Can D'Antoni Phil the Void in LA?

NBC 2 videographer AJ Schub takes a look at the coaching madness for the Lakers and asks if Mike D'Antoni was the right choice. 

The world of basketball was relatively stunned Friday morning when the  Los Angeles Lakers announced the firing of head coach Mike Brown just five games into his second season with the club.  Brown came under intense scrutiny when his team, headlined by four all-stars and three potential hall of famers, started off 1-4; The worst start in 20 years for the L.A. Lakers.

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Almost immediately after the firing of Brown attention turned to the former Lakers head coach, and winner of 11 titles, Phil Jackson.  Both fans and media anointed Jackson as the leading candidate to take the job.  Jackson, however, was not the lone candidate vying for the prestigious title of "Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach".

In surprising fashion, team owner Jerry Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchick announced  Monday morning that Mike D'Antoni would be the next head coach.  D'Antoni did not come out of nowhere to snag the job. His name came up with  Jackson's from day one, but rumors swirled saying it was Phil's gig to lose.

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Jackson, was "stunned" when he found out he did not get the job.  Supposedly he had plans to be in LA on Monday to finalize the contract. So why D'Antoni over Jackson?  Phil seemed like the obvious choice, but was he the best?

The roster of the '12-'13 team is similar but not exactly like the roster from '10-'11, the year that Jackson last coached. Kobe, Pau Gasol, and even Metta World Peace still remain, but the additions of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard into the starting line up may have complicated a transition to Phil's iconic triangle offense. Supposedly the team was worried how well Nash and Howard would fit in the triangle, and noted that the team took too long to learn Mike Brown's Princeton Offense.                         

I would argue that Phil Jackson is a basketball genius and there is more to him as a coach than just the triangle. Phil would make the necessary adjustments to make the team play cohesively. Jackson would also bring the locker room together and keep everyone on the same page, with the same goal; a championship.  Phil Jackson would not have attempted a return to the NBA without that lone goal in mind.  I believe that the championship-less Howard and Nash would respect and be willing to work with Jackson and his system if a championship was on the line.

Speaking of championships, as stated before, Phil has 11 of them. Twelve if you count the ring he won with the New York Knicks in 1973.  He has won the NBA title 11 times in 13 tries. He has been to the NBA finals 13 out of 20 years that he has been on the bench.  That means 65% of the time Jackson has been a head coach he has at least played for an NBA title.

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How about Mike D'Antoni? Zero NBA Titles, and zero conference titles. He has been an NBA head coach for eight full seasons, and parts of 10 seasons overall. D'Antoni has made the playoffs in five of those ten years.  Four of those five seasons he had Nash anchoring his back court and collecting MVPs. That, unfortunately, was half a decade ago and Nash is no longer the same player.

Coach D'Antoni was pushed out of a big market as Knicks head coach when he was unable to coach a team with Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and Amare Stoudemire to an above .500 record.  The talent level on the current Lakers team is far greater than that Knicks squad, but there are similarities.  Carmelo and Kobe are both superstars that command the ball. Chandler and Howard are both anchors

on the defensive side, and former Defensive Player of the Year winners. Dwight is light years ahead of Chandler on offense. Finally, Stoudemire and Gasol are both offensive minded power forwards who

lack defensive intensity.  Don't get me wrong, I would pick this year's Lakers over last year's Knicks any day, but the similarities are there. If D'Antoni couldn't get those Knicks to be winners why does the Lakers brass have so much confidence in him now?

Kobe made it clear to the Lakers higher-ups that he wanted Phil, but would not be upset if D'Antoni was hired.  Bryant grew up in Italy when D'Antoni was a superstar in the European basketball league and looked up to Mike as a youngster. He, along with Dwight Howard, played under Coach D'Antoni in the 2008 Olympics. Both players were fond of the then assistant coach in Beijing. Steve Nash is used to being the man in D'Antoni's system, but will now have to take a bit of a backseat to Kobe and the crew.

Nash was asked over the weekend by ESPN LA his thoughts on a possible reunion with his
long time Suns coach and said, "Obviously I think everyone knows how much I love Mike."
"If (D'Antoni) were to coach, it would be seamless and terrific for me, and I think the team as well."

