What has Damntoni Done?

MusketeerX

Rotation player
Fair enough. I'm w you.

Amare4prez says what I basically feel -- if we get a C, r even another decent big, or Melo...and we still struggle and are incomplete...I have no prob booting him if it looks like a chip will forever elude us. I want the best for us. I hope MDA can represent that; if/when superior option arises, we can pounce. R

Right now, the ratio of ,

our season success + how he's coached : what else is out there + what would happen if we canned him now...No good.

Personally...ive never been a huge fan of MDA the coach; I love "ssol" more than how he actually coaches (in game plays, rotations). SSOL, I like players who have some of it bred into their games, and can play that way. I also want defensive specialists and stalwarts to add needed versatility and defense when going against big teams and top teams.

But u mention Doc Rivers; BOS fans hated him more than any of us dislike D'antoni n want him gone. He was constant chopping block fodder. But he got great talent, and specifically guys his coaching fit nicely with.

And ya, I'd take any of those coaches over MDA right now. I hope that by next season he has elevated himself into that echelon, with no questions.

Right there with you on this. If his style of play, with some better role players and Melo gets us there, then God Bless the man. I was totally wrong. I don't see it happening, but I've been wrong before and will admit to if I am again.
 

nuckles2k2

Superstar
There is a reason people were happy when he left Phoenix.... His system is unsustainable for winning a championship. Too much wear and tear, not enough defense and boarding.

This is what it boils down to. You can play the game on paper, or you can play the game on the court. People can come up with as many formulas for stats as they want to, but the game is still ultimately played on the court...and the winning blueprint for the current era has been set.

And even if you want to base it on our Def Eff, we're still 20th in the league, which is still in the lower half. So we're literally bad on the court on defense, and we're in the bottom half for those who play (and I guess also watch?) the game on paper.

Oh and Dallas and their 2-3 matchup zone, with their less than stellar defensive players, are sitting at 12 place based on Defensive efficiency...that's 8 spots ahead of us.

You don't need stellar, talented, defensive players to play good team defense in the NBA. You need a scheme and the coach to implement it.
 

iSaYughh

Starter
There is a reason people were happy when he left Phoenix.... His system is unsustainable for winning a championship. Too much wear and tear, not enough defense and boarding.

Fans are fickle man. And PHO was a mess.

Their FO was a mess. And disgrace. You know how cheap they were, even during a championship window...Joe Johnson biggest name they pooched, but there were other weak ass moves.

This is a hypothetical but we are dealing in them:

Do you really believe that 2-1 versus Spurs..NBA's best record...PHO couldn't have "realistically" beat them and won a chip, if their starting 4-5 (diaw/amare) didn't get 2 game suspensions?

It's eminently possible, likely, plausible a scenario, IMHO. This still shouldn't ruin your argument against MDA, if he had won a chip that year -- just saying that your fear of him being unable to ever win won...thus he simply must go, and he may as well go now versus later...Shouldn't have such a trigger finger attached to the decision.
 

iSaYughh

Starter
This.

Is it any coincidence that most people who hate MDA now hated were Marbury fans/defenders? Is it any wonder that some (gasp!) are ISIAH defenders?

People want to hate MDA, even though he has us exactly where our talent-level relative to the East dictates we should be. So they find anything to burn him on. If we were in first, people would cry that we werent undefeated.

Right. It's not a coincidence, though I'm not sure what the underlying reasoning is for the tethering.

Musketeer, Amare, and a few others aren't this way. Disagreement and debate is great. And fun. But some piggyback the legitimate debates/critiques. Its like damn....Have we reached a point where Isiah Thomas is *repeatedly* being defended and rationalized, just to try to score a point against D'antoni?
 

MusketeerX

Rotation player
Fans are fickle man. And PHO was a mess.

Their FO was a mess. And disgrace. You know how cheap they were, even during a championship window...Joe Johnson biggest name they pooched, but there were other weak ass moves.

This is a hypothetical but we are dealing in them:

Do you really believe that 2-1 versus Spurs..NBA's best record...PHO couldn't have "realistically" beat them and won a chip, if their starting 4-5 (diaw/amare) didn't get 2 game suspensions?

It's eminently possible, likely, plausible a scenario, IMHO. This still shouldn't ruin your argument against MDA, if he had won a chip that year -- just saying that your fear of him being unable to ever win won...thus he simply must go, and he may as well go now versus later...Shouldn't have such a trigger finger attached to the decision.

