NBA · LA Tines Article: Mike D'Antoni has been a huge failure with Lakers (page 1)

CrushAlot @ 1/6/2013 3:25 PM
T.J. SIMERS

Mike D'Antoni has been a huge failure with Lakers

The new coach isn't getting anything out of Pau Gasol, his communication skills are lacking and his offense isn't working with the Lakers.

Lakers Coach Mike D'Antoni calls a play against the Clippers. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / January 4, 2013)

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By T.J. Simers
January 5, 2013, 5:44 p.m.

The Lakers have a huge problem and it's not Pau Gasol.

It's the guy who is being paid handsomely to utilize his expertise and get the most out of one of the NBA's top players.

And so far Coach Mike D'Antoni has been a huge failure.

Say what you want about Gasol being a baby at times, soft and maybe not handling things on the court as well as a pro should.

But prima donnas are a part of professional sports and Gasol has already proven himself a worthy NBA competitor.

It's the baby sitters like D'Antoni who have to get the very best out of every one of the different personalities they've been given.

When D'Antoni publicly humiliated Gasol for not being needed with the game on the line, it demonstrated a total misunderstanding of how Gasol handles such things.

It was D'Antoni's job to know better before pulverizing a fragile Gasol.

I'm sure Gasol's knees did hurt, but as Lakers coach, D'Antoni needed Gasol to get off to a good start after fans were left disappointed with Phil Jackson not getting the job.

And Gasol wasn't there for D'Antoni.

How much does human nature factor into a player suddenly needing time off to rest his knees? And how long before he returns?

Maybe that doesn't speak well of Gasol, if true, but what does it matter? The head coach's top priority is pushing the right buttons to maximize a player's skills.

Some folks have suggested trading Gasol because D'Antoni can't get the best out of one of the best players in the game.

Too bad it's not possible to suggest trading the coach for someone who knows talent and how to use it.

D'Antoni has spent his NBA career as a head coach trying to prove his system works. Many NBA teams have stolen aspects of his philosophy.

But he has been a failure in proving it a championship success. And when he arrived here the most casual basketball fan understood it was not a good fit.

But if D'Antoni is as good as so many have said as a coach, shouldn't he find a way to move the Xs and O's around to accommodate the talent here?

It hasn't happened yet.

Will the hiring of D'Antoni go down as one of the Lakers' all-time blunders because he was too stubborn to bend?

Gasol was a lost soul again against the Clippers on Friday night. Benched in the fourth quarter, he made a cameo appearance with 1:07 remaining because Dwight Howard fouled out.

He finished the game with two points, and it's no wonder the Lakers are 15-17.

"He just didn't have a good game," D'Antoni told the media, but couldn't the same be said about D'Antoni?

Gasol told reporters he's at his best when he plays down low and explores other areas on the court.

He said his assignment now is to hang around the free-throw line, his playing time now based on whether he makes his jump shots or misses.

It has already become apparent D'Antoni is not a great communicator. Antawn Jamison has said as much, and Gasol seems to have no idea what D'Antoni wants from him.

D'Antoni operates as if alone on an island. He said he would rather not talk to the media, but required to do so, he said, he will usually lie.

When he arrived, he did so with a light heart and a quick quip. But as he has continued to drag his repaired knee around the country, the medication by his own admission sometimes dulling his senses, he has lost that light heart and become more distant with each loss.

As head coach he remains the central spokesman for the franchise and the great hope for fans for better days ahead.

But he has fallen short here as well. He no longer says, "I don't know" in answer to most questions, but he has already said if he fails, he has a guaranteed contract and will be playing golf again.

It's a great attitude if designed to protect him from getting hurt again, as he was in New York after quitting.

But if he really wanted this job, so much so that he was willing to do it on a painful knee and drugs, then it was on him to build a relationship with both Lakers fans and players.

And how goes that? Do you have confidence in D'Antoni that he has a plan to fix the Lakers' woes? Do you think the players believe they are headed in the right direction?

If the answer is "no" to both questions, then the initial thought process around here that D'Antoni was the wrong answer to what puzzles the Lakers still appears to be the correct one.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball...

mrKnickShot @ 1/6/2013 3:36 PM
wow!! That was awesome!

Err uh eh wait!!!! - T.J. SIMERS IS A DAMN LIAR!! WHY IS HE LYING? WHY IS JAMISON LYING? WHY IS GASOL LYING? DAMN LYIN LAKERS! UGH!

smackeddog @ 1/6/2013 4:03 PM
Not a fan of D'Antoni and I don't think he makes any effort to manage players and their egos or adjust his system, but to be fair Gasol has knee tendinitis AND plantar fasciitis in his feet- don't see how he'd contribute much this season even with a coach who knows how to use him.

