There is a big difference between good coaches and championship caliber coaches. For this example let’s use Mike D’Antoni. He has been considered a good coach while in Phoneix with the Suns and big things where expected when he came to the NY Knicks. Granted NY was horrible his first couple years but after they acquired Amare stoudemire and then later in the season Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billiups it felt like they had turned the corner. Which brings us to this year although the Knicks lost Chauncey they were considered to be title contenders with the signing of new NBA champion Tyson Chandler! Sadly the Knicks have gotten off to a 2-4 start and the main reasons Defense. Don’t get me wrong I think Mike D is a great coach unfortunately his greatness only extends to the offensive end. Don’t believe me check this article.
PUBLISHED Thursday, Jan 5, 2012 at 11:58 am EST
It’s too early to be sounding the panic alarms, but the season has not been going well for the New York Knicks. They’re 2-4, and after beating the Celtics on Christmas Day, they've dropped four of their last five, including home losses to the Raptors and Bobcats, nether of whom came into the season with particularly high expectations.
This, after coach Mike D’Antoni said before the season the Knicks had “the ability to win it all,” The New York Post notes.
The Knicks are fortunate that the Giants are in the NFL playoffs and controversy continues to surround the Jets. Without the buzz around New York's NFL teams, the town's tabloids would be having a back cover field day with its pro basketball team.
During Wednesday night’s 118-110 loss to Charlotte, chants of “Let’s Go Giants’’ and “Let’s Go Rangers’’ were mixed in with boos at Madison Square Garden, The Post reports.
In a statement no one is buying, D'Antoni, per Yahoo! Sports, said of the Bobcats, “You’re talking about an NBA team. They’re good.” D'Antoni is the final year of a $45 million contract, Yahoo! notes.
“We understand why the boos were coming. We’re not playing well,” forward Carmelo Anthony said, per the New York Daily News. “They want to see a team that goes out there and playing hard and we're not doing that right now. Like I told my guys today just stick with it. It can't get no worse.”
No one has ever believed in the Knicks’ defense under offensive-minded coach Mike D’Antoni, and, sure enough, the team’s biggest issue appears to be on the defensive end. Tyson Chandler was acquired this offseason to address the defensive deficiencies, but the team's new center stresses thing will take time to jell.
The Bobcats shot 55 percent from the field on Wednesday, and Charlotte center Boris Diaw scored 27 points, a night after being held scoreless in a 14-point loss to Cleveland.
"The offense was good," D'Antoni said, according to Newsday. "Just bad defense."
But the Knicks believe there’s time to turn their season around.
“It takes time to be a good defensive team,” Chandler said, per The New York Times. “We just have to dedicate ourselves to get there.”
Added D’Antoni, “There are 62 more games left. Or 60 games left. I didn't major in math. So we know what we've got to do. They're good guys, a good group. They're talking about it. We'll solve the problem. We'll get it done here. But better to get it sooner than later. So we've got to get it going."
If a home game against the Bobcats wasn’t enough to stem the tide, maybe a matchup against the lowly Wizards will be. The Knicks play at 0-6 Washington Friday night.>
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