Honestly I'm not so sure. 2-1 is not an insurmountable deficit and they would still have needed to get past the East. I am scared that if he doesn't go now we will be saddled with a team that only plays an offensive game and will have little wiggle room for a future coach that really wants to instill team and individual defense. I am scared that he is wearing out Amar'e in a year we're not going to win a ring. I am scared that he has not allowed players to develop on the court like Ant Rand and that we are giving up on an incredible talent fpr very little. I am scared that D'Antonni's style of play has worn out our entire starting line-up causing injuries and poor production.

I want a new coach now than later so that we don't kill Amar'e in a year that ultimately doesn't count. Why not give some playing time to Mozgov, Walker, and Ant Rand. Maybe one if not all surprise us.

I just don't like his coaching or his style of play.
 

Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
Of course one could speculate that Felton was going to have a breakout year under any coach or system but when you look at Nash and the similarities moving to SSOL one can draw a parallel. Add that to a David Lee who had all-star numbers last year and a dramatic drop this year and one can safley conclude that the system has definitely helped Felton elevate from mediocrity to all-star caliber. That elevation of his game is a direct reason we are currently in the 6th seed and one can look at the pattern of his play verse our record for further proof.

Absolutely no doubt that Felton's game has been unleashed. I'll never deny that.
I think Lee, on the other hand, was a reveller in circumstance. A focal point in his two best facets on an appalling team. Raymond has been great, good and disappointing as a fallback on a decent team.

I'm not selling out our players, I am recognizing reality. Amare has never been a good defensive player and certainly cant be effective playing out of position at center because we lacked(may still lack since jury is still out on Moz) a starting center. This ends up putting Chandler at PF when he should be playing SF(possibly as 6th man) and our size issues are further compounded.

I don't really see how 90/10 in favour of MD pitted against the roster is a recognition of reality. Ronnie T can't be left out of the equation here, either. He played some inspiring minutes for us in a defensive role, and was a boon in our winningest month this year. Undeniably, that is still not a role that appeases MD's criterion, but showed its worth out of place. I believe that.

Let's be real...we have two centers on this team, Moz and Turiaf. (I would argue Turiaf really is a PF) Turiaf has battled knee injuries all year and Moz was simply not ready in spite of his tremendous play in pre-season. This left D'ant with no choice but to play Chandler at the PF. Compound that with the fact we don't have any other viable PF other than AR (see above) and one can see how Chandler has been relegated to that role even when coming off the bench.

The fact that we have 2 centers is born of affection for small lineups with MD. I'm not calling Barron or Soloman Alabi, for instance, saviours in that regard, but raw evidence of the fact is that both were overlooked in Rautin's stead. A 3 point shooting guard that makes more money than Fields because he hits 3s. He should never have been drafted. That's born of a misguided mind, IMO.

So you are saying that with another coach our size and defensive issues would just go away? How do you make that conclusion? When Larry Brown, a defensive HOF coach was our coach we were giving up almost the same amount of points and our defensive ranking was 27th in the league. Yes, our roster was completely different but this highlights the importance of the roster verse system when it comes to rebounding and defense.

No, I said that our players are under-coached defensively. I said that our rotation and communication are a debacle. Blatant ignorance of fundamental basketball. That's what I see, and it's about practiced cohesion. Size is an issue, but that's apart from coaching. I can't get in and watch defensive practices, but if I saw a synchronised swimmer drowning, I wouldn't wonder why their competition is bettering them.

Well, if you don't have a defensive presence down low or you have a player like Amare who is afraid to pick up a foul resulting in an easy shot how can you blame the coach? Add to it, the extra possessions our lack of rebounding creates and additional scoring opportunities as a result and one can see why we struggle on the defensive end.

This again is about rotation, communication, cohesion and the right roster. That is literally 90% the fault of the coach. Our players are not bad defenders.

I don't agree. This is not 2k11 and D'ant does not have a wireless controller able to make minute by minute decisions on what each player does. The players hold in my opinion 90% of the culpability. The coach can make an impact with substitutions, play calls, defensive switches and during practice but cannot control what players do on the court from play to play.

Come on......90%? Our offence is so predictable. As I said, we run a motion offence 3/2 with a high 4 as often or more than anything built around transition, and it's under adjusted. Spread, roll, face up, penetrate, chuck and hope.

Lack of adjustment? Wasn't starting Chandler over Moz several games in an adjustment? Wasn't cultivating Williams and giving him minutes after 20+ games an adjustment? Isn't going back to giving Moz meaningful minutes now an adjustment?

