D'Antoni Sono Buoni

After hearing a good deal of nonsense about how Mark Jackson was promised the job, and how it's somehow "confusing" that a bad team would hire a good coach, I was happy to hear both Mike D'Antoni and Donnie Walsh debunk those rumors and express some difficulty in even understanding why a bad team could NOT hire a good coach.

The shock jocks on WFAN and YES did it again though. I keep thinking they can't say anything even more shocking than the day before, but they surpassed themselves today.

One key piece of research, I would think, that one should do before an interview is to know the interviewee's name. After two or three times calling the coach "D'Antonio", they finally managed to correct themselves. They later excused themselves by saying that "a lot of people have gotten it wrong" and "it's a hard name".

I keep asking myself WHY I continue to listen. The answer lies in the fact that their show gets ALL the important interviews. Their show has become so popular over the years that it has become a huge sports forum. And that's to every sports fan's benefit, but, still, for two Italian-American interviewers to botch another Italian-American's name is embarrassing to me, both as an Italian-American and as a New Yorker.

In any event, so far so good with D'Antoni and Donnie Walsh too, for that matter. D'Antoni made it clear that he can coach, he can be flexible, that he didn't come to New York just for the money, that he and his family both love New York, and that he gets along very well with Stephon Marbury.

He also explained that he coaches to the strengths of his team, and he had very skilled offensive players in Phoenix as well as a 6'7" center. He also had to defend his record in Phoenix, as if that record needed any defending, but he made it clear that they lost to San Antonio (THAT'S where they got the "D'Antonio" from, I guess), arguably the best team in the NBA for years.

Mr. Walsh made it clear that he NEVER offered the job to Mark Jackson, that he liked Mark Jackson very much, but that Mike D’Antoni was the most qualified person for the job. And nobody could argue with that, not even those two. He made it clear that, before making any big decisions on personnel, he would first determine his current player’s talents, in what scheme they would be most effective, and only then would he make decisions on acquisitions.

Walsh also made it clear that he would never swap a player with just one year left on his contract for one with three or four years to expiry. That, of course, was a discussion with respect to Marbury, who, although he will earn (well, maybe “earn” is too strong a word) about 21 million dollars next year, it will only be for one more year, and, besides, he made no bones about the fact that he recognizes that Stephon is a very talented player.

Walsh also answered the question as to whether he ever said that he wanted a defensive coach. While he didn’t say that, he clarified that defense is certainly important and stressed the significance of point differential rather than points made or given up on either side of the ball.

Given the stated process, it’s hard to believe that progress will come quickly for the Knicks. That being said, however, Walsh has pulled rabbits out of a hat before with Indianapolis.

And D’Antoni has had success at every stop. From West Virginia to the NBA,ABA and Italian League as a player, than as a coach, he’s been part of winning teams and sometimes championships. Of course, he had incredible success with Phoenix of the NBA. And, judging from the reactions of the Nets’ Boki Nachbar to D’Antoni’s hiring, he’s also a dream to play for.

So what’s not to like? I’m not sure I like his mustache, but I struggle to find anything else. In fact, for as much flak as Knicks owner James Dolan has had to take over the years, he seems to have hired the best possible choices for both GM and now coach.

Let’s see what transpires though. Let’s see what happens when D’Antoni runs smack into the horror of Eddy Curry as center. That to me is a gigantic problem, and will no doubt be D’Antoni’s biggest challenge. There are Marbury, of course, David Lee, Jamal Crawford and Zak Randolph with talent, but the rest of the roster is expendable. Combined with the fact that a few of those expendable players have a few years left on their contracts, some of the problems become long-term ones.

There’s always hope though, especially with good people at the top. And that appears to be in place. If they can sign their probable lottery pick in this year’s draft, success could be right around the corner. After all, Isiah’s team was doing creditably just two years ago before injuries to Crawford and Lee.

When Crawford and Lee returned, however, there was Zak Randolph, who, for whatever reason, never worked out, although he should have been a big help. His stats had been among the highest for power forwards in the entire league. Unfortunately, the fragile Curry never seemed to recover from the challenge of having another inside scoring presence. And neither player played defense.

Isiah always seemed to think he could just acquire good players, and everything else would work itself out. Maybe they did to his mind in Detroit. Isiah never flinched when asked about how Marbury would mesh with another fine scoring point guard, or how Randolph and Curry would co-exist. Of course, they never did, and I wonder to this day whether Isiah is worried yet.

Probably not, he’s got some guaranteed money coming his way. And, no doubt, he’ll still be useful as a consultant. As long as the questions are pointed to past experiences, everything should be just fine in Knicks-land.

