We’ve talked about this a lot in terms of flaws in Mike D”Antoni’s system. His tendency is to play players a ton of minutes by using a short rotation. Now, every coach shortens their rotation at some point during the season, mostly during the playoffs or for must-win games choosing to lean on their stars, but I agree it can’t be for a full season.

Alvin Gentry was actually an exception to that rule this past season. Frankly, had Ron Artest not made a miracle put back (or had someone on the Suns put a body on him, whichever way you want to look at it) in a critical Game 5 at Staples Center, along with a legendary Kobe performance in Game 6, the Suns may have represented the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.

Gentry would use 9 or 10 players and lean on a young bench to keep the pace going that Steve Nash creates, but with seemingly more defensive-minded players. In fairness to D’Antoni, guys like Jared Dudley and even Robin Lopez are sharp players he didn’t have to lean on off the bench.

D’Antoni has the chance to do so this season because he has a young group of players, and to waste that athleticism would be a shame. This is not the veteran-dominated roster that he’s had here or in Phoenix.

I’d start Felton, eventually Azubuike, Gallinari, Turiaf and Amar’e, then be really young and athletic off the bench with Douglas, Walker,  Chandler, Randolph and, for about 10 minutes per if he’s ready,  Mozgov. Yes, it’s early but you get the idea.

Again, there will be days when the bench players are flat, the Suns had that issue on the road, especially in the playoffs,  but if you’re on the second unit your focus would be to maintain pace and focus on defense. And ultimately, starters get starts minutes.

It worked well enough in Phoenix this year, and it’s a model that I would like to see D’Antoni adjust to more this season.

What do you guys think?

Via Hoopsworld

But as the season dragged on, Douglas seemed baffled by D’Antoni’s offense. He lost his place in the rotation and didn’t re-emerge until March.

After seeing his NBA dream turn into a brief nightmare, Douglas showed that unheralded players can thrive under D’Antoni if they have the right attitude.

“Since the first week of May I’ve been doing two-a-days in New York,” Douglas said. “I want to become a complete basketball player.”

And on this team, efforts like that don’t go unnoticed.

“Toney is going to be a competitor,” D’Antoni concluded. “He shoots the ball extremely well and he plays hard so we expect him to be in the rotation contributing next year.”

I don’t think TD was baffled by the offense, I think he was being asked to get more people involved. He’s worked on that all off season and thusfar in the summer league. He’s a perfect rotation guard. He can play behind, and learn from, Ray Felton, and will also see minutes with him. He’s already a well-above average defender. And when you look at the roster, the players that have been brought in, as I suspected, all are good defenders. They should be better as a team.

Via NY Post

“I wasn’t one of D’Antoni’s guys,” said Harrington. “It was an obvious thing. No matter how good I played, no matter what happened, he wouldn’t mention my name after a game or anything. He obviously didn’t want me there.

“When they only got one max, I thought I would hear from them and get a call,” Harrington added. “I was obviously wrong.”

We’ve talked over and over about the disconnect in the locker room. I know Al thought it was his team, and guys like Nate and D Lee thought it was “theirs.” It was a bad situation for everyone. Denver is a good situation for Harrington, who undoubtedly wanted to be a Knick. He was a Walsh guy, but if Walsh wanted to keep him he would have. They needed to make the Felton move and maintain flexibility.

That made Al expendable.

Like Larry Hughes, it’s easy to knock the coach walking out the door, but without question D’Antoni is on notice from the fans even more so, especially when you read quotes like this.

At one point I was sure Steve Nash was coming back to NY. Well, actually not because I never REALLY thought he was signing for a wicked discount. But there was and is a fascination with Nash and this city.

Boy he’s thankful he doesn’t play here.

Could you imagine the NY media’s assessment of Nash’s performances in the first 2 games of the series. 15 assists, 5 turnovers last night. I won’t mention points because he didn’t have many. 8 FGA?

Patrick Ewing was lambasted here because he a) didn’t win a title and b) because the media didn’t like him. It’s what I can’t stand really. And by the way Ewing made it to 2 finals.

He was a flawed player, we know this. But because he didn’t embrace fans or media, his legacy is tainted. Yes, I’m a Ewing fan.

Nash has won two MVPs and has zero finals appearances. He’s not playing like a Hall of Fame player right now.Is it his eye? Maybe, but there are no excuses. I mean Ewing had a torn Achilles and got zero sympathy.

Look, I know he’s tough and he’s a fantastic player. He’s just coming up REALLY short right now and I don’t hear anything about it.

