How can anyone bash MDA for basically "REAFFIRMING" how he's used Nate for the most part coming off the bench. You can't ask MDA to start Nate as a solution and then bash him for basically saying "yeah he's better off the bench like I thought originally". This isn't something NEW to MDA he always was using Nate that way but like most wondered if he could be effective as a starter. Honestly MDA can't really win with some of us around here.

For all the armchair geniuses bashing him about communicating, how come no one really cared about any of that when the team was winning? When he was putting up 50+ win seasons in PHX no one cared about him talking more with his players. It's all B.S. to me, cuz there are plenty of coaches who don't really have a good bedside manner but they win!!! WHen you're 12 games under .500 any coach is gonna try to make some changes and probably doubt themselves a bit. Thing is that this is what this team has done year in and year out no matter who coaches them. This is why we're gonna be looking to replace most of these guys.

nixluva wrote:If and when Duhon is hitting his shots and playing more aggressive as the starting PG, this team plays much better and has a greater shot at winning. MDA isn't perfect but let's also recognize that other great coaches found it hard to figure out how to use these guys, so it's no surprise that when guys are slumping like Duhon, it's gonna make the job tougher.

How can anyone bash MDA for basically "REAFFIRMING" how he's used Nate for the most part coming off the bench. You can't ask MDA to start Nate as a solution and then bash him for basically saying "yeah he's better off the bench like I thought originally". This isn't something NEW to MDA he always was using Nate that way but like most wondered if he could be effective as a starter. Honestly MDA can't really win with some of us around here.

For all the armchair geniuses bashing him about communicating, how come no one really cared about any of that when the team was winning? When he was putting up 50+ win seasons in PHX no one cared about him talking more with his players. It's all B.S. to me, cuz there are plenty of coaches who don't really have a good bedside manner but they win!!! WHen you're 12 games under .500 any coach is gonna try to make some changes and probably doubt themselves a bit. Thing is that this is what this team has done year in and year out no matter who coaches them. This is why we're gonna be looking to replace most of these guys.

i'm really not interested to discuss what MDA did as the coach of the Phoenix Suns at this point... i'm concerned about what he does as the coach of the NY Knicks... yeah, we know he's a good coach with a good track record... some of us armchair geniuses want to see our coach making moves that make a little bit of sense & that serve the best interests of our longterm future... not all of us blindly support anything MDA does just because he was a non-armchair genius in Phoenix.

MDA coached Nate for 2 years now & still didn't know if Nate could be the answer at PG? does that sound feasible to you? a man of his obvious coaching acumen & genius? surely not nixluva... the truth is Duhon was not getting the job done & the season is already caput... it's time to feature guys we want to try & trade & get our rooks burn in the regular rotation now... if MDA wants to play Nate big minutes off the bench, that's fine, but why is Duhon getting back his starting job? has he earned that role this season? why not give TD a run & try to develop the youth like MDA said he would do this year? nixluva, you speak outta both sides of your mouth on this issue, u say guys need to earn their minutes & their roles on this team, but Duhon has done nothing but prove that he doesn't deserve his playing time or his minutes this season & yet MDA keeps going back to him.

enough with this stuff about Duhon being our only PG on this team... there's no point in starting him when our team has proven to be crap last year & this year w/him leading the offense... the fact is Duhon can't play at the level he needs to play at in order for this team to be good on a consistent basis... yes, he's had good games in the past & this team has played well when he's had those good games, but those games have been few & far between... even Fishlips can look good on certain nights, doesn't mean we should be starting him at the PF spot & giving him 35+ every night either if we're trying to win games... the only reason he should be seeing big minutes right now is so we can try & pump up his trade value... Nate should be seeing big minutes for the same reason... Duhon will not be tradeable at this point, there's really no point in starting him anymore, our season is done... he belongs on the bench as a backup PG, that's how he should be used... Jeffries belongs on the bench as a backup F, that's how he should be used... that's how both those guys were best utilized on past teams they've played on... we just drafted 2 rooks w/1st round picks & they can't see any playing time cuz we insist on using bench role players as starters & expect positive results... it's a joke.

TMS wrote:LOL... so now MDA finally realizes there's a legitimate communication issue between him & his players because Duhon's telling him? why was it not a big issue when guys like Nate, Curry & Hughes were complaining about it? & who couldn't see that Nate wasn't a true PG? wasn't the whole point to start Nate to showcase him for a possible trade? or wasn't it? this is why MDA is so maddening, the guy confuses the crap outta me w/his roster rotations.

He is realizing he has basically lost the team. Too little to late.

