Superfly
Rookie
Mike D'Antoni has made a vow that has nothing to do with LeBron James or pledging to turn the Knicks into winners this season.
For D'Antoni, the goal is much more modest.
Starting when the Knicks open the season Wednesday night in Miami, their coach is committed to toning down his act with the officials.
"I've got to do a better job controlling myself with the refs," D'Antoni said Sunday. "I think that it just transfers negative energy to the team. We don't need that. So I'm going to make an effort to be not as emotional with them as I have been."
The regular refs were locked out all of preseason in a contract dispute, so D'Antoni wasn't able to show his mellow side to them during exhibition play. But he seems just as eager to prove he can control his emotions as he does proving that the Knicks can be a much better defensive team this season.
"I think I will do a better job with the refs," he said. "This is now our second year and our guys know what I'm looking for. So I won't be out there going crazy like I have been at times. I hope not to be yelling and screaming a lot."
Then D'Antoni smiled and laughed: "But we'll see how long that lasts."
As he showed in his first season in New York, when his team won only 32 games, D'Antoni's emotions can sometimes get the best of him. But he still knows when to cool it. Last season, he picked up only five technicals, far fewer than the Clippers' Mike Dunleavy, who led all coaches with 15, and Boston's Doc Rivers, who had the second-most with 13.
Clearly, D'Antoni doesn't want to be as demonstrative when calls go against the Knicks, who have posted losing records in each of the last eight seasons, the longest such stretch in the NBA. At least he and his peers won't have to learn what they can get away with, in terms of arguing, with replacement refs. Late Friday, the 57 regular refs voted to accept a two-year deal and return for the start of the season tomorrow night.
"I'm happy it's worked out for them," D'Antoni said. "But it's always a cat-and-dog situation. That's just life. I don't think Knicks ever foul."
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...10-26_new_york_knicks_coach_mike_dantoni.html
The way Mike D'Antoni sees it, there's life after 40. So that's the target he's set for his team this season.
"However it ends up, somehow we've got to get in the 40s with the wins," D'Antoni said after a very competitive practice Saturday at the MSG Training Center. "And that should be in the playoffs."
The team opens the franchise's 64th season Wednesday against the Miami Heat, dragging a five-season playoff drought in tow. It's the second-longest run without a postseason berth in franchise history, and it has been even longer since the team has hit the 40-win mark. The Knicks - who are owned by Cablevision, which also owns Newsday - were 48-34 in 2000-01.
D'Antoni's team went 32-50 last season and did very little to upgrade the roster for a season in which the priority is to maintain salary-cap space for a major run in free agency next summer. But D'Antoni believes that even in an improved Eastern Conference - which includes three of the NBA's best teams in the Celtics, Cavaliers and Magic - his group of young players and expiring-contract veterans has enough to make at least an eight-game improvement over last season.
"Compared to last year, how we made three trades and lost a lot of games in the end, a lot of injuries, from winning 32?" D'Antoni said. "Yeah, I think it's a realistic goal."
He sees an opportunity to reach the playoffs in the lower seeds. "The last two or three spots are kind of up for grabs for a lot of teams," he said. "That's where we'd love to jump in there."
Last season, the Pistons needed 39 wins to clinch the final playoff berth and the 76ers earned the seventh seed with a 41-41 record.
D'Antoni's up-tempo, ball-movement system will generate open shots and extra possessions, which should keep the team competitive as long as it improves on its field-goal percentage (39.5) in the preseason, which is not a given.
But can the system that once won 62 games with a loaded Phoenix Suns roster take a less heralded Knicks lineup to 40? "If we tighten up our defense and take better shots," D'Antoni said, "yeah, we'll be in the 40s."
http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/d-antoni-sets-goals-of-40-wins-playoffs-1.1546459
For D'Antoni, the goal is much more modest.
Starting when the Knicks open the season Wednesday night in Miami, their coach is committed to toning down his act with the officials.
"I've got to do a better job controlling myself with the refs," D'Antoni said Sunday. "I think that it just transfers negative energy to the team. We don't need that. So I'm going to make an effort to be not as emotional with them as I have been."
The regular refs were locked out all of preseason in a contract dispute, so D'Antoni wasn't able to show his mellow side to them during exhibition play. But he seems just as eager to prove he can control his emotions as he does proving that the Knicks can be a much better defensive team this season.
"I think I will do a better job with the refs," he said. "This is now our second year and our guys know what I'm looking for. So I won't be out there going crazy like I have been at times. I hope not to be yelling and screaming a lot."
Then D'Antoni smiled and laughed: "But we'll see how long that lasts."
As he showed in his first season in New York, when his team won only 32 games, D'Antoni's emotions can sometimes get the best of him. But he still knows when to cool it. Last season, he picked up only five technicals, far fewer than the Clippers' Mike Dunleavy, who led all coaches with 15, and Boston's Doc Rivers, who had the second-most with 13.
Clearly, D'Antoni doesn't want to be as demonstrative when calls go against the Knicks, who have posted losing records in each of the last eight seasons, the longest such stretch in the NBA. At least he and his peers won't have to learn what they can get away with, in terms of arguing, with replacement refs. Late Friday, the 57 regular refs voted to accept a two-year deal and return for the start of the season tomorrow night.
"I'm happy it's worked out for them," D'Antoni said. "But it's always a cat-and-dog situation. That's just life. I don't think Knicks ever foul."
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...10-26_new_york_knicks_coach_mike_dantoni.html
The way Mike D'Antoni sees it, there's life after 40. So that's the target he's set for his team this season.
"However it ends up, somehow we've got to get in the 40s with the wins," D'Antoni said after a very competitive practice Saturday at the MSG Training Center. "And that should be in the playoffs."
The team opens the franchise's 64th season Wednesday against the Miami Heat, dragging a five-season playoff drought in tow. It's the second-longest run without a postseason berth in franchise history, and it has been even longer since the team has hit the 40-win mark. The Knicks - who are owned by Cablevision, which also owns Newsday - were 48-34 in 2000-01.
D'Antoni's team went 32-50 last season and did very little to upgrade the roster for a season in which the priority is to maintain salary-cap space for a major run in free agency next summer. But D'Antoni believes that even in an improved Eastern Conference - which includes three of the NBA's best teams in the Celtics, Cavaliers and Magic - his group of young players and expiring-contract veterans has enough to make at least an eight-game improvement over last season.
"Compared to last year, how we made three trades and lost a lot of games in the end, a lot of injuries, from winning 32?" D'Antoni said. "Yeah, I think it's a realistic goal."
He sees an opportunity to reach the playoffs in the lower seeds. "The last two or three spots are kind of up for grabs for a lot of teams," he said. "That's where we'd love to jump in there."
Last season, the Pistons needed 39 wins to clinch the final playoff berth and the 76ers earned the seventh seed with a 41-41 record.
D'Antoni's up-tempo, ball-movement system will generate open shots and extra possessions, which should keep the team competitive as long as it improves on its field-goal percentage (39.5) in the preseason, which is not a given.
But can the system that once won 62 games with a loaded Phoenix Suns roster take a less heralded Knicks lineup to 40? "If we tighten up our defense and take better shots," D'Antoni said, "yeah, we'll be in the 40s."
http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/d-antoni-sets-goals-of-40-wins-playoffs-1.1546459
