D'Antoni and Hill

[Cimos21]

Hey guys, good discussions on PSD about the new coach. I am super excited about Mike D'Antoni, more excited than I would have been with Phil Jackson...mostly because I don't know what to expect. But that discussion is for one of the other 154312532 threads.

My main worry with D'Antoni coming in isn't defense, it is Jordan Hill. I don't know a lot about what happened in NY (http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knick...RG1GiFLiCc4TnO) but it seems that Hill and D'Antoni didn't see eye to eye. Whether that was just something where the frontcourt was too deep with veterans or some kind of Phil Jackson-esque "don't play rookies" strategy, or if something happened on a 1v1 level with the 2.... I don't know. Can anyone elaborate on this?

Every coach adjusts his bench roatation...we saw Mike Brown never use Meeks. I think Meeks will play a lot under D'Antoni. My fear is that D'Antoni stops using Hill off the bench and elects to use Jamison as the #1 big man off the bench because he can shoot 3s. I think that would be a big mistake, and I think Jamison needs to play more SF, as we saw last night.

Am I overthinking this? Or do we have to worry about D'Antoni not playing Hill as much? I would like to see Hill's minutes increased if anything. I don;t know how ego-driven D'Antoni is, or how bad his and Hill's relationship was.

[GailGoodrich]

Hey guys, good discussions on PSD about the new coach. I am super excited about Mike D'Antoni, more excited than I would have been with Phil Jackson...mostly because I don't know what to expect. But that discussion is for one of the other 154312532 threads.

My main worry with D'Antoni coming in isn't defense, it is Jordan Hill. I don't know a lot about what happened in NY (http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knick...RG1GiFLiCc4TnO) but it seems that Hill and D'Antoni didn't see eye to eye. Whether that was just something where the frontcourt was too deep with veterans or some kind of Phil Jackson-esque "don't play rookies" strategy, or if something happened on a 1v1 level with the 2.... I don't know. Can anyone elaborate on this?

Every coach adjusts his bench roatation...we saw Mike Brown never use Meeks. I think Meeks will play a lot under D'Antoni. My fear is that D'Antoni stops using Hill off the bench and elects to use Jamison as the #1 big man off the bench because he can shoot 3s. I think that would be a big mistake, and I think Jamison needs to play more SF, as we saw last night.

Am I overthinking this? Or do we have to worry about D'Antoni not playing Hill as much? I would like to see Hill's minutes increased if anything. I don;t know how ego-driven D'Antoni is, or how bad his and Hill's relationship was.

I don't think Hill or D'Antoni are going to have any carry over from NY. If anything, D'Antoni may give Hill an more appraisal this time because he knows first-hand what kind of hell it is to be on the wrong end of the NY media.

We know really good things about Hill and his energy. We know he has speed, and the Lakers need speed. The one thing we don't know -- because it's never been tested -- is whether Hill can be effective in the running game.

I expect that to be one of the things we find out, courtesy Steve Nash. If Hill has the hands to catch and convert either in transition or from the wings in the half court, he's going to see a ton of playing time.

[TboneM3]

Hill's hands didn't look too good last night, to be fair. I saw someone mention something about D'Antoni playing favorites with personnel, which always worries me as I believe in a meritocracy when it comes to sports.

[Cimos21]

Hill's hands didn't look too good last night, to be fair. I saw someone mention something about D'Antoni playing favorites with personnel, which always worries me as I believe in a meritocracy when it comes to sports.

Playing favorites worries me too. Hill has shown he can get offensive rebounds, which should be plentiful in D'Antoni's system.

Did anyone notice Hill catch the ball 2-3 times WIDE OPEN under the basket last night, and then look like a deer in headlights? He either waited 1-2 seconds thinking what to do and then tried to dunk it (and miss) or he did a fadeaway hook shot which was un-needed. It almost looked like he didnt know what to do without someone on his back.

[Lakers Ghost]

another reason to hate d'antoni

[KB-Pau-DH2012]

Kobe and Phil patched it up after Phil trashed Kobe in a book.

This is D'Antoni-Hill rivalry is nothing compared to that, so my feeling is that it'll be a non-issue as both of those guys goal is the same, and that's to win an NBA Championship.

[Cimos21]

Kobe and Phil patched it up after Phil trashed Kobe in a book.

This is D'Antoni-Hill rivalry is nothing compared to that, so my feeling is that it'll be a non-issue as both of those guys goal is the same, and that's to win an NBA Championship.

Yeah, that is what I am hoping. I actually think Kobe is the key. He won't let them have a bad relationship because he realizes they need Hill. If Hill's minutes go down, I would hope Kobe would go to D'Antoni and set him straight.

[gr824]

Hill is a [ struggling ] rookie no longer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GberUG7xLg

so, D'Antoni should have no problem giving Jordan his due minutes ...

