Michael Jordan.
08-18-2013, 03:03 PM
Mike D’Antoni Says Lakers’ Chemistry Will be Better This Season
Could the loss of Dwight Howard, an All-Star and one of (and probably the) best centers in the NBA, actually make the Lakers better? That’s Head Coach Mike D’Antoni’s theory. Per the LA Times (http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-dantoni-20130818,0,6724965,full.story#axzz2cKxyKeKl): “Addition by subtraction? The Lakers can only hope, despite their very public courting of Howard that started a mere eight weeks ago and crashed and burned barely a week later. ‘We’ve definitely improved our shooting and I think the chemistry will be better just because the uncertainty has gone away,’ D’Antoni said. ‘A lot of people will know their roles better and what’s going on on the floor better. Dealing with free agency day to day, we won’t have those problems.’ The Lakers added Nick Young, Jordan Farmar, Wesley Johnson and veteran center Chris Kaman. ‘We’re real excited about some of the possibilities and trying to develop some guys that will turn into good players,’ D’Antoni said. ‘It’ll be good for them, good for the Lakers. It’s always exciting to have young guys like that who are willing to learn, willing to work hard.’ … Yet D’Antoni thinks the Lakers can improve upon last season’s 45-37 record … if they stay healthy. ‘I don’t see why not,” he said. ‘I think we can be better because I don’t think we reached our potential last year. Our lack of defense came mostly from lack of energy from guys that didn’t feel right in their place on the team. Defense is energy, concentration and the desire to do it. If something is sapping that energy — distractions, injuries, not feeling good about the team — then you’re not going to put your heart and soul into it and it comes out on the defensive end. They just didn’t feel each other.’”
???
Could the loss of Dwight Howard, an All-Star and one of (and probably the) best centers in the NBA, actually make the Lakers better? That’s Head Coach Mike D’Antoni’s theory. Per the LA Times (http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-dantoni-20130818,0,6724965,full.story#axzz2cKxyKeKl): “Addition by subtraction? The Lakers can only hope, despite their very public courting of Howard that started a mere eight weeks ago and crashed and burned barely a week later. ‘We’ve definitely improved our shooting and I think the chemistry will be better just because the uncertainty has gone away,’ D’Antoni said. ‘A lot of people will know their roles better and what’s going on on the floor better. Dealing with free agency day to day, we won’t have those problems.’ The Lakers added Nick Young, Jordan Farmar, Wesley Johnson and veteran center Chris Kaman. ‘We’re real excited about some of the possibilities and trying to develop some guys that will turn into good players,’ D’Antoni said. ‘It’ll be good for them, good for the Lakers. It’s always exciting to have young guys like that who are willing to learn, willing to work hard.’ … Yet D’Antoni thinks the Lakers can improve upon last season’s 45-37 record … if they stay healthy. ‘I don’t see why not,” he said. ‘I think we can be better because I don’t think we reached our potential last year. Our lack of defense came mostly from lack of energy from guys that didn’t feel right in their place on the team. Defense is energy, concentration and the desire to do it. If something is sapping that energy — distractions, injuries, not feeling good about the team — then you’re not going to put your heart and soul into it and it comes out on the defensive end. They just didn’t feel each other.’”
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