Originally Posted by
iJoe
You haven't given me a shred of fact. You again just repeated opinions of others with no proof.
First off, let me point out that Phoenix DID hire a defensive coach in Porter after Dantoni left. (not gotten rid of) Do I need to say what happened to the Suns after Porter took over? They started losing.....badly.... then they fired Porter and Gentry took over and guess what he did? He pushed the tempo back up again. You need the right coach for the right team.
If you search the forums, you can find numerous videos and quotes about Dantoni actually teaching defense. Is his style a slow down, half court game? No. However, saying he teaches no defense is just absurd.
Now let me answer your question of what I think of Dantoni. I personally find him to be a slightly above average coach. I respect him because he took a **** job knowing that it would be painful rebuilding. He hasn't had the type of lineup he likes nor has he had a stable lineup this year. However, he hasn't complained and keeps on being the same old ****y Dantoni (which a lot of people hate). Let me give a few positives/negatives
Positives:
-Tends to bring out the best in players that work hard and listen. Remember how nobody liked the Shawne Williams signing and thought Fields was a bad pick? Felton/Chandler thrived under him for the short while and in general players that leave his system diminish in play (Marion, Diaw, Barbosa). Unlike the stereotype he has, he always plays guys who he feels deserve to play.
-Manages to make the most of mismatches on the offensive end as much as possible. Likes to speedball in order to create even more mismatches and not give defense the time to set up. Has adjusted his playbook numerous times for different players.
-Good players want to come play for him. Uptempo and sharing the ball is appealing and a slow it down grindhouse 1v1 tends to wear down the player a lot. Helps that their stats are gonna be great if they work hard.
Negatives
-While defensive players thrive in his system, his team defensive schemes are definitely lacking. However, he does emphasize that as long as his team can make the key defensive stops, thats what matters. His phoenix teams did this while the Knicks still have not proven to be clutch on defense.
-Not a disciplinarian. He's not the type to scream and force his players to do something. If you don't work hard on your own, he's just not gonna play you. Its very harsh on the young guys who haven't built a good work ethic a la Randolph, Milicic and Curry.
-His out of bounds plays this year have not been good so far (though I cut him some slack with such a new team)
To sum up, I don't find Dantoni to be the greatest coach, but who the hell else is viable to coach this team. A defensive coach wouldn't work, because this team isn't built to play slow grinding ball and we don't have a real center. There are NO good coaches readily available. At least wait for the offseason when there might be some decent candidates to go after. Like it or not, our team is gonna stay this way for the rest of the season and will be the better for it. Root for your team and try to have a little fun.
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