In regard to Duhon, just remember that he is the only guard that showed he can be an effective PG at this level. His main issue as you've also pointed out is his offense. If you were the coach and you knew that no one had shown you much of anything as a floor leader except for your slumping PG, you'd feel compelled to give him as much time as needed to try and get out of his slump. Forget about this notion that we just play TD and see what he can do or somehow just let him play into the position cuz he's our draft pick and needs to develop. That makes no sense at all. If he hasn't shown he can do it in practice why the hell would you give him a shot in games? He's not even Nate and Nate failed.
I don't blame MDA for going back to Duhon, cuz really DW has left MDA without much choice. Don't give me freakin TD, unless you're giving up on the season entirely and are ready to just play the kids major minutes and guarantee to lose. If Duhon somehow finds his shot and confidence at least the team has a real chance to win. It's simple if Duhon hits his shots and remians aggressive and confident we have a chance to win games. Nate comes off the bench and gives us his usual scoring punch etc. It's not much but if we have any chance to win, those are the kinds of things that need to happen.

TMS wrote:

nixluva wrote:You really are starting to get annoying with this crap

nixluva, personally i think your constant sycophantic ass kissing & apologist views of MDA is getting annoying as well, but was trying to keep it on civil terms for the sake of discussion.

btw, wake up & smell the record dude... the season's already been over for a while now.

Keeping it civil? No you weren't. Just keep it real. MDA and DW haven't thrown up the white flag. Once they do who cares who they play, but at this moment there's still a desire to try and win games and get back in the race. 4.5 out with about 33 games to go and they still want to fight. It's not much longer to go before they'd call it a season, but not just yet.

I'm not kissing anyone's ass, just stating facts. Duhon is the only real PG, if he gets out of his slump we have a chance to win games. Asking for TD to play instead of him is nonsense. What's your rationale for giving the team over to TD when Nate who has far more experience couldn't do it. What has TD done to show that he could do it? When he has had time to do something you really didn't see much to give hope he can be a PG yet.

TMS wrote:go ahead & show me where i wasn't keeping it civil with you up to this point... i'm not the one tossing around insults at people & calling them "archmair geniuses" just for raising concerns about the way MDA is managing this team... don't act all holier than thou & take potshots at people for doubting the way MDA is going about running this team... not everyone has to agree with everything MDA does like you do.

What's your rationale for giving the team over to TD when Nate who has far more experience couldn't do it.

i already gave u the rationale... the season is over, forget about the playoffs... this team has sucked for the past 2 years w/Duhon running the point... it's time to give up any hopes of trying to contend & see what our 1st round pick rookie can give us, whether he can do the job or not... Nate is obviously better suited as a SG, so use him in that capacity & let him run buckwild & pad his stats up til the trade deadline... enough with running Duhon out there for 35+ a night, sh!t's not working & hasn't worked for 2 years straight... he belongs as a backup PG coming off the bench.

Thing is you don't have any answers just complaints and it's easy to just pick at the guy in a situation like this. When Parcells went into the season with only Vinny Testeverde at QB he took a big risk, cuz basically if the guy went down we had NOTHING and the season was ruined. Well that's how we went into this season. If Duhon went down or didn't play well, this team was sunk, cuz we just don't have a capable person to play lead minutes. Saying we should play TD instead of Duhon isn't an answer to the problem especially if MDA and DW haven't given up on the season, which they clearly haven't. So how much sense does it make to keep bringing it up?

MDA always felt Nate was a backup off the bench and said so, but after giving him a shot to do more, now you want to bash him as if he doesn't have the right to give it a try when nothing else was working! Man whatever. You've just been spouting nonsense for months now about all this and that's where our arguments keep coming from. You have an issue with MDA and you keep using these issues to attack his decision making as if there are a lot of good options. YOU KNOW THERE AREN'T ANY!!! THIS IS B.S.

nixluva wrote:Thing is you don't have any answers just complaints and it's easy to just pick at the guy in a situation like this. When Parcells went into the season with only Vinny Testeverde at QB he took a big risk, cuz basically if the guy went down we had NOTHING and the season was ruined. Well that's how we went into this season. If Duhon went down or didn't play well, this team was sunk, cuz we just don't have a capable person to play lead minutes. Saying we should play TD instead of Duhon isn't an answer to the problem especially if MDA and DW haven't given up on the season, which they clearly haven't. So how much sense does it make to keep bringing it up?

