# Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over (Update: Kerr Denies Report)



## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

link



> SAN ANTONIO -- Mike D'Antoni, the NBA's Coach of the Year for the 2004-05 season and the man credited with re-invigorating fast-break basketball in a league gone stale, will not be back to coach the Phoenix Suns for the 2008-09 season, SI.com has learned.
> 
> D'Antoni deferred questions about his job status after the Suns were eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series on Wednesday night at the AT&T Center in Alamo City. "I'm just really proud of my guys," D'Antoni said after the Spurs' 92-87 win that marked the third time in four years that San Antonio has ended the Suns' season. He did not address his own situation. But sources within the organization confirm that D'Antoni feels he does not have the backing of upper management--specifically owner Robert Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr -- and considers the situation irredeemable.
> 
> ...


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## Ruff Draft (Nov 21, 2004)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

Good for you guys.


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## DANNY (Aug 9, 2005)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

as much as i hate dantoni and his whiny ways, i think he's a terrific coach who's likely be the scapegoat for phoenix's inability to advance past the spurs

chicago sounds like a great destination for him as that team got some young guys that can run and gun 

the big question out of all this is probably "who will be the coach for the suns?" do you bring in a defensive minded coach and rely on steve nash to lead the offense pack? or do you simply bring a respectable coach like fratello or collins and hope that they can straighten this team out mentally not so much physically.


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

JVG :biggrin:


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

Great move by Phoenix if it's true.


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## DANNY (Aug 9, 2005)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*



DaRizzle said:


> JVG :biggrin:


man that would be awesome

beating the suns would be like killing two birds with one stone hahahahahha


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## B-Roy (Feb 12, 2008)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

Can't say he didn't have it coming....


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## Jammin (Jul 3, 2005)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

Since Avery is fired, I want him to be the Suns coach. He turned a all offense team into a solid O and D team with very few changes.


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## AZsportsDude (Feb 8, 2008)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

hire avery...


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## Aylwin (Jan 29, 2007)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*



> ...devote more practice time to defense; have more confidence in his bench players, i.e., go to an expanded rotation; develop a clearer plan for a point guard to back up Steve Nash; get more planned touches out of Amare' Stoudemire in post-up situations.


D'Antoni or no D'Antoni, I agree with Kerr. But most likely this means no D'Antoni. 

For all my complaining about D'Antoni, I still think he's a great coach. But he could be better if he'd learn to be more flexible and adapt more to different situations. That's my main gripe about him. He's too stubborn. So if he's not willing to change, then it's best if he leaves.

I think Avery may be a good choice. He's a tough little *******. I'm sure he'll be able knock some sense into Diaw and we'll get to see the MIP again. I'm not sure he'd get along with Shaq though.


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## Kekai (Jan 12, 2005)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

I like D'Antoni, I don't think there is anybody out there who would do better than him. I rag on him a lot, but it suck to see him go, but with the way things have gone the past 4 years, of course its time for some new blood in Phoenix.


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## knicksfan89 (Jan 6, 2005)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

as a lakers fan I say the suns underachieved this year and it is better he quits now before he is pushed, I think he will take over in chicago or new york now


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## nffl (Jun 25, 2006)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

Avery!


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

I'm not sure why you want to replace D'Antoni with Avery, he isn't a better coach and he won't improve the team. I wrote this two days ago about him:



croco said:


> In his full first season the Suns won 62 games, the year before they had like 36 wins. They signed Nash before that season, but it was still a remarkable turnaround. Phoenix went to the WCF, but their weaknesses were exposed by the Spurs and they lost in 5, they also had no bench at that time.
> 
> The year after Amare signs a contract extension and shredders his knee, the Suns still somehow win 50+ games and go the WCF again. You lose your second best, if not best player and keep your team focussed enough to accomplish the same feat again, isn't that a sign of good coaching ?
> 
> ...


The truth is that there aren't better coaches available, Popovich and Jackson would never leave and after those two I'm not sure if there is anyone who can definitely be considered better than D'Antoni.


