orangeblobman wrote:He deserves credit for all of this good stuff. This team without MDA would be garbage.

The role of the coach is to provide structure and leadership, a framework from which the team goes out and executes. You take that away and all you have is a bunch of people shooting hoops at a playground, calling touch fouls.

MDA is the man. Haters are going to hate, that's what they do. They hate their own lives so they take that out on Coach Mike and Gallo.

As you take out your frustrations on Chandler. On UK its not hater its Hatter .

OasisBU wrote:I won't lie - during the streak I doubted ability because we weren't just losing, we were embarrassing. However, since then the team has stepped up and I believe Amare is a big part of that, but the coach deserves credit too. Without a good coach this team would be laying down and taking it on the chin.

We have a lot of tests left this season and I am sure there will be more losing, but the recent win streak and the way they have been doing it has really reinvigorated the franchise and the fan base.

martin wrote:

babyKnicks wrote:

martin wrote:

TheSage wrote:For a team that plays no D we lead the league in blocks, 10 th in opp to's, 12 in steals. i don't have the pts per possession figures. maybe D'A deserves some credit

http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/teamstats/_/sort/paceFactor

Interesting how both Minnesota games were to me the toughest wins of the season.

especially since we lost one

GAmes not over yet. We are protesting

DAvid Lee-starter and 3rd/4th option for a 8-16 team.
Danilo Gallinari-4th option on current team
Wilson Chandler-2nd or 3rd option on current team
Al Harrington-Back up
Nate Robinson-bench player
Chris Duhon-bench player
Jordan Hill-Bench player
Eddie House-Bench player
Larry Hughes-Is he in the league?
Jared Jeffries-Bench player struggling to get minutes
Tracy McGrady-Bench player. Just can't give substantial minutes
Darko-Starter averaging under 10 points per game
Sergio Rodriguez-Out of league
Bill WAlker-Glued to bench

What rational fan would think that a coach could win with this roster? The question to me was never about whether this guy can coach. He's proven that he can coach. There should be absolutely no rational fan that should be questioning his coaching ability. The only question that remains to be seen is, IS HE A CHAMPIONSHIP COACH?

TheSage wrote:For a team that plays no D we lead the league in blocks, 10 th in opp to's, 12 in steals. i don't have the pts per possession figures. maybe D'A deserves some credit

Blocks != Defense

orangeblobman wrote:How many coaches are really "championship coaches". You can't say if Coach Mike is or isn't because he's been in the L for a very short time. It took Larry Brown decades to win a championship, some very good coaches never do. Coach Mike went to the Conference Finals, what, a few times? Once or twice? That tells me he has that championship potential in him.

Coach Mike = the man.

That's why it's a ridiculous criticism.

CrushAlot wrote:I think to be fair you have to give him credit for some of the success this year. However, I don't think you can excuse last year or deny that he did a horrible job with that team and the first round picks that were brought into that situation. I have been surprised and impressed that a guy who I see as extremely rigid in his philosophy and approach was on board with Fields and Mosgov playing right from the start. I think he even wants to play Rautins but Rautins just isn't good enough. Playing Williams was a nice surprise as well. I think he needs to get Randolph some minutes, maybe the ten minutes he was giving Mosgov earlier in the year. That would be the next step in his transformation in my eyes.

There is no evidence that D'Antoni will not play rookies(Douglas played 56 games last year and averaged close to 20 minutes per game. It's a myth that he did not play). Considering how quickly he put Mozgov/Landry in the line-up this year, is it possible that Landry/Mozgov work hard and have earned their minutes and Hill was doing something that prevented him from getting time? We don't know and will never know. But I'm guessing if Hill worked as hard as these guys he would have gotten a shot eventually. Again, we don't know. Maybe D'Antoni just hated his hair and decided not to play him.

When guys we want to see aren't playing we immediately point to the coach and say the coach has an agenda. We never think to ourselves "maybe the player isn't doing what he needs to do to get on the court". Both situations are possible(although the player scenario is 99% more likely) but because we aren't on the coaching staff or on the roster we will never know.

SupremeCommander wrote:coach gets credit at the end of June

One of the main knocks (along with "he doesn't teach defense) on MDA here is that his "system" was really just Steve Nash being brilliant.

Come June, if we're still playing well, beating the teams we're supposed to beat and at least putting up a fight against elite teams and we make the playoffs then will that be enough to prove MDA's system works without Nash as well?

