Mike D’Antoni wants championship; Ready to transform the Los Angeles Lakers offence – NBA News
The Los Angeles Lakers have had as many head coaches this season as their wins so far this season, but the after Thursday’s press conference by the new coach Mike D’Antoni, it seems that they finally have a clear vision, and that vision hinges on winning the NBA Championship this very season;
"As (general manager) Mitch (Kupchak) has said and as I'm sure you guys know, we're built to win this year," D'Antoni said during his introductory news conference. "This is not a project. We have a window and we're going to try to get through it."
D’Antoni is blesses with some of the most fantastic players in his team. He has a starting lineup of Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace. On paper this lineup packs more punch than any other in the league, even the Miami Heat. The problem however is that so far, there was no direction as to how the team will operate once on the floor. That was the reason Mike Brown was fired and pretty much the reason why D’Antoni was preferred over the legendary Phil Jackson for the post.
In D’Antoni, the Lakers have got a coach who loves to play fast ball, and his system ensures that all the players are involved. To top that, it is much simpler and easy to adapt than Brown favoured Princeton Offense and P-Jax’s Triangle Offense. The problem however is that D’Antoni’s offence is based on athleticism, something which will be an issue at LA. Still, the former Phoenix Suns coach believes that he can make it work;
"We would love to be able to play 'Showtime'-type basketball," D'Antoni said. "Now, they might have done it the best that you can do it. We would like to get some place close to that. I think that would be awesome."
The Lakers currently stand at number 20 as far as the points scored per game are concerned. This figure is sure to improve under D’Antoni, who seems to have set the standard pretty high.
"I told the team if we're not averaging 110-115 points a game, we need to talk," D'Antoni said. "That's our goal. It should be easily done."
That figure is way above the scoring average of leaders Miami Heat – 104.9.
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