Nope. If you'll recall, all of these were necessity based temporaries that proved 'surprisingly' successful. An adjustment made by having no choice is not evidence of anything deliberate.

Yes, its under threat but we our OVERACHIEVING while you admit no one expected us to do so. I argue that the overachieving is due to several players having career years and I would argue that our system has a direct role in that.

But that's so easily countered: career years for players pitted around an MVP candidate - see Gasol, Pippen, Majerle, Mahorn, and many more without need of elaboration - showing my age a bit there. And the system does have a direct role via inflation, does it not? Not to mention a PG that's an offensive threat.

Compound that with the extra possessions they give up due to a lack of size and the lack of depth because of injury and you can see why we are struggling.

That, to me at least, is another beacon of appropriate adjustments not being made. Both with the roster from the beginning of the season, and the fact that our game's precedent is built around inflated possessions. The size issue, again, is but part of the lack of cohesion when we need stops more than shots.

I don't see what another coach could do to somehow win more games or makes us good defenders/rebounders with the roster as currently constructed.

Lastly, I've said I'd like to see another coach next year, but I'd like to make it resoundingly clear that I am NOT a D'Antoni hater. I criticise him, as I do the players for any ineptitude. I could, and no doubt will be, more specific, but for now.................

Laters.

Cheers

Crazy⑧s
 

MusketeerX

Rotation player
Crazy⑧s;157585 said:
Absolutely no doubt that Felton's game has been unleashed. I'll never deny that.
I think Lee, on the other hand, was a reveller in circumstance. A focal point in his two best facets on an appalling team. Raymond has been great, good and disappointing as a fallback on a decent team.



I don't really see how 90/10 in favour of MD pitted against the roster is a recognition of reality. Ronnie T can't be left out of the equation here, either. He played some inspiring minutes for us in a defensive role, and was a boon in our winningest month this year. Undeniably, that is still not a role that appeases MD's criterion, but showed its worth out of place. I believe that.



The fact that we have 2 centers is born of affection for small lineups with MD. I'm not calling Barron or Soloman Alabi, for instance, saviours in that regard, but raw evidence of the fact is that both were overlooked in Rautin's stead. A 3 point shooting guard that makes more money than Fields because he hits 3s. He should never have been drafted. That's born of a misguided mind, IMO.



No, I said that our players are under-coached defensively. I said that our rotation and communication are a debacle. Blatant ignorance of fundamental basketball. That's what I see, and it's about practiced cohesion. Size is an issue, but that's apart from coaching. I can't get in and watch defensive practices, but if I saw a synchronised swimmer drowning, I wouldn't wonder why their competition is bettering them.



This again is about rotation, communication, cohesion and the right roster. That is literally 90% the fault of the coach. Our players are not bad defenders.



Come on......90%? Our offence is so predictable. As I said, we run a motion offence 3/2 with a high 4 as often or more than anything built around transition, and it's under adjusted. Spread, roll, face up, penetrate, chuck and hope.



Nope. If you'll recall, all of these were necessity based temporaries that proved 'surprisingly' successful. An adjustment made by having no choice is not evidence of anything deliberate.



But that's so easily countered: career years for players pitted around an MVP candidate - see Gasol, Pippen, Majerle, Mahorn, and many more without need of elaboration - showing my age a bit there. And the system does have a direct role via inflation, does it not? Not to mention a PG that's an offensive threat.



That, to me at least, is another beacon of appropriate adjustments not being made. Both with the roster from the beginning of the season, and the fact that our game's precedent is built around inflated possessions. The size issue, again, is but part of the lack of cohesion when we need stops more than shots.



Lastly, I've said I'd like to see another coach next year, but I'd like to make it resoundingly clear that I am NOT a D'Antoni hater. I criticise him, as I do the players for any ineptitude. I could, and no doubt will be, more specific, but for now.................

Laters.

Cheers

Crazy⑧s


Epic win. Clear, concise, rational.
 

Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
Not about wins. Just don't agree is all. Anyway, TR1LL1ON will best me. I guarantee it! :lol:

I'm against some very lofty competition in this one.
 

iJoe

Rotation player
But u mention Doc Rivers; BOS fans hated him more than any of us dislike D'antoni n want him gone. He was constant chopping block fodder. But he got great talent, and specifically guys his coaching fit nicely with.

And ya, I'd take any of those coaches over MDA right now. I hope that by next season he has elevated himself into that echelon, with no questions.