CrushAlot wrote:

Bippity10 wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:I think to be fair you have to give him credit for some of the success this year. However, I don't think you can excuse last year or deny that he did a horrible job with that team and the first round picks that were brought into that situation. I have been surprised and impressed that a guy who I see as extremely rigid in his philosophy and approach was on board with Fields and Mosgov playing right from the start. I think he even wants to play Rautins but Rautins just isn't good enough. Playing Williams was a nice surprise as well. I think he needs to get Randolph some minutes, maybe the ten minutes he was giving Mosgov earlier in the year. That would be the next step in his transformation in my eyes.

There is no evidence that D'Antoni will not play rookies(Douglas played 56 games last year and averaged close to 20 minutes per game. It's a myth that he did not play). Considering how quickly he put Mozgov/Landry in the line-up this year, is it possible that Landry/Mozgov work hard and have earned their minutes and Hill was doing something that prevented him from getting time? We don't know and will never know. But I'm guessing if Hill worked as hard as these guys he would have gotten a shot eventually. Again, we don't know. Maybe D'Antoni just hated his hair and decided not to play him.

When guys we want to see aren't playing we immediately point to the coach and say the coach has an agenda. We never think to ourselves "maybe the player isn't doing what he needs to do to get on the court". Both situations are possible(although the player scenario is 99% more likely) but because we aren't on the coaching staff or on the roster we will never know.

That is just wrong. Douglas had 26 dnp coaches decisions in the first 63 games. He didn't get significant minutes until Walsh traveled with the team in March on the Texas road trip. Walsh said he was evaluating players and the coaching staff on that trip. In the 37/63 games Toney got to play in up until the March road trip he averaged 13 minutes. D'Antoni did not do a good job with Hill or Douglas last year. He deserves credit for some of what is happening this year but he also deserves blame for what happened last year.

Crush, what type of playing time do normal late round picks get? Especially ones making transformation from SG to PG?

Also consider that TD was playing behind Duhon, Nate, Hughes.

Also consider that TD looked like caca during his first SL as a PG.

What did you really expect?

Bippity10 wrote:

martin wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

Bippity10 wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:I think to be fair you have to give him credit for some of the success this year. However, I don't think you can excuse last year or deny that he did a horrible job with that team and the first round picks that were brought into that situation. I have been surprised and impressed that a guy who I see as extremely rigid in his philosophy and approach was on board with Fields and Mosgov playing right from the start. I think he even wants to play Rautins but Rautins just isn't good enough. Playing Williams was a nice surprise as well. I think he needs to get Randolph some minutes, maybe the ten minutes he was giving Mosgov earlier in the year. That would be the next step in his transformation in my eyes.

There is no evidence that D'Antoni will not play rookies(Douglas played 56 games last year and averaged close to 20 minutes per game. It's a myth that he did not play). Considering how quickly he put Mozgov/Landry in the line-up this year, is it possible that Landry/Mozgov work hard and have earned their minutes and Hill was doing something that prevented him from getting time? We don't know and will never know. But I'm guessing if Hill worked as hard as these guys he would have gotten a shot eventually. Again, we don't know. Maybe D'Antoni just hated his hair and decided not to play him.

When guys we want to see aren't playing we immediately point to the coach and say the coach has an agenda. We never think to ourselves "maybe the player isn't doing what he needs to do to get on the court". Both situations are possible(although the player scenario is 99% more likely) but because we aren't on the coaching staff or on the roster we will never know.

That is just wrong. Douglas had 26 dnp coaches decisions in the first 63 games. He didn't get significant minutes until Walsh traveled with the team in March on the Texas road trip. Walsh said he was evaluating players and the coaching staff on that trip. In the 37/63 games Toney got to play in up until the March road trip he averaged 13 minutes. D'Antoni did not do a good job with Hill or Douglas last year. He deserves credit for some of what is happening this year but he also deserves blame for what happened last year.

Crush, what type of playing time do normal late round picks get? Especially ones making transformation from SG to PG?

Also consider that TD was playing behind Duhon, Nate, Hughes.

Also consider that TD looked like caca during his first SL as a PG.

What did you really expect?

He was handled exactly as every team in the league handles young guys in similar situations. TD is still struggling this year and he's light years better then he was at the beginning of last year. What minutes was he supposed to get? The year before Gallo when he was not injured got minutes as well. Did he not count as a rookie? And now you have Mozgov given starters minutes when he looked good, and the minutes taken away when he struggled. Then you have Landry getting major minutes every night. This, "he doesn't play rookies" thing is a myth. It's not based on anything but it perpetuates for some reason.