Not to be an insufferable shit, but I felt like this need to be re-posted since I predicted this two months ago, before the temporary distraction caused by Linsanity. Rest assured, even when given a miracle like Lin, the Knicks still found a way to render it meaningless. By making D’ Antoni the fall guy for Carmelo Anthony’s selfishness and refusal to adapt to a system that had resulted in a massive winning streak during his absence, the Knicks not only jettisoned one of the brightest offensive minds in the game, they installed Mike Woodson as the interim coach, which means Lin’s strengths are sure to be wasted in an offensE that features a whole lot of isolations and even more standing around. Worked well in the 80’s, not so much in the last 20 or so years.
Hey, if you are looking forward to Carmelo and Amar’e dominating the ball while Lin stands in the corner, raise your hand!
The next dangling carrot for them will be the prospect of hiring Phil jackson to straighten this mess out. Considering he’s 67 and was barely physically strong enough to finish his last season in LA, I wouldn’t hold my breath. And honestly, Phil specializes in taking talented teams on the brink of stardom to the mountain top, and the Knicks ain’t that.
Anyway, I don’t want to talk about these bums anymore than I already have. Whole thing is givin’ me a headache.
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(originally posted on 1/7/2012)
GET READY FOR THE SCAPEGOATING OF MIKE D’ ANTONI
Watching the Knicks get pounded by the Washington Wizards tonight (yeah they came back to win. Totally beside the point) and I just couldn’t help but ask myself a few questions:
Did Mike D’Antoni put together this ridiculously top-heavy roster?
Of course not.
Would D’Antoni ever want a notorious ball-stopper as Carmelo Anthony as part of his famed “7 seconds or less” offense piliosophy that worked so well in Phoenix?
Hell no.
Is he gonna be the one to take the bullet for the Knicks horrible start, even though the front office (well, Jimmy Dolan in particualr) is responsible for gutting the team in the Anthony trade?
You betcha.
Hey, it sucks. D’Antoni took the Knicks job despite overtures from the Bulls, and it’s a safe bet that if he knew the Bulls were gonna hit the Derek Rose lottery he’d probably be in the windy city. Let’s be clear here, though: D’Antoni is a “system” coach, meaning he only believes in doing things his way. He wants his teams to run and shoot, usually as much as possible. He could care less about defense or depth. Give him seven good players who want to get up & down and he’s good to go. Give him two guys who like the ball in their hands and are fond of holding it for long periods of time, and well, it might not work out.
Even worse, try handing the guy a third star like Tyson Chandler, a supposed defensive stopper who has almost no offensive game. Then saddle him with a dozen or so marginal pro players. A Big ol’ collection of has-beens, never-will-be’s and end-of-the-bench types. Guys like Steve Novak, Jeremy Lin, and Jerome Jordan. Then, ask guys to do more than they are capable of. Ask Toney Douglas, Iman Shumpert and Mike Bibby to handle the point guard spot (and do be surprised when they shoot 34% as group in the first 6 games) for an NBA team.
You know what happens next? Mediocre happens. Embarrassment happens. And yes, getting fired likely happens. If this doesn’t turn around in a hurry, he’ll be out of there.
Just know it wasn’t his fault, and D’Antoni will land in a better situation in almost no time. He deserves better than this tomfoolery.
-John Hathwell
thesonofsambowie.wordpress.com 