Its funny how Doc Rivers was almost universally hated and everyone agreed he wasn't much of a complete coach. Even now, Boston's defense has been credited to Thibodeau. I do wish the Knicks had a great defensive assistant, but if one were available, money is certainly not the problem with the Knicks.

However once he got the players he liked after a few long and hard years of losing, everyone suddenly loves him. Sound familiar? Boston has and had a lot more talent that we do right now. Just give it some time. Walsh built our team to be flexible for the next 2 years, don't screw it up for immediate gratification.

More proof? Look how many times the coach of the year has been fired. Its like a curse. There is only so much a coach can do, sooner or later the players have to take more accountability.

Like I've said multiple times now. There aren't any great coaches on the market and we might as well let our coach finish his contract before going all ballistic. If we can nab Rick Adelman later, that we be freakin awesome, but the coach market is pretty dry.
 

TR1LL10N

Hannibal Lecter
Absolutely no doubt that Felton's game has been unleashed. I'll never deny that.

Well, that has to be credited to D'ant, no? Had Felton been putting up 13.8 points instead of 17.1 and 6.8 assists instead of 9+ with his lower career FG% do you really think that the Knicks would have a winning record? Obviously it's speculation but one can make an educated guess that the answer is no. Lower production from our PG directly correlates to a lower production for our team and more specifically Amare.

I don't really see how 90/10 in favour of MD pitted against the roster is a recognition of reality. Ronnie T can't be left out of the equation here, either. He played some inspiring minutes for us in a defensive role, and was a boon in our winningest month this year. Undeniably, that is still not a role that appeases MD's criterion, but showed its worth out of place. I believe that.

Yes, I think 90% because again, it's the players who have to execute the offense and defense not the coach. Just as I blame the players (really it's the roster as constructed) I will credit the players 90% for the wins. You may say..wait! You just credited D'ants system for Feltons play so how are you being consistent? My counter to that is that D'ant unleashed Felton to allow Felton to do what his natural gifts and abilities dictate.

I don't agree on your point about Turiaf. He has been limited due to injury not because D'ant does not see his value.

The fact that we have 2 centers is born of affection for small lineups with MD. I'm not calling Barron or Soloman Alabi, for instance, saviours in that regard, but raw evidence of the fact is that both were overlooked in Rautin's stead. A 3 point shooting guard that makes more money than Fields because he hits 3s. He should never have been drafted. That's born of a misguided mind, IMO.

Common man, we had a full roster and had to drop PEJ and Williams squeezed in. (Williams has won us some games) Acting like we had the luxury to just go after quality bigs but didn't is not reality. Further, Walsh, not D'ant is the GM/Prez and ultimately decides who we draft and sign. I seriously doubt D'ant went to bat for Ruatins to be drafted...

No, I said that our players are under-coached defensively. I said that our rotation and communication are a debacle. Blatant ignorance of fundamental basketball. That's what I see, and it's about practiced cohesion. Size is an issue, but that's apart from coaching. I can't get in and watch defensive practices, but if I saw a synchronised swimmer drowning, I wouldn't wonder why their competition is bettering them.

Well, that is the ultimate truth, you don't know what goes on in practice and neither do I. You can only speculate by what you see on the court and from what we can garner form Mic'ed up moments and interviews. Well what happens on the court I assert has more to do with the players, their penitent and willingness to play defense, the lack of size and players playing out of position. I don't see what you are seeing. Of course in any given game at any given moment you can witness a horrible defensive sequence but that holds true for most teams who are not defensive Juggernauts. You add to it the extra possessions our lack of size(rebounding) affords the other team and the problem is magnified.

This again is about rotation, communication, cohesion and the right roster. That is literally 90% the fault of the coach. Our players are not bad defenders.

Those two statements are contradictory. Again, I don't see what you see. I see a team who doubles, rotates and communicates as best they can in a futile effort because of their size. Look how Horford and Johnson scored at will in the paint. They were being defended but Amare and Moz are not capable of stopping Horford and Felton, Fields, and Gallo could not really contain JJ on the block. Suprise surprise that we won last night and happened to out rebound the Hawks by a healthy margin. Kept them to a low score...why? Because we limited second chances and fast breaks because we were rebounding! If that could only be the norm...

Come on......90%? Our offence is so predictable. As I said, we run a motion offence 3/2 with a high 4 as often or more than anything built around transition, and it's under adjusted. Spread, roll, face up, penetrate, chuck and hope.

