I think D'Antoni is likely to center the Lakers' offense around Nash and Howard running the pick and roll, relegating Kobe and Pau to complementary pieces. The lack of shooters is a problem, but Nash and Howard can run a pretty effective game themselves. How Kobe reacts to that, if I'm right, should be interesting.
Yeah, here's the thing - Nate's idea of defense was to hold the ball on offense and limit that other team's possessions. This strategy does not work with the D'Antoni offense.
He wanted 18mil to coach a loaded roster in Hollywood. Imagine how much more he would have wanted to coach this team with 10+ scrubs in podunk Portland. Not worth it.
That's why he didn't want to coach here. He wanted to have some meaningless job in the front office where he could collect a fatty paycheck and do nothing.
Conflicting reports. I read one that said PJ wasn't even asking for as much as he was paid before (because coach salaries have gone down), and that he wouldn't travel any less than he did before. What he wanted was a piece of the team. THAT'S why the Busses said no. Buss lucked into the Lakers back when they were cheap and now the family regards the team as an heirloom. They're not giving him any. So they refused, despite Jackson being obviously the best candidate. You can bet the Busses will also try to trash Jackson in the media now.
Ditto. There were too many reasons why it didn't make sense from his perspective. Old roster with no bench and no training camp to teach the system that only two holdover players know. (Does Tex Winter retire every time Phil does and wait for the call?) Phil's reputation hinges on making winners out of good players. Give him a starting lineup spilling over with stars, and if can't get them to come together in what's sure to be a very short window, it could really tarnish his image. Too much risk.
It would be an interesting collision of coaching styles - D'Antoni's 7 Seconds or Less vs. Nate's 21 Seconds or More. BNM
That’s a good stat. Fans mostly pay attention to total PPG allowed and assume it’s a complete reflection of a teams defense. Nate’s teams have always played with a very low pace. A few of those Phoenix teams were far above average defensively, Marion might have been one of the or the best wing defender in the game. But because those teams played so fast their PPG allowed were high so fans and the media incorrectly assumed they played crappy defense.
...two of the three largest cities no less -- I would love to see Phil take on a real challenge somewhere to be able to prove his "greatest coach ever" title!