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## RX (May 24, 2006)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

D'Antoni is a terrible coach...his "coaching" style involves:

1. Playing his starters 40 mpg
2. Undeveloping his rookies and bench
3. Letting Steve Nash freelance and run the pick n roll
4. Calling ISO's for Barbosa and Diaw when Nash is resting

He is going to get exposed as a bad coach if he goes somewhere else


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## TM (Jun 30, 2003)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

It won't matter who they bring in. They're best chance to win was last year. For all the obvious faults he had (as listed by RX), he did do some good things for the Suns. I hope you understand that the enjoyable part of Suns basketball won't ever be there again. As lame is it is - the sun has set in Phoenix.


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## bircan (Jul 17, 2005)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

At least Kerr has identified our coaching weaknesses as much of an offensive genius D'antoni may be. I don't immediately see any perfect defensive minded coach that we can bring in - but a change in coaching is needed if we are to bounce back and reinvigorate this team.


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## Aylwin (Jan 29, 2007)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

I don't know if we necessarily need a defensive minded coach. I'd probably prefer a coach who is more offense minded than defensive. I like our offense so I wouldn't want to change it too much. I would, however, want a coach who understands the importance of defense and of having a good defensive strategy. I believe defense has a lot to do with discipline and it's the coach's responsibility to enforce that to the players.


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## Tiz (May 9, 2005)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

Would hate to see him go. but at this point he is probably the easiest part of the team to "move".

Yes there were some coaching mistakes in this series (but also some sloppy play from the players). nash himself pointed out a few of the issues in his post game interviews and highlighted the inability to adjust defense against parker in game 3 and running the offense through Boris in game 5.

The one biggest pure coaching mistake that I can instantly recall was the decision not to foul at the end of regulation, and again at the end of the 1st overtime in Game 1. Had Finely been fouled and sent to the line, there is no chance for 3pt shot to tie the game. And then we would have never had to go to the OT. Same thing with the clock winding down in OT, foul Duncan and no chance for the miracle 3 that he threw up.

How is this for a suggested replacement...

Charles Barkley

Let him put his money where his mouth is about this team.

In all seriousness though I do like the idea of Avery coming in.


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## Tiz (May 9, 2005)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

Another article, speaking to the same things from JA Adande:



> Phoenix Frustration: D'Antoni, Suns Fade Out Again
> By J.A. Adande
> ESPN.com
> 
> ...


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

*Kerr refutes report saying D'Antoni, Suns might part ways*



> Despite averaging 58 regular-season wins the past four seasons, Mike D'Antoni might be out as Phoenix Suns coach.
> 
> An SI.com report on Tuesday night said the coach will not return after his team was eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in five games in their best-of-7 first-round playoff series. D'Antoni has two years and $8.5 million left on his contract.
> 
> ...


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## Seuss (Aug 19, 2005)

*Re: Jack McCallum: D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix over*

I'm mixed........I don't like D'Antoni, but who could replace him?


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## Tiz (May 9, 2005)

And now ESPN is reporting that it is official that Avery is out of Dallas.


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## sasaint (Jun 28, 2005)

Avery is defense-minded. Avery beat San Antonio in the playoffs in '06. Avery and Kerr are old teammates on a championship team in San Antonio. I'd bet that Phoenix's next coach is identified.


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## Seuss (Aug 19, 2005)

Avery doesn't understand a good, motion offense. Which is exactly what the Suns need to have. Although, Avery wouldn't be a bad replacement. He is way better at using post players then Idiotoni.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Seuss said:


> Avery doesn't understand a good, motion offense. Which is exactly what the Suns need to have. Although, Avery wouldn't be a bad replacement. He is way better at using post players then Idiotoni.


We have no post players :whoknows:


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## Seuss (Aug 19, 2005)

croco said:


> We have no post players :whoknows:



Dirk gets more post plays ran for him then Amare. That's not even exaggerating....


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## Kekai (Jan 12, 2005)

If there is anybody I don't like its Kerr. Get rid of his ***.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Seuss said:


> Dirk gets more post plays ran for him then Amare. That's not even exaggerating....


At least he isn't posting up Amare 20 feet away from the basket.


