about that. I'm not trying to say that D'Antoni a very good coach or whatever... The only thing I'm saying here is that people tend to overreact and are clearly unfair to D'Antoni now. I remember when he was in Phoenix, people didn't hesitate to say that he was a genius, that his system revolutionized basketball. And now that he's had two disappointing years in New York people say that he sucks... The truth is that D'Antoni is neither a genius nor a terrible coach.

 

In fact I kinda agree with Lil' Penny as well, I feel too that D'Antoni has little chance to lead a team to a ring.. But it's purely assumption and you can't objectively judge someone on assumption. It might happen, it's impossible to deny it. Especially that, as I said, it almost happen in 2007, the Suns were clearly the second best team in the league that year and who knows what would have happend without Robert Horry...

 

So we cannot say that D'Antoni is a bad coach as his system has provided a lot of success to his teams in both Europe and the NBA. And it's hard to judge him from these past two years and he clearly didn't have enough to talent to achieve anything, all the coaches we had this past decade didn't have more success anyhow. Quite the opposite... But we cannot say that he is a good coach either because he tends to make bad decisions sometimes and is not good at making adjustments... something at which Pop is an expert for example. So my point is that it's too early to judge him in fact. He's still a young coach and coaches, just like players, can improve. Nonetheless I agree with you Lil' Penny that D'Antoni would be better as an assistant, as of right now, but I still think that he deserves another chance in New York. As he didn't have enough talent so far... This year the team is better on paper, there is no doubt that he can make something outta this team. If we do not improve this year, then, and only then, I will agree that it'll be better to fire him. But not right now, we have to give him another chance.

Edited November 19, 2010 by Oliver P

[Real Deal]

For the sake of giving props to who actually won those games in Phoenix, can we say it was Steve Nash's system? D'Antoni's offense is the same as Nelson's, if we're talking an up and down the court, fast-paced scoring offense. Many teams run it.

 

But if we're talking strictly the pick and roll, and the seven-second pull-up or spot-up jumpers...it's all Steve Nash. There isn't a system D'Antoni will ever run that will equal what he had in Phoenix, and it's because what he had in Phoenix was, hands down, the best system-based point guard of all-time.

[JYD]

^That's very true RD.

 

It looks like the Knicks may have drawn some motivation based on my thread/comments. Five game win streak!!