martin wrote:DJ just bitter cause he knows Bosh is leaving... to join LeBron in NY.

i wouldn't miss bosh...

djsunyc wrote:

martin wrote:DJ just bitter cause he knows Bosh is leaving... to join LeBron in NY.

i wouldn't miss bosh...

djsunyc wrote:wait...are we really comparing it to isiah's last season in ny? really? i'm talking about from his first day on the job till now...the team has regressed. comparing anything to isiah's last year is gonna look good.

what else can i compare to? how can i compare the team from his first day on the job? how do you do it? pull up the numbers. the team has regressed talent wise during the period you are discussing. coincidence? [ed lover]c'mon son.[/ed]

1) substitution patterns have been puzzling: seems to sometimes take out the hot hand (especially when it's gallo).
2) rotation: i mean, jeffries? really? c'mon son.
3) situational: failing to give fouls when it would be advantageous (see: portland game, roy's game winner).
4) too many threes: honestly, have no idea if i can really put this on him. i know he likes threes, but i have to think he's just as frustrated with some of the chucks as we all are. it's not like he's holding an xbox controller and pushing shoot every time we're up against a 15-0 run and duhon thinks it's a good time to pull up for a 40-footer.

that being said, he's extremely popular with the league's best players. it is documented. LBJ, Wade, Bosh have all gone on the record saying they love his philosophy.

i think the criticism that he needs unique personnel to win is overstated. do you think he couldn't win with boston or LA's roster? does phil jackson need unique personnel? yeah. he needs the best player in the league for one. really, what coach doesn't need great shooters, great passers, and great overall team players. we haven't passed on any dwight howards or tim duncans have we? so we passed on brook lopez. the same brook lopez that nobody on this board wanted. the same brook lopez that dropped from top 3 projected to the 10th pick. so six other coaches / GM also passed on him when projections said he should have gone. it wasn't just d'antoni and his anti-big-man philosophy.

so what's d'antoni's biggest crime here? not squeezing more wins out of a team that many projected to be last in the eastern conference?? we wanna fire this guy now?? before we have a chance to add real firepower?? talk about selling short. if this team struggles next year, i'll gladly be the first to post a FIRE D'ANTONI thread. but does no one really even consider the fact that players don't respect coaching in the league anymore because coaches get fired so often? now we wanna fire another coach despite the fact that the roster he's dealing with has had very little chance for improvement during his tenure.

djsunyc wrote:

eViL wrote:before i come off as a flat out d'antoni apologist, i wanna lay out my criticisms:

1) substitution patterns have been puzzling: seems to sometimes take out the hot hand (especially when it's gallo).
2) rotation: i mean, jeffries? really? c'mon son.
3) situational: failing to give fouls when it would be advantageous (see: portland game, roy's game winner).
4) too many threes: honestly, have no idea if i can really put this on him. i know he likes threes, but i have to think he's just as frustrated with some of the chucks as we all are. it's not like he's holding an xbox controller and pushing shoot every time we're up against a 15-0 run and duhon thinks it's a good time to pull up for a 40-footer.

did you think that those 4 points would be issues when d'antoni was hired?

i think all but point number 3 would be diminished with a better roster.

better roster means, substitution patterns will improve, rotation will improve, and shooting will improve. there hasn't been a coach here who i felt had a good rotation or substitution pattern in the last few years. coincidence? you can have 4 different world class chefs prepare you a **** sandwich, but as long as **** is the main ingredient, it's gonna taste like ****. as a fan, i rather see the young guys play, but d'antoni is not the first coach here to play vets over youth. and he's not the only coach in the league doing it.

and as far as realistic alternative coaches at the time, i don't think flip saunders, avery johnson, or mark jackson would be achieving much more with this team. and i'm fairly sure they'd probably have the same issues minus the ungodly amount of threes. and of course, they might have different issues. as i said before, d'antoni, like it or not, has improved our offensive efficiency we commit significantly less turnovers now when you factor in pace.