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So we will now wait and see how this hiring works out for the Los Angeles Lakers in a season which seems to be categorized as "Championship or Bust". The deal is reportedly three years and $12 million, with a fourth year as a team option. Kobe has two years left on his deal, Nash has three, and Howard and Gasol are free agents after this year. I am guessing D'Antoni has a shorter window than three seasons to prove he is the right man to lead L.A.

Mayer: NBA First Look

Let's get this out of the way. The 2012/2013 NBA season will end with the Larry O'Brien trophy on a beach. Whether it basks in the sun on South Beach or in Malibu remains to be seen. The Heat and Lakers have put together mini all star teams.

Courtesy jbcstyle.com

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Arguments can be made that a number of squads will have a chance at winning the NBA Title this season and all have merit, but I can't see anyone making it over the LA/MIA mountain.

The Thunder would have been grouped with the two heavyweights if not for their recent trade of James Harden. Kevin Durant will play out of his mind and the negatives of Russel Westbrook are nowhere near the positives he brings to the court. Whatever your opinion of the deal, Oklahoma City is not as good this year without Harden. He may have struggled in the Finals, but the sixth man of the year was an integral piece to the Oklahoma City puzzle.

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The Boston Celtics have gone back to a Big 3 and are still extremely dangerous. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett still have some years and talent left and Rajan Rondo will officially be the best player and number one option in Boston. They bring in Jason Terry who will play a crucial role supplementing the loss of Ray Allen.






Tim Duncan comes back alongside Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker to give it another go round with the Spurs. If there's one lesson we have learned, never underestimate Greg Popovich and his core guys. However, they have shown us that something will need to change in order to reach the pinnacle despite regular season success.

Chicago also would have been high on the list of championship contenders, but the heart of the Bulls, Derrik Rose, won't be back into halfway through the season and who knows how long it will take for him to be back at full strength.

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The Indiana Pacers have one of the more interesting and complete teams in the league. They are deep and play a sound brand of basketball, but you need to be almost perfect to win in the NBA without a star player (if not three). Indiana has a couple of great players and a bunch of good players, but it's just not enough to go all the way.

The Los Angeles Clippers have really turned the franchise around. Blake Griffin is the centerpiece and I hope Chris Paul sticks around. The high flyers are immensely talented and should only be better after the acquisition of veterans Lamar Odom (who I expect to get back to form)  and Grant Hill. Once again, good team, but I can't honestly say they are close to good enough to get past the Lakers or Heat.

These are the only teams I can see posing a true threat to the MIA and LAL. .

Miami is coming off a championship and a year in which Lebron James finally seemed to get over the hatred that spawned from "The Decision". They come back a year older and wiser, not to mention finally understanding their uptempo form of basketball will work without a true center. The Heat play suffocating defense and push the ball in transition like no other squad due to their other worldly athleticism. Now they bring in Ray Allen, who spaces the floor for James and Wade and will have a field day running around the perimeter, while defenses are focused on guarding the middle against drives. Don't forget about Rashard Lewis, it was not so long ago he was considered one of the better complimentary players around and could find his groove again on a team where he has much less responsibility.

The Lakers went crazy this off season. They came out of nowhere to snag Steve Nash, something most Western Conference fans thought they would never ever see. Nash is exactly what Los Angeles needs out of a point guard. Nash may be old, but he still has some of the best vision and instincts in the game. Kobe will not have to worry about setting plays up as much and Nash will not have to worry about scoring which should help both of them. Then there is the whole Dwight Howard thing. How LA got Howard without giving up Pau Gasol is beyond me. The Lakers have supreme talent all over the place that allows each player to focus on what they do best.

Courtesy LA Lakers

 I hate to say it because surprisingly, despite being an LA native, I am no Lakers fan. In fact, I have a strong dislike for the team. I'll still go with LA to win the whole thing. A starting five of Nash, Kobe, Artest, Pau, and Howard is hard to fathom. The bench is strong as well, hello Antawn Jamison. I'll say Lakers over Heat in 6 games.