Jalen Rose on D'antoni

Rob Low

Rotation player
Then there's more insight than some Suns fans might want into 2007, which is the year Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns thought they would win a title, but lost to the Spurs in a horribly controversial suspension-riddled second-round series. The Suns, as we knew them, would never be the same again.

Jalen Rose was on that Suns team, which he brought up after I asked him about Rick Carlisle, whom Rose once played for:

He made sure we ran hard at shootaround. He made sure we broke a sweat. He made sure we're prepared for the other team's sets. We knew if we were doubling the post. We knew how we were playing pick and roll. Are we hedging on this player, going under on that one. Are we double-teaming? How are we going to play those down screens certain players are coming off ...

We knew everything.

When you've played for a coach like that, it must be hard to play for a coach who doesn't have those same qualities.

I played for the Phoenix Suns. 2007. My last season. As were playing against the San Antonio Spurs. And I remember us coming to our first practice before Game 1. And we brought it in. And we were excited about our playoffs getting started. And Coach D'Antoni put in some film. It was Steve behind the back. Amare slam dunk. Shawn Marion with the block. Raja Bell with the charge. It was a highlight film of our team. They have showed me making a shot on there, and I was barely even playing.

So after that he as like all right, we're going to run and down, go through our set plays and whatnot, and we're going to get out of here.

And I looked at Kurt Thomas. I hit him with an elbow. I'm like hold on. I gotta say something.

So I did my Arnold Horshack from "Welcome Back, Kotter."

I'm like "ooh, ooh, ooh, hey coach. I gotta ask a question. Are we going to talk about how we're going to defend Tim Duncan on the post? Are we going to talk about Manu Ginobili in pick and roll? Keeping Tony Parker out of the paint?"

He looked at me in front of the entire team and coaching staff and said: "We're not worried about what they do. If we play to the best of our abilities, and do what we're supposed to do, there is no way they can beat us. We don't mind if Tim goes off. If Tim goes off, that means everybody else is quiet."


So, people gave us a pass. And we were a great team. And Robert Horry did knock my guy Steve Nash into the scoreboard. And Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw got up off the bench and I should have been paying attention and being a vet, and grabbed Amare -- maybe I'd have a ring to this day.

They walked out on the floor, they get suspended late in the series, and we did lose that game.

But we really lost the series in Game 1. When the guy that couldn't beat us by himself -- Tim Duncan -- he only had 40 and 20 in Game 1. [Ed. note: Actually 33 and 16.]

So that's really when we lost the series.

You're saying that if Rick Carlisle coached that team ...

Breeze through. I have a 'chip. I would have a 'chip.

That's gotta be a bad feeling.

It is what it is.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/43774/nba-today-jalen-rose-luc-richard-mbah-a-moute
 

Sage

Rotation player
Same sort of thing you'd hear him say pre-game, during time-outs and half time. "We just gotta play harder, just do what you do".
 

orangeblobman

Rotation player
I mean, what's the point here? What's Jalen trying to say?

We know MDA's philosophy: make them react to you.

And if you play your game, you execute it well, the hell with the other team.

That's a true attacking philosophy, I see no problems with it. That team, if Horry doesn't hipcheck Nash, that's a ****'s hair away from the Finals.

What's the issue you have here?
 

CA7

Scoring Champ
I mean, what's the point here? What's Jalen trying to say?

We know MDA's philosophy: make them react to you.

And if you play your game, you execute it well, the hell with the other team.

That's a true attacking philosophy, I see no problems with it. That team, if Horry doesn't hipcheck Nash, that's a ****'s hair away from the Finals.

What's the issue you have here?

The issue is he had defensive philosophy on how to stop the Spurs

Its like

We're gonna run the pick n roll, spot up, flash, cut, fade and dive. Move the ball to the open man and get up quick shots and on defense just play your man.

Thats not a winning philosophy

winning teams

get the ball to their best players in their favorite spots, execute their plays in the half court and the role players fill the lanes and hit open shots

on defense you play your man hard, help on the drive, crash boards, box out, secure the rebound and get the ball out

big difference
 

Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
I think we were all aware of this after 3 odd years of it.

D'Antoni proved that his way can be very successful in Phoenix.

Never saw it in NY.

Nothing ever changed unless totally necessary. He'll only ever play his style.

Good luck to him in finding the right team to recreate some success and erase the blemish on his career from his Big Apple tenure.

Moving on.
 

LV&C

Benchwarmer
Frankly, I'm not even sure why D'Antoni is still in the picture. Why are we still so affected by him? Why is his shadow still hovering above us? Why do we still care about him? It's like we are someone who can't let go of an ex-lover.:boohoo:
 

New New York

Quiet Storm
Frankly, I'm not even sure why D'Antoni is still in the picture. Why are we still so affected by him? Why is his shadow still hovering above us? Why do we still care about him? It's like we are someone who can't let go of an ex-lover.:boohoo:
You obviously have not been on this site long or visited before you were a poster....Dudes are still making Marbaury and Isiah Threads to this day, realitively speaking Dantoni is a fresh a topic as Woody's extension!
 

LV&C

Benchwarmer
You obviously have not been on this site long or visited before you were a poster....Dudes are still making Marbaury and Isiah Threads to this day, realitively speaking Dantoni is a fresh a topic as Woody's extension!

I have been a lurker before I was a member actually so yea, I have seen this again and again but I never really understood it. But hey, it's just me wondering out loud. I just thought it's not any different from still being hung up on an ex-lover, is all.
 

