D'Antoni: Not D'Most Popular Coach

The discontent toward New York coach Mike D’Antoni has been simmering for a few weeks, and today at SBN’s Posting and Toasting, it boils over. Knicks fans, commence your venting:

This year’s Knicks were probably destined to lose. We weren’t expecting D’Antoni to build a well-oiled machine out of spare parts, but we did hope he’d make the best of what he had. That hasn’t been the case.

…A lot of us would agree that Douglas, Hill, Gallinari and Chandler are actually among the players most capable of making the Knicks semi-competitive right now. Unless the veterans are being showcased, which remains to be seen, I have trouble coming up with an argument against giving major minutes to the Knicks with fresh legs, moldable games, and long-term contracts.

The root of the criticism lies in D’Antoni’s refusal to play younger players like Toney Douglas, Wilson Chandler, and Jordan Hill. And it’s fair. Because as green as that group may be, they’re still about as good as anyone else on the roster, and what’s absent in experience, they compensate for with energy and athleticism.

It’s one thing to lose games; but to lose with a plodding roster, full of veterans? That’s called hoops damnation. And “plodding” is the exact opposite of Mike D’Antoni’s reputation, so the alarm from Knicks fans is understandable.

Really: How can you expect to run Seven Seconds or Less with Larry Hughes and Eddy Curry? Will the real D’Antoni please stand up?

PLUS: Please believe, Toney Douglas do what Toney Douglas do.