Dwight Howard endorses the hiring of Mike D’Antoni as the Lakers head coach – NBA Update
Although he was not consulted about the decision, Dwight Howard, the All-Star centre, who is playing in his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, is excited about the hiring of former Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks coach
Mike D’Antoni as the successor to Mike Brown, who was fired on Friday after a 1-4 start to the season.
"We're excited for D'Antoni and an up-paced offense," Howard said. "Everything he's done with the teams he's had as far as how they pushed the ball and how they play in an open court, I think it will be good for Steve (Nash) and
for all of us to put some points on the board."
D’Antoni coached Steve Nash, who is now a Laker, at Phoenix and the duo made the desert city franchise into one of the main championship contenders from the Western Conference. D’Antoni likes to install a high paced gun and run
style of play, and for that system to run a quality point guard is a must. And when talking about quality point guards, they don’t come much better than Nash.
Nash is one of the best pick and roll players ever to grace the league and with Howard and Pau Gasol sporting strong presences in the Lakers front court, D’Antoni and Nash can re-create the magic, which once cast the whole league
in its spell. Dwight Howard believes it to be the case and when asked about the early struggles of the team, despite it being one of the strongest on paper this season, he asserted that the bad patch might prove to be a good thing for the team eventually;
"It's not disappointing," Howard said. "Everything happens for a reason. There's a reason why we've been through so much so early in the season. I think it's good for our team. It's good for the chemistry. It's good for us just
to show how strong we are as individuals and as a team."
The Lakers have won two consecutive games after the firing of Brown, and D’ Antoni is not expected to immediately take over the reins, given his physical fitness. That delay may also give enough time to Nash to recover from a fractured
fibula in his left leg, one which he suffered on Oct.31. Nash is expected to be fit by next week, but no confirm time table has been given by the Lakers. Whenever he does though, one thing is sure; he will the main ball handler for the Lakers from now on.
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