Just Not Getting It

Why do I like the Knicks so much? It's inexplicable really. They have one guy who shows up every day, a veritable superstar in my mind, a guy who not only shows up every day, but does so in the absence of anyone else. That would be Jamal Crawford, of course. Half shooting guard, half point guard, he consistently does either job, whichever one is needed the most that night.

And, yes, there is David Lee grabbing rebounds left and right. He does his job, but at 6'9" and 240, really can't be a presence in the middle. He rebounds and makes a lot of dunks, seldom showing any propensity to shoot the ball from any distance, not because he can't necessarily, but because he has to get in line.

Maybe this Knicks team reminds me of those Mets of the Sixties, those lovable oafs. Who can forget Marv Throneberry, early Eddie Kranepool, Choo Choo Coleman, Rod Kanehl, and over-the-hill stars such as Duke Snider, Richie Ashburn, Gil Hodges and Frank Thomas? How about Roger Craig pitching just well enough to lose 20 games?.

You have to go back that far, and to another sport, to find anything that quite mirrors this bunch. I think you can even draw a remarkable parallel between Isiah Thomas and that first Mets Manager, Casey Stengel. Try to get a straight answer out of either of them.

The Marv Throneberry of this Knicks team would have to be Eddie Curry. I'm not quite sure he's as lovable but he sure is colorful. He plays hard about one game out of every three. A giant of a man at 6'11" and 285 pounds, he has 23 blocks this season, four of them in one game. Just for perspective, let me add that the fine young center, Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz, has only 24 blocks but he has grabbed 595 rebounds to Curry’s 247. Boozer is also a fierce defender.

I find it quite amusing now that Eddie seems puzzled by his absence from the lineup. And Isiah justifies it, not by admitting the guy epitomizes "soft" but by philosophizing about the way the game has changed, how more and more, teams are going with smaller lineups. Casey couldn't have said it any better. Isiah is either a very nice man, or he brought Eddie to the Knicks. Or both.

Then there is 6'9" power forward, Zach Randolph. He has 9 blocked shots. I tried to find a picture that would show some kind of vertical leap. Shown above is the result. He could be 8" or so off the ground. Has anyone seen him dunk? Despite his inability to get up in the air, he shoots the ball quite well, and actually does get his share of rebounds, averaging a humongous 10.1. So he does at least serve a useful function on the floor.

Curry, who used to score, can't even do that this year. The team suffers with both big men on the floor. Eddie apparently doesn't know what else he could be doing when the ball goes to someone else.

It’s a shame really. Randolph could have been a great addition despite his defensive liabilities. If only those two could have played together, the Knicks would have had two big scoring threats down low, a tough thing to defend. But, no, Curry elected to pout.

The rest of the team is no bargain either. Quentin Richardson, the starting small forward, has been incredibly inconsistent, and, for one long stretch of critical games (they’re all critical when you’ve won so few), could not find the basket. It seemed to have left the building. It was like watching the Yanks Chuck Knoblauch trying to find first base.

At point guard, there had been Stephon Marbury, of course. Flawed at best, his season started badly, there was a death in the family and then some fairly serious injuries, and ended quite early. There is hope in Nate Robinson, though, who, while small in stature, can jump through the roof, can shoot the ball, and can really be a spark plug when he is not throwing the ball away. I’d compare him to an early Mets fellow named Ron Swoboda, who could be great, but was more often not in his formative years.

There is hope still, however, if you show patience. A starting lineup of Robinson, Crawford, Lee, Richardson and Randolph is not too shabby. Although I’d like to see a more consistent small forward, Richardson does play defense. David Lee also tries to put in a good defensive effort, but doesn’t have those quick feet.

Yes, this Knicks team is exciting to watch, if you don’t expect too much. Even the backups can be exciting. Mardy Collins, listed as Robinson’s backup at the point, can play defense and Renaldo Balkman does the same behind Richardson. Jared Jeffries has been spelling Zach Randolph and is also a defensive specialist. Freddy Jones backs up Jamal, and he shows flashes of real ability.

James Dolan apparently decided not to make any more moves under Isiah, deciding apparently not to send good money after bad, or, at the very least, deciding to let the next man do it. And, although I’ll miss what a new ingredient could have added, in the person of a legitimate point guard, small forward or center, it’s heartening to get an indication that change is on the way.

I have tried to support Isiah all the way. Isiah was such a breath of fresh air over Larry Brown, who did nothing but whine, and seemed to try to lose games, no doubt, putting his bid in for the GM role. Isiah has been, if nothing else, a gentleman, at least in the public eye. Even his player moves could have worked out, if not for Eddie Curry, Isiah’s biggest mistake.

Curry just never had it, and despite Isiah’s most fervent prayers, Curry would never get it. He now occupies the bench much of most nights, a place he richly deserves.