As much as I think the media in this town, and nationally, would kill him (but no one really has) I have this feeling that he would get a pass. What do you guys think?

Would the media find him and treat him less critically because he’s a nice guy?

Hasn’t worked for D’Antoni….

Jack McCallum is my favorite sports writer. Always has been. Period. That said, he wrote and interesting piece on the Gentry/D’Antoni debate.

“…Nash’s last point — We all like him and trust him — is as important as any. I have never encountered a single person in the hoops world who does not like Gentry, whose range of contacts seems endless. Bring up any player, coach or executive and chances are Gentry will have some kind of good-natured anecdote about him. Heck, bring up anyone in the culture and chances are Gentry will have a tale. I’ve never laughed harder at a story than the one Gentry told about the night he encountered astronaut Buzz Aldrin at a party thrown by Clippers owner Donald Sterling. They were outside of Sterling’s beachfront home in Malibu, the moon full and beautiful above them, and Gentry approached Aldrin nervously and said, “Uh, Buzz, you ever look up at the moon and think to yourself how people stare at it and write poems about it, and you walked on it?” And Aldrin just looked at Gentry and said, “No. F— no.” From time to time when I call Gentry, I’ll say, “Hey, it’s Buzz Aldrin calling.”

Now, get up the YouTube video of Gentry going absolutely bonkers over a call in a Suns-Lakers game back in March. He felt that Pau Gasol should have been called for a flagrant foul for hacking Amundson on a drive. Gentry was ejected but he also demonstrated the kind of fighting spirit that defines the man, a funny guy you have to take seriously.

This coach-and-team chemistry thing is never easy to figure out. One day it’s there, the next day it’s not. Scott Skiles is run out of Chicago, then he’s a genius in Milwaukee. Avery Johnson is a genius in Dallas, then he’s run out of town. There are most assuredly great coaches and most assuredly bad coaches, but in many cases a kind of indefinable set of circumstances must exist for a coach to succeed at a certain place at a certain time. When the mojo isn’t right, it’s time for coach and team to part company and for someone else to take over.

All I know is that for four seasons there wasn’t a better coach for the Phoenix Suns than Mike D’Antoni.

And right now there’s not a better coach for the Phoenix Suns than Alvin Gentry…”

So I’ve been getting heat for not posting a link to a blog post which contains:

“…When you talk to Suns officials they mostly have good things to say about D’Antoni. The biggest knocks I heard when I covered the Suns-Blazers series is that D’Antoni is stubborn and that he doesn’t emphasize defense. We’ve all seen that firsthand.

Mike denies all charges even though when you ask some Knick players if they ever practice defense they’ll laugh and say “are you kidding me…”

I’ll take the bait. First of all we’ve talked to Wilson Chandler, who may be the team’s best defender.

The reason why I didn’t post at first  is that those who cover the team are allowed to sit in on the latter part of practices, and of course training camp. So they can actually see what D’Antoni and is working on during scrimmages. I, myself, have seen D’Antoni and his staff stop scrimmages and work on defensive rotations, but yes, for the most part the team focuses on offense. No surprise.

Players were getting after it defensively and talking in training camp, and they were encouraged to box out, get in the passing lane, and get over screens by the entire coaching staff.

I’ve also witnessed Herb Williams and Jared Jeffries on occasion work with Jordan Hill on defending the post after practices.

And I believe I’ve seen D’Antoni go over defensive match ups on the video board in the locker room before games captured by MSG cameras as part of the pre game show. (more…)

Tommy Dee asked me the following question during his contributor selection process: What does Mike D’Antoni have to do to win over fans like you who were so attached to the defense-first teams of the 90’s?  I was and still am a big fan of D’Antoni’s, but his performance is a hotly debated issue here at TKB.  Personally, I mark his report card with an Incomplete.  From the moment he took the Knicks job all anyone wanted to talk about was LeBron and Summer 2010.  Imagine how it felt to be a player with all the roster moves and emphasis on the future.  Every visiting team to the Garden brought new speculation.  Hey D Lee!  Memphis is in town, how would you feel about playing with Rudy Gay next season?  That is of course, if you’re here too! Thanks for always asking the tough questions Marc Berman.  The point is that the D’Antoni Era to this point hasn’t been much of an incubator for building team chemistry.  Is this an easy copout for D’Antoni? Absolutely.  But Donnie Walsh said that his goal was to get under the cap.  He’s done that. Now the goal is winning and I won’t have any more excuses for D’Antoni.  Check out my full thoughts on Tommy Dee’s question after the jump. (more…)

Via Daily News:

“…Gallinari, in an interview reported by La Stampa, had this to say about his season, the Italian national team, his desire to finish his career in Italy and, of course, LBJ.

