Posted by VDesai:
I have not had a chance chime on D'Antoni yet, but a couple of thoughts about him and the defense criticism
1) The Suns ranked 4th in the NBA in pace last year. What that means is that, on offense and defense, the Suns had the 4th most possessions in the league last year. When you regularly play at that heavy a pace, you're going to see more points scored on both ends than the rest of the league.
2) Even with the faster pace, the Suns ranked no.1 in the NBA in offensive efficiency, or points scored per 100 possessions. So they were the best team in the NBA in terms of scoring efficiency, not just one of the best teams in terms of volume scoring. By contrast, other fast paced scoring teams like Denver and Golden State averaged 3-4 pts below Phoenix in this mark.
3) The Suns ranked 16th in the league in defensive efficiency. So they were 16th in terms of points allowed per 100 possessions. By contrast the Knicks were 29th and gave up 5 more pts per 100. So the Suns were a full tier above the Knicks in defense. And further, the Suns ranked 9th in league in effective FG% allowed (effective FG=(FGM+3PM/2)/FGA)). The cause for the disparity was that the Suns were one of the bottom 5 teams in creating turnovers (ranked closely with the Knicks).
But I think my conclusion is that you can't say this was a coach or a team that was de-emphasizing defense if they could rank top 10 in eFG allowed. It was a team that wasn't great on defense- but considering some of the individual defenders in their lineup like Nash, Amare (a much improved defensive player in recent seasons, though not a stalwart) and Shaq (too slow) you're not gonna be outstanding. Nash in particular cannot defend quick PG's (as demonstrated again in the playoffs), but he makes such a big difference on the offensive end that you can't really play him less minutes for defense.
4) Mike D'Antoni is one of the select few coaches in the NBA that has really demonstrated a vision. He created a system, had the players to fit it, and was very successful because they were playing a way that nobody in the NBA was playing at the time. The ability to see the big picture and go against the grain is something that is extremely valuable in a coach.
That he'll coach the Knicks the same way that he coached the Suns is not a given. But if he does choose to, I am extremely confident that the Walsh and D'Antoni will find the players who can run this system effectively. The Knicks do have several players on the roster that can thrive in an uptempo game (the ones we like), and several players who cannot (namely Zach, Curry, Marbury or the ones we don't).
If the Knicks were to play a faster pace, they'd be on of a handful of teams in the Eastern Conference to do so, and going against the grain could give them the advantage they need to be a playoff team in this conference. Will it ultimately win them the championship? It might be harder to thrive like that in the West where the playoff teams are a deeper and you have to face a team like the Spurs in the first round. A team that could legitimately play up tempo in the East I would suspect would go a lot farther.
Excellent post Des... I think you bring up some good points about the pace and the defensive efficiency and while the Suns were not real good in defensive efficiency, they certainly were not that bad. I think also they just couldn't beat the Spurs these past 4 years. I attribute part of that to Amare, since he is fugazy and could NEVER limit Duncan. Nash is a poor defender and Marion was only ever looking out for himself.
About 3 weeks ago I was against the hiring of D'Antoni, but the more I've thought about it and also the more stats I've seen, I've come to embrace the hiring. I think the most important thing you mentioned in your post Des was #4, the fact that D'Antoni has demonstrated that he has a vision and he can put it on the floor. While I'm not in love with D'Antoni's vision, I do believe it can work, but it has to be done right. I honestly think that D'Antoni might have learned from his mistakes in Phoenix and can now alter his plan to where he sees fit. A better defensive player here, a less offensive player there and his style can work, especially in the East.
No matter what anyone says, I believe Donnie is fully heading this franchise and this is soley his hire. You can say whatever you want, but every team in the league would be going after D'Antoni if they had a coaching vacancy, sans the Lakers and Spurs of course. I think is a solid hire and will give the Knicks an identity. And oh yeah if the fix is in, watch out... D'Antoni + Derrick Rose (who is offensively AND defensively gifted) could be a damn good duo.
5/10/2008 2:03 PM