Following a slow start to the 2012-2013 season, the Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Mike Brown a few days ago and yesterday announced that they would be hiring Mike D'Antoni as their new head coach. The news of this hire came as a huge surprise to many people with any knowledge of the NBA, and that would include myself.
After signing an aging Steve Nash and trading for Dwight Howard, it was obvious before the season even began that the Lakers were going all-in this year. Kobe Bryant is 34 years old, and that may not seem too old, but he is actually entering his 17th season in the NBA because he came into the league straight out of high school. Steve Nash is nearing 40 years of age. Metta World Peace, a.k.a. Ron Artest, seems like he is aging very quickly. Pau Gasol is still a premier frontcourt player, but trade rumors have surrounded him for a while now. Dwight Howard is only under contract for the rest of this season, and with the way he has handled his contract situation, there is no telling where he might end up playing next season.
On paper, that is one of the best starting lineups in the NBA. It features multiple MVP's, multiple defensive players of the year, and multiple former NBA champions. However, as we all know, games are not won on paper, and despite the history of those five players, there are some kind of flaws associated with each of them. It's because of those flaws (whether they are on-court flaws or off-court flaws) that it seems like the Lakers have only one chance to win another NBA title, and that chance is this season. For all we know, one year from now, Kobe Bryant may be another year older with even more mileage on a body that has produced a certain Hall of Famer, but also taken a whole lot of punishment during its NBA career. Steve Nash may have succumbed to injuries that will never allow him to come close to his former NBA caliber play (he has already missed multiple games this year and the season isn't even 10 games old). Ron Artest may be relegated to bench duties because of an all-around game that is steadily declining. And as far as Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard go...well, they may not even be on the Lakers roster in 2013.
All of this plays a role in why I think the hiring of Mike D'Antoni was a terrible move by the Lakers organization. When an NBA fan hears the name Mike D'Antoni, the first thing they think of is probably a whole lot of offense. Throughout his head coaching career, his teams have been very proficient offensively. Whether it was the Phoenix Suns or the New York Knicks, D'Antoni's teams have been able to score plenty of points thanks to his up-tempo style of play. He was able to help Nash become a two-time league MVP. He turned Amare Stoudemire into a superstar, and he then re-invigorated a New York Knicks franchise that had been down in the dumps for a while by bringing Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony to Madison Square Garden. Despite all of these positives, it seems like D'Antoni actually mirrors the current Lakers roster. There is a history of success, but there are also a lot of red flags.
Basically, what I am getting at, is that despite his success, Mike D'Antoni is probably most well-known (at least in my eyes) as a coach that feels like defense is not something that matters in the NBA. D'Antoni's regular season success in Phoenix translated into postseason success, but it never translated into postseason and historical relevance. When Steve Nash was in his prime and guys like Amare Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, and Shawn Marion were providing Nash with an elite supporting cast, D'Antoni was still unable to get the Suns past the Western Conference Finals. In fact, when D'Antoni and his did Suns made it that far, they actually lost to the Lakers. Mike Brown, the villain in this L.A. drama actually did lead a team to the NBA Finals once (granted, it was in a much weaker Eastern Conference, but his team still got there). D'Antoni has never been to the Finals.
Before this season began, it was painfully obvious that the Lakers were going for the knockout punch in 2012. It was NBA Finals or bust. However, the hiring of Mike D'Antoni as head coach and the passing over of Phil Jackson makes no sense in my mind. The most underrated characteristic of Jackson's championship teams was their defense. Michael Jordan is the best player in the history of the sport of basketball in the eyes of most people, and he was a great defensive player. Kobe Bryant can play a whole lot of defense as well, and he was the star of more than one of Jackson's 11 championship teams. Scottie Pippen is one of the most underrated players (possibly THE most underrated player in NBA history), and he played great defense. Ron Artest won multiple defensive MVP awards with Phil Jackson as his coach.
Mike D'Antoni has never coached a defensive player of the year. He has never coached anyone that has come close to winning the defensive player of the year. As much as David Stern, Roger Goodell, Bud Selig, and Gary Bettman would hate to admit, it is still defense (and in the case of baseball, pitching as well) that wins championships. Phil Jackson's 11 rings and Mike D'Antoni's zero rings are a testament to that. D'Antoni will guarantee regular season success for the Lakers. He will probably even guarantee some postseason success. However, 20 years from now, the 2012-2013 Los Angeles Lakers will be irrelevant. D'Antoni will stress a whole lot of offense and no defense, and because of that, there will be no championship parades in Laker land in 2013. If I'm wrong, then you have the proof right here that I don't know what I'm talking about. If I'm right though, Phil Jackson and myself can point to November 12, 2012 as a day that we said "I told you so."
Daily Giants Update: There has never been a team that has needed a bye week more than the 2012 New York Giants. After multiple poor performances, we still head into the bye week at 6-4, and atop the NFC East. The Eagles seem to be in the midst of a train wreck right now, and the Cowboys are still relevant (although we all know what happens when the Cowboys are under pressure to win games). Usually, I hate bye weeks because I miss watching the Giants, but I have never looked forward to a bye week more than I am looking forward to next Sunday. Get healthy, clear our heads, and get back to winning football 13 days from now against the Packers.
Daily Nets Update: 3-2 so far to start the year, with a game tomorrow night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. With 77 games left to play, there is still an eternity remaining, but two games above .500 obviously sounds a whole lot better than 3-3.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Mike Trout unanimously won the American League Rookie of the Year award in what was possibly the most obvious award decision in the history of baseball. The National League Rookie of the Year award is up next, and although I feel like Wade Miley should win, it seems to me like Bryce Harper is going to win. No one outside of Arizona cares about the Diamondbacks, and no casual fan has probably even heard of Wade Miley. In case you were wondering, he won 16 games in 2012. If he wins the award, I will be shocked. I hope he does, but I'm not getting my hopes too high.
No comments:
Post a Comment