[Mr. NBA]

this is probably one of the best threads in terms of D'Antoni's flaws that I see.

It's because over the years I've seen D'Antoni coach, it seems he makes this his biggest flaw.

NOT SEEING TALENT ON HIS ROSTER.

sometimes Mike D'Antoni overlooks the talent on his roster. Yes, D'Antoni plays
veterans more than rookies, but so does Phil. But Phil plays veterans with the understanding of what his roster full of rookies hold.

However, D'Antoni plays veterans without really looking at the talent each individual holds.
Sure, you can make the case for Steve Nash developing very well as a two-time MVP under D'Antoni. Yet, Steve Nash was already solidified as a very good point guard before his MVP titles.

Take the case with Jeremy Lin. He was on the roster the whole season, yet it took the failure of all the Knick point guards to finally see Jeremy Lin come to life.

I hope Mike D'Antoni comes in this season and KNOWS how to utilize EVERY MAN on the roster.
because that will be a big key as far as his rotations and adjustments go.

[Cimos21]

this is probably one of the best threads in terms of D'Antoni's flaws that I see.

It's because over the years I've seen D'Antoni coach, it seems he makes this his biggest flaw.

NOT SEEING TALENT ON HIS ROSTER.

sometimes Mike D'Antoni overlooks the talent on his roster. Yes, D'Antoni plays
veterans more than rookies, but so does Phil. But Phil plays veterans with the understanding of what his roster full of rookies hold.

However, D'Antoni plays veterans without really looking at the talent each individual holds.
Sure, you can make the case for Steve Nash developing very well as a two-time MVP under D'Antoni. Yet, Steve Nash was already solidified as a very good point guard before his MVP titles.

Take the case with Jeremy Lin. He was on the roster the whole season, yet it took the failure of all the Knick point guards to finally see Jeremy Lin come to life.

I hope Mike D'Antoni comes in this season and KNOWS how to utilize EVERY MAN on the roster.
because that will be a big key as far as his rotations and adjustments go.

I will say this. He said that he liked Stephen Curry over Hill in the draft. Stephen Curry is pretty damn good, and will be for a long time in this league I think.

[GailGoodrich]

this is probably one of the best threads in terms of D'Antoni's flaws that I see.

It's because over the years I've seen D'Antoni coach, it seems he makes this his biggest flaw.

NOT SEEING TALENT ON HIS ROSTER.

sometimes Mike D'Antoni overlooks the talent on his roster. Yes, D'Antoni plays
veterans more than rookies, but so does Phil. But Phil plays veterans with the understanding of what his roster full of rookies hold.

However, D'Antoni plays veterans without really looking at the talent each individual holds.
Sure, you can make the case for Steve Nash developing very well as a two-time MVP under D'Antoni. Yet, Steve Nash was already solidified as a very good point guard before his MVP titles.

Take the case with Jeremy Lin. He was on the roster the whole season, yet it took the failure of all the Knick point guards to finally see Jeremy Lin come to life.

I hope Mike D'Antoni comes in this season and KNOWS how to utilize EVERY MAN on the roster.
because that will be a big key as far as his rotations and adjustments go.

It will take some time for players to establish trust with D'Antoni. On the flip side, the players right now are establishing trust with each other, and D'Antoni knows going in that he's going to be taking a lot of his cues from Kobe and Nash.

Nash himself is critical to being able to speed up this whole process because even thought his PT has been injury-limited, he's been able to go through camp with all of these people. I guarantee you that D'Antoni is not only going to be asking Nash about the players we have, but Nash himself is going to be figuring that out and testing players now that he's got the green light to push the ball and look for the best shot.

As for noticing talent, I read an article a few days ago that was trying to point out that Mike Brown made some good decisions. One of the examples they gave was Brown putting Hill in the line-up late in the season. Yes, you read that right: somebody was giving Brown props for that, when every Laker fan knows that it came way late and only as a result of panic/desperation. Brown had no idea what Hill could do until he did it.

[Cimos21]

Hill is a [ struggling ] rookie no longer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GberUG7xLg

so, D'Antoni should have no problem giving Jordan his due minutes ...

This is the most logical. D'Antoni would be dumb to not play Hill, and he is not a rookie anymore.

[Laker Legend42]

I think mike D is smart enough to see the improvements in hill and will be able to put him in the best situations for success.

[KobeOwnSU]

D'Antoni is a ***** anyways. I hate this hire and I don't think the Lakers can succeed under this fake coach. This team is gonna implode this year.

[Laker Legend42]

[QUOTE=KobeOwnSU;24326849]D'Antoni is a ***** anyways. I hate this hire and I don't think the Lakers can succeed under this fake coach. This team is gonna implode this



You have any reasons why you feel that way?
New York was a bad situation. They were playing well then half of his team was traded. The Knicks were way better before the trade. He lost chandler,Felton and gallanari. Just to name a few.that trade took away all if his depth.