Originally Posted by
mafra
I do agree this is Dolan's mess. Has been since he ran Ewing out of town. he's the common denominator the past 13 years. Then, you blame the GM. Regardless of his personal feelings, you have to make your star feel comfortable. Especially during honeymoon period. Not talking to him? The, of course, you blame the coach.
If Carmelo wont play your system, follow your rules, and displays poor body language on the court, wont play defense... THEN BENCH HIM. Kncks were 9-1. HAd he nipped it in the bud, his players would have respected him.
1) Dantoni is a non-confrontational guy.
2) He may be avoiding turning off potential futue employers by having a spat w/ a star player.
Either way, our coach lost the locker room (Lin, Fields, Stoudemire, Chandler) when he allowed this losing streak to balloon. He did bench Carmelo for 1 second half, but he has to call him out. He lost his moment to do that though. He allowed good vibes from the 9-1 to go POOF!
And when he benched Carmelo, he sat Amare. At least STAT is trying on defense, he's just not good at it.