Mike D'Antoni in the News Again

Just One More Chance

What year is it? Who knew that Mike D'Antoni was still alive? Not me! D'Antoni has apparently accepted the position of head coach of the Houston Rockets. Yeah, Houston. For those of you who are too young to remember, or too old that you have forgotten, let's remind you of who he is.

D'Antoni began his NBA coaching career in Denver with the Nuggets. He was the head coach during the lockout season of 1998 and was fired shortly after due to poor performance. One year in Denver with a record of 14-36. Not too bad for a first time head coach with a joke of a team. He wouldn't coach again until 2003.

In 2003, he was hired as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns in the middle of the season. He coached 61 games and led the Suns to a 21-40 record. Despite the low win total, he was given the benefit of a doubt due to the multiple injuries his team had encountered and was brought back for the next season.

In 2004, Phoenix acquired then free agent Steve Nash. This is where it gets fun. The Suns would post a record of 62-20 en route to a division title. "Seven Seconds or Less" was born. The Suns ran an offense quite similar to that of Loyola Marymount did in the late 80's-early 90's. It was a ton of fun to watch. 

The first two of four consecutive trips to the playoffs, Phoenix lost in the conference finals. In 2007, they fell in the conference semifinals. 2008, the first round. After that season, D'Antoni would bolt for the New York Knicks. That is where things fell apart.

After posting a 253-136 record in the desert, the Big Apple came calling. The bright lights seem to attract every moth that can see them. D'Antoni's first two seasons were losing seasons. Missing the playoffs both seasons with a combined record of 61-103, it was time for a change. Amar'e Stoudemire reunited with his old coach as a free agent signing, and in February, Carmelo Anthony was acquired via trade. The team would make the playoffs only to swept in the first round. The following season, D'Antoni would resign midway through the season due to his ongoing conflict with Carmelo Anthony. His total record in New York was 121-167.

The following season, D'Antoni was pinned to lead the Los Angeles Lakers. He joined the team 10 games into the season while recovering from knee surgery. Former coach Phil Jackson was reported to be the Lakers first call, but before they did, D'Antoni was hired. (This is why the Lakers suck today.) D'Antoni was reunited with Steve Nash. He also inherited a roster that consisted of Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol, and Dwight Howard. Halfway through the season, D'Antoni benched Gasol for Earl Clark because he thought that Clark was better fit for the style of play he ran. Shortly after, he abandoned any offensive strategy and just told his team to do their own thing. After starting the season 17-24, the Lakers went on to make the playoffs with a record of 40-32. However, they would be swept in the first round. 

In his second season, the Lakers would finish with their second worst (at the time) record. Howard had left and Kobe was riddled with injury. Steve Nash was also frequently missing. After the season, D'Antoni would resign. His record for LA was 67-87.

Flash forward to now. Houston thinks that D'Antoni is the best man for the job. With stars like James Harden and the before mentioned Dwight Howard, how can he control the locker room? In Phoenix, he turned players into household names. In New York and LA, he turned household names against him. He doesn't have a good track record with big name players. For the past few seasons, D'Antoni has been an assistant head coach for The Philadelphia 76ers. What does it tell you that even their ownership didn't want him as their head coach? 

I really hope that he does well. I really enjoyed his run with the Suns nearly a decade ago. However, I do not think that Mike D'Antoni will have much success in Houston considering both the star power on the team and the other teams that he must compete with inside of his conference. 10 years ago: Slam Dunk Hire. Present Time; What the Hell??

-Dug

@chansm1th

The Case for Brandon Ingram

Am I campaigning for this guy to go number one? I suppose you could say that. Dug has made the case for Ben Simmons to go to the Sixers and I sort of want him to. Why do you say that as you make the case for Ingram, you may ask? Simply put, because I'm not a big fan of Ben and think it would be funny for him to go into basketball exile in Philly. However, he's not my subject, so Ben can kick rocks.

Ingram isn't going to blow your mind with his collegiate stats, but they're nothing to scoff at. He averaged an impressive 17.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 2.0 APG. I know what you're thinking and no, these aren't as impressive as Ben's line of 19.2/11.8/4.8, but that doesn't really matter.


My case for Ingram is that he is the guy that is going to make your team more likely to win. Yes, Ben's stats are better, but he isn't a winner. In a weak SEC, he found a way to take a preseason top-20 team that fell to the NIT and didn't even go to it, largely due to Ben. Ingram took a team with high expectations and made them go farther than they should have, considering Marshall Plumlee was their only healthy post player that could perform basic basketball moves. Ingram is a winner and he is only going to get more skilled as he ages.

He's a long 6'9" and can shoot the ball well, defend, and has a strong mentality, unlike that Aussie who is also vying for number one. I'm going to assume Philly has done their due diligence and know what they are getting into with their selection (putting faith in Philly is idiotic. Oh well.) If they want to continue tanking like they have for the previous two seasons, then by all means draft Ben. I see Ben as a Carmello type player. Yea, he gets his numbers, but winning the title is NEVER going to happen with him. So the choice is yours Philly. You can actually try to field a competitive team or you can keep playing the lottery.

All my love,
@corbeech

Let's Play the Lottery!

Chicago Bulls fans when thinking about picking #1

It was lottery night! There's just something fun about these grown men, millionaires and billionaires both, who are sitting around and praying for ping pong balls to be good to them. The chaos makes my heart happy. These utter control freaks are powerless and the game of chance decides their fate. 

Maybe they're the lucky ones. Unless you're a gambling man, you cannot understand the adrenaline rush that accompanies watching your bet play out in front of you. Granted they don't have control over this situation and can't pick their odds, but I'm saying it's similar, so it is. 

The results of the lottery were:

1. Philadelphia

2. LA Lakers

3. Boston (from Brooklyn)

4. Phoenix

5. Minnesota

6. New Orleans

7. Denver

8. Sacramento

9. Toronto (from NY)

10. Milwaukee

11. Orlando

12. Utah

13. Phoenix (from Washington)

14. Chicago

This is another one of those cases where it's probably better to not go number one overall. For that reason, I say let Ben Simmons go to Philly. He quits on his team and they quit on the season. A match made in heaven? I think so too. If I'm Brandon Ingram, I start screwing up interviews and doing whatever it takes to avoid going number one overall.

The lottery is supposed to be fun, but this one literally went chalk for what their odds of having #1 were set at prior to drawing. That takes away from the fun. I want chaos. I want madness. I wanted Chicago picking first.

Cripes!

All my love,

@corbeech