MDA always felt Nate was a backup off the bench and said so, but after giving him a shot to do more, now you want to bash him as if he doesn't have the right to give it a try when nothing else was working! Man whatever. You've just been spouting nonsense for months now about all this and that's where our arguments keep coming from. You have an issue with MDA and you keep using these issues to attack his decision making as if there are a lot of good options. YOU KNOW THERE AREN'T ANY!!! THIS IS B.S.

actually i do have answers, u just don't wanna hear them... the season is toast... it's time to play your young guys, it's not rocket science... u wanna bring up football examples, try Tom Coughlin... he knew Kurt Warner wasn't going to take that team anywhere so he decided to bench him & play Eli Manning, who was the future of the franchise, even tho he knew it meant they were basically giving up on the season in the process... that's what you call forward thinking... in poker, if u know you're holding a hand you can't win with, you fold & wait for a new hand to be dealt... u don't chase after a straight when there's 4 nuts flush on the board staring you in the face... what you're proposing is that MDA basically does just that... it's insanity... you can shout at the top of your lungs at me & tell me i make no valid points but to me you're the one who's been spouting nonsense... i have no issues with MDA... i have issues with a coach who's running this team like it's his own personal toychest & not thinking about the longterm good.

Then from there Mike and Donnie won't give up on the season until we are mathematically eliminated.

Of which I think is sad it doesn't take much foresight to see what your record is and what your absolutely CRUSHING schedule is for the final 20+ games.

I think that the players at hand will help the decision making though. You will see bums like Duhon and Harrington and Hughes pack it in and that will help make it easier for Mike to play Douglas and Hill and even Landry more minutes.

We also have injuries we can see. Gallo unfortunately is still troubled from time to time. Lee has a bum knee and he gimps on it every game now. Harrington is banged up badly and more than he lets on.

So, we have our opportunities to see more of Jordan Hill at least.

Hell, he displaced Mr. Double Double against the Cavs so as time goes forward look for more of that.

nixluva wrote:If and when Duhon is hitting his shots and playing more aggressive as the starting PG, this team plays much better and has a greater shot at winning. MDA isn't perfect but let's also recognize that other great coaches found it hard to figure out how to use these guys, so it's no surprise that when guys are slumping like Duhon, it's gonna make the job tougher.

How can anyone bash MDA for basically "REAFFIRMING" how he's used Nate for the most part coming off the bench. You can't ask MDA to start Nate as a solution and then bash him for basically saying "yeah he's better off the bench like I thought originally". This isn't something NEW to MDA he always was using Nate that way but like most wondered if he could be effective as a starter. Honestly MDA can't really win with some of us around here.

For all the armchair geniuses bashing him about communicating, how come no one really cared about any of that when the team was winning? When he was putting up 50+ win seasons in PHX no one cared about him talking more with his players. It's all B.S. to me, cuz there are plenty of coaches who don't really have a good bedside manner but they win!!! WHen you're 12 games under .500 any coach is gonna try to make some changes and probably doubt themselves a bit. Thing is that this is what this team has done year in and year out no matter who coaches them. This is why we're gonna be looking to replace most of these guys.

TMS wrote:nixluva, let me ask u this... why is it that you take such a personal affront whenever i criticize MDA when i'm not saying anything different than others around here who do the same? djsunyc, VDesai, CrushAlot, AnubisADL, BRIGGS, EwingsGlass & others are all saying the same things i am... at some point u need to stop being so close minded & open your ears & listen instead of throwing a hissy fit anytime I make a disparaging comment about D'Antoni... if u hadn't noticed i'm not the only one making these observations about our head coach... if u don't like what i'm saying then that's your choice, but don't act like yours is the only opinion that matters.

It just worked out that I was responding to your posts directly more often, but in reality I was always directing my comments to all of the guys following your line of argument. It's not just you. Remember "armchair geniuses". I never said my opinion was the only one that mattered.

MDA, DW, Dolan and the bulk of the players still want to make the playoffs. It's only some fans that want the team to refocus on developing Hill and TD. Thing is Hill is already playing, TD getting more minutes wouldn't really matter to me, I just don't see a reason to bash MDA over basically playing Hill a few more minutes a game and squeezing TD into the rotation. That really isn't a big deal IMO. TD plays, looks good at times, bad at others... Will everyone be happy with MDA? No they'll still find something to complain about.

People are upset about Duhon getting back in. I understand that. No one is happy with Duhon. Thing is MDA has to try and get the guy going if he wants to continue to compete for the playoffs which we know he does. I'm pretty sure Nate and Lee would also like to keep fighting for a playoff spot. I don't think they'd appreciate TD playing instead of Duhon in these last few games before the door closes. TD and Hill will get their chance soon enough.