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## Seuss (Aug 19, 2005)

croco said:


> At least he isn't posting up Amare 20 feet away from the basket.



lol True


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## Kekai (Jan 12, 2005)

I don't mean to bring the Mavs into this, but I think they need to get rid of Josh Howard. To me, he doesn't fit well with Dirk. Avery Johnson did seem like a good coach when he first started though. Wasn't he the quickest coach ever to a certain amount of wins and everybody was praising him?? I wouldn't mind him I guess.


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## Tiz (May 9, 2005)

I'm still going with Sir Charles.


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## Seuss (Aug 19, 2005)

Tiz said:


> I'm still going with Sir Charles.



That would at least be comical. 

Are you saying bring Charles to coach this current team?


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## Sunsfan81 (Apr 17, 2006)

Hopefully it's true. He's a good guy and hopefully he does well somewhere else but it's time for a change. I don't know who would be the next coach. I wouldn't be too thrilled with guys like Van Gundy, Rick Carlisle, or Avery Johnson, although the defense would certainly improve.

Regardless, without some major roster changes which will be very difficult to make, the window has probably closed on this group of players. Too many good teams in the West. The Spurs will still be excellent. The Lakers, Hornets, and Jazz might all be even better next season. The Rockets should be very good if Yao stays healthy. The Mavericks, Nuggets, and Warriors will still be solid, and the Blazers will greatly improve with Oden.


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## Tiz (May 9, 2005)

Seuss said:


> That would at least be comical.
> 
> Are you saying bring Charles to coach this current team?


Mainly for entertainment purposes.

But hey the guy is part of the ownership group, although I think like Kerr at a very small percentage.

Plus he is always so rough on the team and Amare in particular. Like to see what one of the "50-greatest" and shortest player ever to win rebounding title could do for Amare defensive growth.

At the least bring him in as an assistant since I would assume that if Mike D' goes, Dan D' will be leaving with him.


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## nffl (Jun 25, 2006)

Avery!

I truly believe that if Avery came to Phoenix then Diaw would become an allstar. Avery would toughen him up.



Seuss said:


> Avery doesn't understand a good, motion offense. Which is exactly what the Suns need to have.


Avery understands how Nash plays, he would not bring the same system from Dallas. Remember, Avery played behind Nash in Dallas for a little over a year. It's hard to have a good, motion offense with Dirk. Give it to him 18 ft out, post up and turn around fade away. That was their system. Avery could easily learn Nash and Amare's pick and roll, which I thought was lacking in the SA series. It used to set up 90% of our offense. Under Avery, we'd do probably 60% pick-and-rolls with Amare/Diaw and Nash (because remember that also sets up 3 point shooters so its not strictly to set up Amare/Diaw and Nash's game) and the rest would be post iso's and Barbosa iso's.


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## Hyperion (Dec 5, 2006)

nffl said:


> Avery!
> 
> I truly believe that if Avery came to Phoenix then Diaw would become an allstar. Avery would toughen him up.
> 
> ...


Avery doesn't like Nash. Avery is a terrible offensive coach. Avery is a mediocre defensive coach.


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## nffl (Jun 25, 2006)

IceMan23and3 said:


> Avery doesn't like Nash. Avery is a terrible offensive coach. Avery is a mediocre defensive coach.


I don't believe any of those statements. Avery took a talented team to the finals a couple years ago. Then you give Avery a decent roster and expect him to beat a very good Hornets team?

The Mavs became a predictable halfcourt iso team against NO because that is what they are best at. He would not develop a halfcourt iso offense if the coach of the Suns.

Offensively, Avery had Dirk, J-Ho, J-Kidd, Jet Terry, Jerry Stackhouse, and Brandon Bass (talk about throwing a bunch of players that don't flow together. J-Ho and Dirk just don't mesh). A few years ago, that would've been a great team, getting them to the Finals. In this stacked West it just doesn't cut it. Give him Nash, Amare, Diaw, Bell, Barbosa, Shaq, Hill, etc. and that is alot more talent.

You argue for D'Antoni, saying that he can't play defense for the Suns and is too busy yelling at them for rebounding, etc. But thats the thing, if that statement was true, then you could use that excuse for every coach of a struggling team. "It's not Isiah's fault the Knicks sucked... he couldn't play for them." I know Isiah is different because that situation there was just awful. But the principle is the same. 