Next few years are going to be tough for D'Antoni and the Lakers- don't really see how they can fix things. If Dwight walks, best they can hope for is he gets them to trade him to the Nets for Lopez. Worst case he walks and they get nothing.

CashMoney @ 1/6/2013 4:06 PM
Shocking...didn't see this coming at all.
raven @ 1/6/2013 5:01 PM
The team is poorly constructed, they're old, they have no bench.
Howard is vastly overrated and both he and Bryant are chemistry killers.

The whole situation is a mess, but hey, let's blame the coach and fire him.

Think about our knicks, it's been the same for how long? Bad teams after bad teams, coaches after coaches.

At some point, you have to get real and blow everything up and start from scratch. The Lakers have been crazy lucky, blessed, for a long time, seems it is over now.

And I won't shed a single tear.

IronWillGiroud @ 1/6/2013 5:51 PM
D'Antoni will win so many games with Lakers, Nasty Nash in yo area causing the hysteria!
MSG3 @ 1/6/2013 8:42 PM
D'Antoni evidently didn't learn anything from last season in NY. Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn.
ChuckBuck @ 1/6/2013 9:10 PM
Saw this one coming a mile away.

You don't have a post-up heavy team and hire a run n gun coach.

Jim Buss thinking his last name is Dolan.

Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, Mike D'Antoni. Ultimate StarPhuck for the win!

holfresh @ 1/6/2013 10:02 PM
Mike really hasn't had enough time for this team to learn his system...His teams are at their best in about the 4th or 5th year, so Kobe, Nash, Gasol and DHow will need to be patient, they need time to gel...He only has 4 future Hall of Famers to work with, so it will be difficult for them to fully grasp what Mike is teaching...The biggest problem is that these aren't Mike's type of players...So next season the Lakers need to bring in LeBron, Chris Paul, Durant, KLove and Blake Griffin...Mike will show u what he can really do by adding those players to his current lineup...The Lakers should not panic..Just look at the Knicks, Spurs, Clippers and Golden State..They are obviously all using Mike's system to produce all those victories...A little patients is all they need, in about 5 years, all will be well....
arkrud @ 1/6/2013 10:54 PM
Having 2 supper-stars is more that enough if they can compliment each other.
Durant/Westbrook, LeBron/Wade, Paul/Griffin, Cobe/Shaq... you can go on and on tapping in the past of NBA success stories too.
If team has 3 stars it has to pay for it... and will have a bunch of crap around them.
Lakers are work in progress. Thay have some eccess stuff they need to trade and they will.
Not expecting to see Gasol on Lakers for long. And they need to trade more peaces to get some role players too.
Kobe needs to look at Melo and start sharing the ball even if they are not scoring.
They need a step back to move foirward.
Mike is not a problem but he is not a solution for this mess. He has no idea and no desire to clean this up.
And why should he?
If Lakers want him and the team to succeed they need to ajust the team to the coach. And they have a lot of work to do.
IronWillGiroud @ 1/6/2013 11:14 PM
I need to see Gasol for Bargnani and Calderon,

Lakers will win championship with Calderon and Bargnani, perfect D'Antoni guys, that can put them over the top

gunsnewing @ 1/7/2013 12:43 PM
IronWillGiroud wrote:I need to see Gasol for Bargnani and Calderon,

Lakers will win championship with Calderon and Bargnani, perfect D'Antoni guys, that can put them over the top

How about Dwight for those 2 guys

IronWillGiroud @ 1/7/2013 10:35 PM
gunsnewing wrote:
IronWillGiroud wrote:I need to see Gasol for Bargnani and Calderon,

Lakers will win championship with Calderon and Bargnani, perfect D'Antoni guys, that can put them over the top

How about Dwight for those 2 guys

Yea I would do that too because you run Pau and Bargnani 5 and 4 still bang it, but I would prefer to ship Pau, because Howard is a beast! YOu just need to spread it a little with Bargs, then dish it to Howard for the slam

IronWillGiroud @ 1/7/2013 10:36 PM
gunsnewing wrote:
IronWillGiroud wrote:I need to see Gasol for Bargnani and Calderon,

Lakers will win championship with Calderon and Bargnani, perfect D'Antoni guys, that can put them over the top

How about Dwight for those 2 guys

Yea I would do that too because you run Pau and Bargnani 5 and 4 still bang it, but I would prefer to ship Pau, because Howard is a beast! YOu just need to spread it a little with Bargs, then dish it to Howard for the slam

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