Vs. a guy who wouldn't play Meeks for one second despite the credentials the guy has, and who instead puts in MWP at the 2? On your point, Hill was a raw player back then, and who really didn't even flourish until his stent with the Lakers (Rockets didn't see his talent, and benched him). If Mike Brown knows the importance of Hill, I'm sure D'antoni will too. To quote 2K13, "he's like found change" The D is troubling, but defense is half player determined. As well, if they can get someone like Persons or McMillan to help coach the D, the spacing and rotation issue won't be an issue. The day the Lakers fired Mike Brown was the day they secured a deep playoff birth. But...like...that's just my opinion, man
If Nash was a year or two younger and they didn't have a certain shooting guard who likes having the ball, then this would make sense. But that's not the case, so it doesn't.
Well if you hate the Lakers/Nash/Kobe/DH/Gasol, then you should be ecstatic about this LOL. Pringles is probably one of the coaches I know will never win a title. That's because instead of playing to the strengths of whatever team he's coaching, he insists on his gimmicky "7 secs or less" style no matter what. In PHX, that worked because: 1) Nash was in his prime 2) You had several young and athletic workhorses who could run 24/7 OTH, in LA the only guy who is in his prime and could run 24/7 is DH, the rest are either old, for half court sets, or both. To be quite honest, the Lakers don't need even need PJ, in terms of just raw talent they should be assured of a finals berth already. Instead of getting gimmicky coaches like D'Antoni or the Princeton, they should just have basic sets and let the Lakers out talent everyone else but the heat. Bernie Bickerstaff showed that when LA whalloped GS without Nash. If they couldn't get PJ, Brian Shaw or letting Bernie have the job was the way to go IMHO.
Payback! <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/t-p_PudYj38" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
So they go from Colonel Sanders to Mr. Potatohead to Pringles. Their obsession with celebrity look-alike coaches is unparalleled. Maybe their next coach will be Robert Horry aka black Will Smith.
Since realistically, the Rockets aren't in the running this season anyway, I want this Nash and D'Antoni-led Lakers team to win it all this season for two reasons: 1. It would fill out the resumes of both, and getting that ring would especially be a perfect finale to Nash's career. 2. It would finally shut up all of these critics slash Internet Basketball Experts who have long contended that basketball systems that are fun and exciting to watch cannot also win you championships.
Agre, agree, agree! Especially the part about JVG. His approach to the game would have been perfect for this cast of characters. I don't believe the stuff the Lakers floated about Jackson for one second - it smacks of their trying to cover their behinds with the fanbase who wanted Phil back. I simply cannot believe that D'Antoni will change their attitude on defense one whit and that's what will ultimately sink these Lakers. Looks to me like the real winners in this mess are the Clippers, Spurs and Thunder.
It looks like Phil wanted a Pat Riley type deal, with a minor stake in ownership, a say in personnel decisions, even as a coach, the right to name the next coach, a move up to GM, etc. Buss balked and hired D'Antoni at a cut rate instead. Good for the bottom line, bad for championship prospects.
For those wondering where Wojo was during the last few hours, here is his article on the transpiring events: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--lakers-resist-phil-jackson-s-power-grab-11051709.html Wojo's take? Phil was going for a power grab with a side of submision.
I was actually a little worried if Phil came back. But now that that is history, i am relieved. While I expect D'Antoni get the offense back to passable, his defense prowess is lacking. So I expect in the short term, he will calm the situation down, for a while. But in the long haul (maybe only months???), they will not advance far.
This team would be scary if they can trade Pau for athletic defensive minded wingman with three point range and all-around athletic PF Dwight is going to be a scary version of Amare with his dominant pick-n-roll game and his back to the basket game as a bonus (Amare didn't play like that in PHX and that's why they struggled in last third of 24 seconds possession), Kobe will play at SF position, Nash and Duhon will the point (Chris played his best basketball under Pringles) and it's going to be a better version of Suns But they have to trade Pau for Marion-in-the-prime type of forward. And it's quite a concern with contract and trade kicker
