Should Laker fans still be worried?

Recently the Los Angeles Lakers made a coaching change from defensive minded Mike Brown to offensive powerhouse coach Mike D’Antoni. While Phil Jackson was rumored to be the favorite and frontrunner for the vacant coaching position, Lakers management decided to go in a different direction and choose D’Antoni.

Many Lakers fans, including me, were disappointed with the choice because Phil Jackson is arguably the best coach in NBA history and Laker fans wanted to see him back on the sidelines. After going 1-4 under Mike Brown and now 2-1 under interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff, the Lakers find themselves sitting at a record of 3-5. They are tied for second-to-last place with the Portland Trailblazers, a team that the Lakers lost too. So what now? What happens now that a coaching change has been made? The question of, “Should Laker fans still be worried?” is a fair one to ask.

The buzz around the NBA is that the Laker players are all bummed about the non-hiring of Phil Jackson. Can D’Antoni get the job done? While people question D’Antoni, they also forget that from 2004-2008, he was one of the most highly-regarded coaches in the league, leading the Phoenix Suns to either the first or second seed in the Western conference each year. He and the Suns never went to the finals or won a title but he also didn’t have the players for it. Now, in Los Angeles, he is re-united with two-time MVP Steve Nash and the future looks bright.

As it has been shown in his last few years in New York, the other main player that D’Antoni had while in Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire is more of a liability in D’Antoni’s system than a star player. D’Antoni now has Nash again but also has a mixture of other great players. D’Antoni has never coached anyone like Kobe Bryant and he also now has something that he never did in either Phoenix or New York — a dominant center. Dwight Howard is considered the best center in the NBA and he is playing alongside Pau Gasol, who D’Antoni believes is the most skilled big man of his generation. He is an Amare Stoudemire-type player, but better. Pau might not be as dominant and physical but he can score like Stoudemire and can shoot better. The combination of these four players, not to mention the crazy, yet loveable, Metta World Peace puts D’Antoni into a good place as a coach just with his starting lineup.

Since D’Antoni is known as an only offensive coach, questions have surfaced about the Lakers once vaunted defense. Howard and Bryant both have sterling defensive credentials, though, and I think the defense will be just fine. The best defense is a good offense and that is something that the Lakers will surely have. The bench play has been lackluster thus far this season, so with D’Antoni’s system it really can’t get any worse. D’Antoni is clearly stating guys’ roles, which should help the bench guys. He told Jody Meeks the only good shot he should be taking is when he has the ball.

The Fact Of The Matter

The Lakers management showed that they were serious about the post-Phil era by hiring both Mike Brown and now Mike D’Antoni. I guess they decided to see how a defensive minded coach would work for them and since that “failed,” and I strongly use the quotation, now they look to an offensive minded coach to see if that can turn things around in Laker land. While I would have loved to see a return from Phil Jackson, D’Antoni was the next best option that the Lakers had and I expect the Lakers to still contend for a championship and ultimately make the finals.

But, as D’Antoni said himself, “If we’re not at least in the hunt [for a championship], a serious hunt, then I’ve failed as a head coach. I’m comfortable with that.” D’Antoni realizes that he is no longer in Phoenix or New York where failure to win a title and just making the playoffs can be considered a sign of good things to come but he is now in Los Angeles, with the most storied franchise in NBA history, where failure is not an option.