“The vote for my season is 8 (out of 10)” said Gallinari. “I have played 81 games and I have again the pleasure to play after a season with big problems at my back and the surgery. We had too many ups and downs and without maintaining continuity is difficult to reach high goals.

“I have talked with Italian Federation President Dino Meneghin but not with the coach Simone Pianigiani. I would like to play but there are some factors to consider: my body and to be ready for the next season with Knicks. I really hope LeBron James (the best player in the League according to Gallinari) will be a Knick. But, however, it is going to be an important season for us” who finished talking about the future of his career. “My project is to finish the career in Italy with Milano…”

The word “tampering” was thrown around, but I can’t believe that this is any real violation. Also, Marc Berman has an article in the NY Post that is neatly tucked away behind the NFL draft coverage. He interviewed Bill Walker who had some interesting things to say about the locker room. What he’s mentioning is a knock that I’ve had, particularly with a player like David Lee. But I’m with Walker on this one, and have been for some time now and even looked at the Celtics as an example weeks ago. All coaches need help from winning players. You can also win together. But locker room leadership is something brought by the players as well. It has to be.

“…“What I can tell from over there [in Boston], KG, Paul and Ray take the initiative every day,” Walker said. “You just had guys be more accountable for everything. That’s where it starts. The head coach can only say so much. You have to have guys in the locker room take what the coach says and make sure it gets applied. There weren’t enough leaders in the locker room…”

The simple question is: why not report this DURING the season? Because negitivity, no matter how off base, creates headlines.

First of all, I love the NBA playoffs and am thirsting for the Knicks to re-enter. Not to have national games at MSG has been the biggest crime during this ridiculous Dark Age of Knicks basketball. As we all hope, next year should be different.

Every series in the West is compelling. Durant-Kobe; Can the Spurs find their old form or is Dallas for real? And can Denver get past a very scrappy and talented Jazz team?

I understand not having the Knicks in the playoffs causes Knick fans to turn their attention to baseball and the NFL Draft, and I have to a degree, but I’m still all about hoops right now. Yesterday I was glued down the stretch to the Magic-Bobcats game. I mean, did I just say that? It’s true, though, because what you learn in early series’ is where a team can be weak. Jameer Nelson, who was injured last season, was an absolute beast yesterday, and that should scare Cavs fans if they/when they meet. The Magic are REALLY good.

I’m really intrigued by Portland-Phoenix. I found myself looking at the game and thinking about how, should Portland win, Knick fans may point to the system as the reason why the Suns lost. Is that fair? I’m not sure, but I’m sure it will be a point of contention for those who question Mike D’Antoni here. I’ve said this in this space many times, I’m not sure how the system translates in the playoffs. Can the Knicks win multiple series even with talent? I just don’t know. I can’t say yes, or no. Again, I’ve seen every playoff series this team has been in since 1984 and I’m ridiculously analytical. Many people questioned if Pat Riley should have taken out John Starks in Game 7, I wondered more about Anthony Mason guarding Hakeem and how to contain skip passes to Sam Cassell and Robert Horry.

Against the Heat I thought about playing Childs more than Ward on Tim Hardaway, and trying to expose Voshon Lenard defensively.

All that comes from having actually seen the Knicks in action, which again, will hopefully happen next year. If it doesn’t we probably will shift the focus onto the next coach, where there will be plenty of skeptics as well. (more…)

A lot of talk this morning, and over the last few days, coming from the beat is in reference to the idea that with expectation comes more scrutinity in this town. Frankly, it’s a notion we talked about a month ago. Mike D’Antoni hasn’t seen anything yet.

D’Antoni’s tenure here hasn’t been a good one as of yet and that is subject to change come summertime. Gone will be the notion that this is no longer his team, and come next camp the franchise will have officially turned the page.

Now I’m a realist. I understand the significance of having the opportunity to sit down with the league’s greatest free agent class. We’ll see what shakes out. Either way, I’m excited to see the team in training camp next fall.

But I understand the fans’ concerns about this coach. I generally don’t give passes, but honestly I was predetermined with the idea of getting to the summer with flexibility. To me that’s the equivalent of making the playoffs. It’s a big win. How big? We’ll see.

This is about D’Antoni. And how comfortable you are with him moving forward.

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Via NY Post:

“…Turning serious, D’Antoni said superstars such as James should not be flustered by the specter of nine straight losing Knick seasons.

“I think we start 0-0 like everybody else,” he said. “I don’t think our record carries over.