But the point is that if you can't get your team to live up to its potential, then you are out. D'Antoni had 4 years to just make the Finals with arguably the most talented roster in the NBA (and a trio of Nash/Amare/Marion and other guys like Diaw and Joe Johnson). If you don't get the team where it should be, then you are out. Simple as that. I love Mike D but tough ****.


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## Hyperion (Dec 5, 2006)

nffl said:


> I don't believe any of those statements. Avery took a talented team to the finals a couple years ago. Then you give Avery a decent roster and expect him to beat a very good Hornets team?
> 
> The Mavs became a predictable halfcourt iso team against NO because that is what they are best at. He would not develop a halfcourt iso offense if the coach of the Suns.


So how was Dallas different from the one that got bounced in the first round twice from the one that went to the finals? They weren't. The team just got worse and worse as they went away from Nellie's offense, it got more and more stagnant until they just collapsed like a soufle. The offense wasn't the only problem, they played mediocre defense at best while he coached. 


> Offensively, Avery had Dirk, J-Ho, J-Kidd, Jet Terry, Jerry Stackhouse, and Brandon Bass (talk about throwing a bunch of players that don't flow together. J-Ho and Dirk just don't mesh). A few years ago, that would've been a great team, getting them to the Finals. In this stacked West it just doesn't cut it. Give him Nash, Amare, Diaw, Bell, Barbosa, Shaq, Hill, etc. and that is alot more talent.


he didn't have any quality system in place as Dallas was last in the league in assists year after year. 



> You argue for D'Antoni, saying that he can't play defense for the Suns and is too busy yelling at them for rebounding, etc. But thats the thing, if that statement was true, then you could use that excuse for every coach of a struggling team. "It's not Isiah's fault the Knicks sucked... he couldn't play for them." I know Isiah is different because that situation there was just awful. But the principle is the same.
> 
> But the point is that if you can't get your team to live up to its potential, then you are out. D'Antoni had 4 years to just make the Finals with arguably the most talented roster in the NBA (and a trio of Nash/Amare/Marion and other guys like Diaw and Joe Johnson). If you don't get the team where it should be, then you are out. Simple as that. I love Mike D but tough ****.


Isiah is a mediocre coach with a bad roster. He made the roster so whatever happens is his doing. I think you can argue that Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili are better than Nash/Amare/Marion. Not to mention key injuries and suspensions changed their future in every post season. Would they have beaten Dallas with a healthy Amare, KT, and or Bell? Probably. Could they have forced a game 7 at home against SA last year had it not been for the suspensions? probably. Would they have had their asses kicked as bad this year with a healthy Hill? probably not. 

You can blame the coach for bad usage of timeouts or substitutions. You can blame him for not having an offensive or defensive system. But you can't blame him for losing to the eventual NBA champs or his players missing open shots, or making stupid passes, or missing fts, or forgetting defensive assignments. He did his job by preparing them but many of the mistakes made on defense are fundamental errors (Amare) or lack of hustle (every long rebound). Many of the mistakes on offense are because the player tries to be Jordan on the court and take the defense 1 on 5 or misses an open shot or makes a bad pass. The fact of the matter is that the players stunk it up in this series. You can't blame a blowout on anything other than lack of hustle. That's it plain and simple. Games 2 and 3 were a total lack of energy and enthusiasm. They deserved to be booed. 

As for him not developing his bench..... HE HASN'T HAD A BENCH TO DEVELOP!!! You can't develop a 33 year old who can't play defense, dribble or make plays. You can't develop anyone unless they can be developed! That means that they have to have raw potential (Barbosa?) However, the Suns haven't drafted anyone to be developed for the past 4 years other than Barbosa, Strawberry, and Tucker. So who has he not developed? 30 year old Pat Burke? 30 year old Sean Marks? 38 year old Piatkowski? 32 year old Skinner? 

So if you're going to blame anyone, blame Management for screwing up for 4 years in a row for not drafting new talent but rather thinking that they could take another team's scraps and turn it into gold.