Paul1355

All Star
Nice find! This confirms everything i have been saying about mike d, he the worst x and o coach i have seen in the nba....he never adjusted to the game and if his game plan, which had flaws, didng work then you had no chance to win....how many times would some random player have a career night against us? Because mike d never focused on him and didnt worry if he went nuts when that would be the main reason we lost many games under this lame duck coach...steve nash made him...i think the record and history proves that
 

CoolClyde

Moderator
they called him Macaroni

The amount of time we invested in debates about the guy and stuff should be reason enough a thread was made for this.
:agreed:

Nice find! This confirms everything i have been saying about mike d, he the worst x and o coach i have seen in the nba....he never adjusted to the game and if his game plan, which had flaws, didng work then you had no chance to win....how many times would some random player have a career night against us? Because mike d never focused on him and didnt worry if he went nuts when that would be the main reason we lost many games under this lame duck coach...steve nash made him...i think the record and history proves that

totally f*cking :agreed:
 

nyk_nyk

All Star
I mean, what's the point here? What's Jalen trying to say?

We know MDA's philosophy: make them react to you.

And if you play your game, you execute it well, the hell with the other team.

That's a true attacking philosophy, I see no problems with it. That team, if Horry doesn't hipcheck Nash, that's a ****'s hair away from the Finals.

What's the issue you have here?

Do you really not understand the game of basketball? Jalen looked at Thomas because Antoni only addressed ONE SIDE of the game. He mentioned Carlisle and the way he had his players prepared on BOTH sides of the ball. Jalen even asked Antoni about coverage and he didn't give him anything. A good coach would have addressed it, even if it were for a few players that felt it would help them perform better.

A coach who isn't worried about what the other team might be doing isn't preparing his team enough. What happens if the quick plays Antoni runs doesn't result in made shots? Sounds familiar? Antoni - "we just didn't hit shots"

This is why you prepare on both sides of the ball and make defense just as important as offense. If you're having trouble scoring at least you can defend well enough to hold off the opponent until you get going offensively.

Damn do you really not understand the logic??
 
xD,

Everyone knows D'Ant is a joke and one of the worst coaches of all times. I don't think anyone (fan or player) ever really had faith in him. I used to think some of the fan support for him were from clueless fans pretending to know something about BBall... but now I'm coming to the realization that all the support he has gotten from around here were all alternate accounts made by D'Ant's brother Dan Antonio. I used to wonder what in the hell his job was..

There's no way a knowledgable person claiming to know this game will support his flawed system. He was a scrub when he played the game and it showed when he started coaching it. Some of the funniest sh!t I've seen around here was people calling him a genius...without seeing any signs of it.(Oh, my bad, not people...I mean Dan). LOL
 

tiger0330

Legend
Some of the funniest sh!t I've seen around here was people calling him a genius...without seeing any signs of it.
:agreed: Can't believe people are still on the guys bandwagon saying he's still a better coach than Woody even after Woody takes the same team that D'Antoni was coaching to a losing record and plays .700 ball with them.

I compared D'Antoni to the NY Giants Jim Fassel who was an awful in-game manager, Fassel never got another NFL head coaching job because he got exposed as a mediocre coach despite taking a team to the Super Bowl. Let's see what happens to D'Antoni but his rep took a big hit in NY.
 

KnickolasMGL

Benchwarmer
but the truth is.... Mike Woodson is the same thing.
He hasn't got a clue about offense. He can't make any offensive adjustments or make decent plays. -- I have never seen it.

D'Antoni and Woodson are both very incomplete.
 

fender0577

Rotation player
Do you really not understand the game of basketball? Jalen looked at Thomas because Antoni only addressed ONE SIDE of the game. He mentioned Carlisle and the way he had his players prepared on BOTH sides of the ball. Jalen even asked Antoni about coverage and he didn't give him anything. A good coach would have addressed it, even if it were for a few players that felt it would help them perform better.

A coach who isn't worried about what the other team might be doing isn't preparing his team enough. What happens if the quick plays Antoni runs doesn't result in made shots? Sounds familiar? Antoni - "we just didn't hit shots"

This is why you prepare on both sides of the ball and make defense just as important as offense. If you're having trouble scoring at least you can defend well enough to hold off the opponent until you get going offensively.

Damn do you really not understand the logic??
Couldn't have said it better myself.

xD,

Everyone knows D'Ant is a joke and one of the worst coaches of all times. I don't think anyone (fan or player) ever really had faith in him. I used to think some of the fan support for him were from clueless fans pretending to know something about BBall... but now I'm coming to the realization that all the support he has gotten from around here were all alternate accounts made by D'Ant's brother Dan Antonio. I used to wonder what in the hell his job was..

There's no way a knowledgable person claiming to know this game will support his flawed system. He was a scrub when he played the game and it showed when he started coaching it. Some of the funniest sh!t I've seen around here was people calling him a genius...without seeing any signs of it.(Oh, my bad, not people...I mean Dan). LOL
LMFAO, you a fool man, you made me spit out my food when i read that, Good one.
 

STAT1

Starter
but the truth is.... Mike Woodson is the same thing.
He hasn't got a clue about offense. He can't make any offensive adjustments or make decent plays. -- I have never seen it.

D'Antoni and Woodson are both very incomplete.

I think 18W - 6L has earned Woodson more of a look in NY. I think his tendency to hold even the star players accountable is a refreshing change over the blatant favoritism that D'Antoni would show to "his guys" over his tenure. Of course there's always things you can pick out about any coach & critique, but since JVG was our coach, I don't think there's been a better one than Coach Woodson in how he's been able to get these guys to play consistently on the defensive side of the ball. That is what this team needs to get into the habit of doing if they ever want to develop a winning culture here. The speedball system of D'Antoni was not well suited for this city or this conference. You need to be able to play defense on a consistent basis if you want to beat teams like the Heat & Celtics.
 
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