“When you ask [the free agents] when they come in, and they’ll say, yeah, well they didn’t have me,” D’Antoni added. “And it’s true. I’m not worried about that.”

D’Antoni privately has told confidants had James been on their roster the last two seasons, the Knicks would have been a top-four playoff team.

However, both James and Dwyane Wade have said being on a winner is the major factor in their respective decisions. Sunday at the Garden, Wade said, “Mostly it is about winning. Wins are how you are remembered more so than individuals. You want to make sure you are surrounded by guys that have the mentality to win…”

This is different in terms of Lebron posts. This is a quote from the coach. I had to post this one.

I’ve been saying this for a while now. This roster, to me, means very little in terms of a decision excluding the young core. Now the team has flexibility to build. Yes, it’s a lot to ask from a player who currently sits atop the standings, but I still haven’t had anyone convince me that Cleveland is a better destination, roster-wise, over the next 3-5 years and beyond. Put James on this roster and it would be a top 4 seed in my opinion, and if this is accurate D’Antoni feels the same way.

So I ask you:

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Via ESPNNewYork

“…Never mind that D’Antoni’s boss in Phoenix, Steve Kerr, drove him to the airport with a one-way ticket in hand. Never mind that D’Antoni practiced defense about as much as Tiger Woods practiced Buddhism, or that he burped and diapered Amare Stoudemire, or that he was regularly outfoxed by Gregg Popovich of the Spurs.

The man knew how to win a ton of regular-season games, and the Knicks had gone seven straight years of winning fewer than 40.

So by osmosis, D’Antoni’s Knicks surely would compete, occasionally outscore the opposing team, and even throw a few alley-oops.

But beyond that, D’Antoni would be a recruiter the likes of Barry Switzer and Jerry Tarkanian. The free agents would kill to shoot ‘em up in his wild west system, and as a Team USA aide, D’Antoni had already hardened his bond with James, who would call the Knicks coach “an offensive mastermind.”

Only in the next breath, LeBron would fire a warning shot above D’Antoni’s chalkboard.

“You have to want to play defense first,” James said, “and it has to be stressed in the locker room. It has to be stressed on the court. It has to be stressed during the games in order for you to be successful in the playoffs.”

In other words, Mike, you’ve got two seasons to prove that you don’t stop thinking about defense in seven seconds or less.

In response to that challenge, D’Antoni’s Knicks made like the ’85 Bears, right?

Not exactly…”

Like most D’Antoni pieces, there are parts that are misleading. The Suns were cheated by the officials in 2007 so no D’Antoni wasn’t “outfoxed” by Pop that year. And in fairness, the Spurs were better in the other series. Having the greatest power forward in history of the league helps.

That said, O’Connor then mentions and idea that I’d be all for.

“…In fact, Walsh should make his first big score before free agency kicks in July 1 and throw a busload of money at Celtics aide Tom Thibodeau, a move that would impress the savvy likes of LeBron and D-Wade…”

I’m assuming the writer means to bring in as an assistant, seeing that D’Antoni isn’t getting fired any time soon. Thibodeau would be a great defensive coordinator. He may feel more suited that his next job be a head coaching position, but for whatever reason several opportunities have passed him by.

Thibodeau served as an assistant under Jeff Van Gundy...

I’m curious though. The best coach the Knicks had here was Larry Brown. And every fan, at the time, thought he was an idiot. I remember being one of the few fans that I knew who thought it was completely the players fault. Brown is a mad scientist. He’s hard to deal with. But he makes you a better player and wins everywhere- just couldn’t do it here. It’s all part of being in NY. D’Antoni, heck even David Lee, have been under the microscope for a while now. The honeymoon’s been over for some time. Me? Next year it starts.

If a star player were to sign here some may say it was because the offensive system, and they’d figure the defense out. Would the fans who are down on D’Antoni credit him for that? Conversely, if stars stay put, is it fair to blame D’Antoni as the main cause?  Are either fair? Interested to hear your thoughts…

…And by the way, since I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it. I give Hahn a hard time about the Newsday paywall, but if you needed any incentive to pay besides The Fix, have someone cut/paste his latest post “There are no Meaningless Games.”

Via SI-

“…And yet, D’Antoni has received an inordinate number of hits this season, his reputation in the process of being sullied because of too many meaningless losses in a year that will be best remembered for untangling the ugly web spun by Isiah Thomas.

“New York is New York, first of all. That explains a lot right there,” D’Antoni said of the criticism. “They expect certain things. When you come out and you are all hyped up and the season starts, and I am trying to paint a glowing picture, and we don’t meet what we set our goals to be, then there is going to be a natural criticism.