We push when we can and run the PnR when we can too. The reason we run that play often is because Amare is the best jump shooting big in the league. Are you now saying that a coach notorious for his offensive schemes, a team 2nd in scoring buy only fractions in the midst of a discussion about defense is somehow now weak on offense!? Common man, don't like the guy, don't like his style but if you are going to credit D'ant with only one thing it has to be our offense. Remember we are doing this all with one superstar and max money wasted on the sidelines. With a second star this offense would not be anything close to predictable and would be damn close to impossible to stop.

Nope. If you'll recall, all of these were necessity based temporaries that proved 'surprisingly' successful. An adjustment made by having no choice is not evidence of anything deliberate.

Not true, the only necessity was Moz's recent return to the rotation because of injury. Benching Moz in place of Chandler was indeed an adjustment. Inserting Williams was also an adjustment and not forced upon D'ant. The 10 man rotation last night could be viewed as an adjustment. That said, making adjustments because circumstance dictates is the very nature of what it means to adjust.

But that's so easily countered: career years for players pitted around an MVP candidate - see Gasol, Pippen, Majerle, Mahorn, and many more without need of elaboration - showing my age a bit there. And the system does have a direct role via inflation, does it not? Not to mention a PG that's an offensive threat.

Well, you admit the system has a direct role so I am not sure what you are getting at. Amare is an MVP talent and not just an all-star because of the system and also because of how it elevated Feltons play which in turn elevates Amare's. Sure, Amare drawing attention leads to some uncontested shots for Chandler and Gallo and I'm sure that helps but I believe it all ultimately reverts back to our PG and his effectiveness. The record and Feltons production is a pattern that cannot be ignored.

Lastly, I've said I'd like to see another coach next year, but I'd like to make it resoundingly clear that I am NOT a D'Antoni hater. I criticise him, as I do the players for any ineptitude. I could, and no doubt will be, more specific, but for now

And I am not a D'ant lover. I merely have concluded two things:

1. There isn't a coach capable of making us play elite defense with the current core and there are few coaches who could have us overcome and compensate for that weakness with a high octane offense.

2. I look at the elevated play of Felton as a direct correlation for our success and have concluded that the elevation is a direct result of D'ant and his system.
 
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Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
Well, that has to be credited to D'ant, no? Had Felton been putting up 13.8 points instead of 17.1 and 6.8 assists instead of 9+ with his lower career FG% do you really think that the Knicks would have a winning record? Obviously it's speculation but one can make an educated guess that the answer is no. Lower production from our PG directly correlates to a lower production for our team and more specifically Amare.

I don't see the point in bringing light to D'Antoni's credit with Felton. Everybody knows that's the case. I didn't say otherwise. You could well say the same about Puhon on a lessened scale.


Yes, I think 90% because again, it's the players who have to execute the offense and defense not the coach. Just as I blame the players (really it's the roster as constructed) I will credit the players 90% for the wins. You may say..wait! You just credited D'ants system for Feltons play so how are you being consistent? My counter to that is that D'ant unleashed Felton to allow Felton to do what his natural gifts and abilities dictate.

I don't agree that it's the roster as constructed. The offence is fine! It's the time honoured approach of defence at the cost of offence that needs attention.

This blame game, to me, was/is/remains about harmonising both ends of the floor. I don't believe that Mike has sufficiently structured our defence to bolster our offence. How many times have you seen regimented defender, Ronnie T, 'palms up' on the baseline after yet another poor defensive rotation? Who's in charge of that? It's not Ronnie. And why isn't it being addressed?

We've shown flashes of defensive brilliance this year, clearly there's capability, but where's the consistency?

I'll say it again - as individuals, our team are NOT bad defensive players - it's the won't to focus on offence that distracts from our defensive capabilities.

80-90% of the time we play man, right? No trace of a 3-2 match up zone when we're ahead (which has cost us), no triangle or 2 zone defence to deny the ball from opponent's best offensive players (which has cost us- see Paul Pierce) - nothing. We too often whimsically feign defence to initiate our offence, and when we don't have the ball in the waning seconds and have to rely on defence, we're in trouble.

Our team's defensive fundamentals are there, but, after 54 games, I believe that D'Antoni has neglected to optimise their capabilities by focusing on offence. Whether or not it's outside of the system specs, offence will always, IMO, need to be compromised for defence. It will shine through in the playoffs.

Uneven+Scales+2.jpg


Sorry, I'll have to get back on the rest. Money calls! Peace.
 
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