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## nffl (Jun 25, 2006)

IceMan23and3 said:


> *You can blame the coach for bad usage of timeouts or substitutions. You can blame him for not having an offensive or defensive system. But you can't blame him for losing to the eventual NBA champs or his players missing open shots, or making stupid passes, or missing fts, or forgetting defensive assignments. He did his job by preparing them but many of the mistakes made on defense are fundamental errors (Amare) or lack of hustle (every long rebound).* Many of the mistakes on offense are because the player tries to be Jordan on the court and take the defense 1 on 5 or misses an open shot or makes a bad pass. The fact of the matter is that the players stunk it up in this series. You can't blame a blowout on anything other than lack of hustle. That's it plain and simple. Games 2 and 3 were a total lack of energy and enthusiasm. They deserved to be booed.


I have been on Mike D's side of this every year but when the team doesn't live up to its potential after 4 years, it is hard to argue for him. I love the guy, but he just didn't get it done. You said he did his job preparing them, but doesn't that also mean mentally preparing them? Something seems to happen to us every year. On a year to year case, it does not look like D'Antoni's fault. But once all four years are combined, it is obvious that his team was not mentally ready. Sure Joe Johnson was hurt in 04, Nash had to pull out of game 1 last yr vs the Spurs, and then the Amare/Diaw suspensions latter in the series reduced our chances significantly at winning a title... _But a championship team would have withered each storm._ All championship teams are mentally tough, we just did not fit that mix.



IceMan23and3 said:


> So if you're going to blame anyone, blame Management for screwing up for 4 years in a row for not drafting new talent but rather thinking that they could take another team's scraps and turn it into gold.


I blame the coach as well as the management. I know he just wanted to save money because that is what any owner of a NBA franchise would do, but if he had just gone over it a little bit we could've made a Championship. Loul Deng, or Igoudola is my main focus, and then Rondo.


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

You don't have the personnel to field a great defensive team. Another words, your best bet is to outscore everybody. If you bring in a halfcourt coach, Nash's game regresses to the level he was at in Dallas. Very good, but hardly all-NBA caliber. Amare and Shaq begin to get in each others way and O'Neal does what he always does. Rips his teammates and throws everybody else under the bus for his own shortcomings. Changing coaches would be making the same mistake as the Shaq trade. You can't expect to make drastic changes and assume that you're improving a weak point while magically maintaining your previous identity. It just doesn't work that way. Part of why you are able to outscore everybody is because you dont play defense. Other teams are baited into taking jumpshots early in the shotclock and off to the races you go with the fastbreak. Move to a halfcourt style and it takes your three point shooters out of rhythm, meaning a nice drop in their shooting percentages. I think you have already witnessed a small dose of this. Fire D'Antoni and you may as well blow up the entire team, save Amare. With your personnel, there is no better fit than the pringles man.


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## bircan (Jul 17, 2005)

Bartholomew Hunt said:


> You don't have the personnel to field a great defensive team. Another words, your best bet is to outscore everybody. If you bring in a halfcourt coach, Nash's game regresses to the level he was at in Dallas. Very good, but hardly all-NBA caliber. Amare and Shaq begin to get in each others way and O'Neal does what he always does. Rips his teammates and throws everybody else under the bus for his own shortcomings. Changing coaches would be making the same mistake as the Shaq trade. You can't expect to make drastic changes and assume that you're improving a weak point while magically maintaining your previous identity. It just doesn't work that way. Part of why you are able to outscore everybody is because you dont play defense. Other teams are baited into taking jumpshots early in the shotclock and off to the races you go with the fastbreak. Move to a halfcourt style and it takes your three point shooters out of rhythm, meaning a nice drop in their shooting percentages. I think you have already witnessed a small dose of this. Fire D'Antoni and you may as well blow up the entire team, save Amare. With your personnel, there is no better fit than the pringles man.


You make a great point! It will be very challenging for this team to find within them what they could not the previous years. However we have seen that outscoring teams does not ultimately work. Our defense will not instantly or ever become Celtics-like, even with a new coach, but I hope that we field much more heart and willpower - new coach or not.


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