“When it gets down to little stuff, then it gets into banter. I don’t follow it that much. We have a plan where we want to develop our young guys and open cap space, and we’ve done that. When I signed on with Donnie [Walsh, the Knicks' president], I think we are in lockstep with where we thought we’d be…”

D’Antoni also said he didn’t apologize for setting the standards too high. He truly felt that this could be a playoff team.

“…“I don’t think there is a line [between raising expectations and lowering expectations]. I think you are always going to set them up above. That is who I am. Because I truly believe we are better than every team in the league and are going to win every game. I’m not saying that is smart, but that is my personality. And that is just the way it is. If you talk to these guys in [this locker room], they will tell you that I think we are going to win eight straight and still make the playoffs. That is probably not realistic…”

What isn’t realistic is the idea of being positive in the midst of really terrible basketball. I think you can choose to look at D’Antoni is a few ways. He has held players accountable but hasn’t held everyone accountable for a lack of defense and effort, especially Al Harrington and David Lee. But, come on, is he really supposed to SIT Lee? Lee has to play 35 plus minutes. And he’s moved Harrington to the bench. I definitely agree Duhon played too long.

To me, it’s pretty simple. Leadership can’t just come from the coach. There needs to be an extension of him on the floor and in the locker who demands respect. Every winning situation has that. Kevin Garnett comes to Boston and takes over the locker room and supports Doc Rivers. Chauncey Billups and Larry Brown where on the same page in Detroit.  Tim Duncan and Pop…and obviously you know the others.

No exceptions. The team obviously doesn’t have that…

Via Daily News

“…According to a Knicks source, Walsh has identified Mullin, the New York basketball legend, as the person to eventually join the Knicks’ front office, most likely as the general manager. The holdup is that the team doesn’t have an opening and/or a budget to add another executive.

Moreover, Walsh is happy with Glen Grunwald, the senior VP of basketball operations, as well as the executives under Grunwald, including Misho Ostarcevic, John Gabriel and Jamie Matthews. The team source says that Walsh would like to groom Mullin as his successor, which makes sense since Mullin has a track record of running a team, most recently as GM of the Golden State Warriors – whom he left last May when it was announced his contract would not be renewed…”

Via NY Post

“…McGrady still carries himself like a superstar and talks like a superstar, telling The Post Wednesday he will be a “great player” again. By contrast, McGrady also has said he would love to remain a Knick if they sign two max guys and be a role player. “It takes a while to get back. I agree with them, and I don’t have it now,” McGrady said, referring to the skeptics. “That’s why it’s a great sign for me to know I will be back to being explosive, to being the type of player I was. I came back quicker than a lot of people expected. It’s a great sign to where I was, to where I am now, to how my body feels and knee feels…”

As far as Mullin is concerned- it’s a good hire. Early in his career Mullin was part of some silly decisions such as Mike Dunleavy‘s contract extension in 2006, but he did draft Monta Ellis and Anthony Randolph. The Warriors, behind Baron Davis, another Mullin move, had the Bay rocking in the playoffs back in 2007. Mullin is a NY guy and a legend to many a Garden faithful. Make no mistake, Mullin-Ewing/St.John’s-Georgetown was every bit Magic-Bird/Lakers-Celtics around these parts in the 80s.

As far as T-Mac, the guy has shown flashes, but isn’t playing at a high level. He was and still is worth a look. I can’t believe that the book has been closed on him just yet.

My whole thing with McGrady is that he’d be a really good, cheap, option potentially, but I don’t want a rotation player who can’t play 82 games. Seems to me, McGrady has a long hill to climb before he re-establishes himself as a full-season player.

As opposed to “a dope.”

Someone being “dope” it means that they are cool or have cool-like qualities for those not familiar with 90s slang.

Via Daily News

“…”Love’em,” Boozer, wearing a Yankees cap, said of the Knicks. “D’Antoni is dope. Having spent time with him at the Olympics … his offensive mind-set is unbelievable. He’s got the best plays I’ve ever been around. On a whim. It’s like rappers. They come off the top of their domes with (lyrics). He has plays in the back of his head he just comes up with at that moment.

“D’Antoni’s a great coach. I know they have an incredible organization. They’ve got a lot of talent.”

That may be overstating a bit. The Knicks were eliminated from playoff contention before they even took the court last night when the Raptors won. They then came out and gave up 44 first-quarter points, including 14 to Deron Williams…”

Boozer is an intriguing player. Someone whom I also consider a second tier player. For some reason he always looks like he’s 6’7, but plays much bigger.