Los Angeles Lakers: A look back at Mike D’Antoni’s time in LA

Mike D’Antoni was the Head Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers for two forgettable seasons. Was he such a bad coach? Was all on him for the team’s failure?

The 2019/20 season was supposed to be a grand year for the Los Angeles Lakers. The season of their rebirth after years of mediocrity to return in the hunt for the championship. With a completely reshaped roster led by superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they had really good chances at the title.

Unfortunately, the coronavirus emergency put a stop to the season and we do not know when or if it will resume, dissipating the enthusiasm of the fans.

The last time the Los Angeles Lakers finished the regular season with a positive record was 2013. The roster featured Dwight Howard in his first stint in purple and gold. A 38-year-old Steve Nash was trying to conquest his first championship but a knee collision put an end to his career. Kobe Bryant would suffer a season-ending Achilles rupture trying to drag this team, with high expectations but a poor outcome, to the playoffs.

The head coach in this whirlwind of injuries, discontent and controversies was Mike D’Antoni.

After a disappointing 1-4 start with a star-studded team projected to be the leading candidate to the championship, head coach Mike Brown was fired. Lakers front office (at the time led by Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak) had to batten down the hatches and quickly find a man capable of coaching such a team and lead it to the Finals. The choice fell on D’Antoni.

In addition to the pressure of coaching in LA a team highlighted by Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard, his tenure in Los Angeles did not begin the best way. His hiring was immediately at the center of a controversy about the front office choosing him over Phil Jackson, without giving the latter the time to accept or reject the offer they made him.

So the Italian-American coach had to live immediately with the fans’ complaint and the comparisons with Jackson’s previous success.

Still as of today, it is debated who made the final call to choose D’Antoni over the eleven-time champion, but the goal was clear: Given Nash’s presence on the team, bringing the playing style that gave them great success in Phoenix.

With a premiere center like Dwight Howard, the idea was to use him like Amar’e Stoudemire in Phoenix, as a lethal roller and finisher in pick and rolls. The problem was Dwight was not willing to do it. He wanted to post up, have the ball in his hands and dictate the game. He wanted to be ‘The Man’.

Beyond this, a lineup with two post-up big men did not fit D’Antoni’s system, so Pau Gasol struggled to find a role in the game. He was also demoted to a backup role for the first time in his career to make way for Earl Clark, who would stretch the floor.

But Howard’s injuries soon gave Pau his starting role back and he thrived as a facilitating center averaging a career-high 4.1 assists. As said, Nash injured his left leg in the second game of the season and he missed 24 games.

He returned and performed fairly good, but the problems went on forcing him to miss the final part of the season and eventually retire after another year of attempted comebacks. Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles tendon giving the team their playoff berth. A playoff run which ended 0-4.

To finish off the terrible season, Dwight Howard did not re-sign and headed to Houston to form a miserable partnership with James Harden.

With Howard gone and Kobe set to be out much of the next year, the Los Angeles Lakers did not have traction on other big profile players. So, they opted to go another way. Probably the hardest one, but the more sensitive and only possible at the time. Bring together a team of medium/low profile players who fit the style of D’Antoni’s game.

They assembled a running-and-gunning team full of trigger-happy shooters with a license to kill from three.

The front office put every kind of trick out of the hat to fill out the roster.

Nick Young was probably the biggest sign of the offseason. Coming from playing for three teams in the last two years, he was on the path to becoming somewhat of a journeyman in his prime, so he gladly accepted a multi-year offer and the chance to play a big role in his hometown.

Jordan Farmar was brought back from Turkey. Shawne Williams was saved from a Chinese minor league. Xavier Henry made the team out of a training camp contract thanks to a strong showing in the preseason.

They brought back from the dead Wesley Johnson, a former lottery pick whose career looked over after just three seasons in the NBA. Former wanna-be-Clippers-legend Chris Kaman was added to support and backup Pau Gasol. In December, they signed Kendall Marshall from the D-League. And obviously there was that year draft pick, Ryan Kelly, with the 48th.

With Nash ending up playing just 15 games, Steve Blake was the full time leading point guard and, at 33 years old, he had a career-season in Los Angeles thanks to D’Antoni’s system, averaging 9.9 and 7.6 assists, shooting 39.7 percent from three. He was so good he got traded at the deadline to the playoff-bound Golden State Warriors in exchange for more shooting power in the form of Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks.

Jodie Meeks had a career-year too. Receiving the green light to shoot the lights out from three, he scored a career-high 15.7 points per game as the Los Angeles Lakers starting shooting guard.

At the end of the season, Nick Young led the team in scoring coming off the bench.

This was not a great team. As a matter of fact, they finished the season with a 27-55 record. But it was built to fit D’Antoni’s style.

A team grounded on running an up-tempo offense, with stretch-power forwards, and little to no attention to defense. They were built to rely on shooting and enthusiasm. They also managed to pull out a win in the season opener against the city rivals Lob City Clippers.

Heck! They were fun to watch when they won. It was an entertaining show with Jodie Meeks coming from screens and Swaggy P draining threes, going on hot streaks, and celebrating prematurely. Xavier Henry would slash defenses with his devastating penetrations and Jordan Hill hustle under the boards to catch offensive rebounds.

Because of injuries, trades and changes of strategy, D’Antoni deployed tens of different starting lineups. Still, as of today, it is hard to define who the real starting-caliber players were. The most used lineup was Gasol, Johnson (not Magic, unfortunately), Kelly, Marshall and Meeks. And the following two are by no means less weird.

On some nights, you could find a starting five consisting of Bazemore, Meeks, Hill, Marshall and Kaman.

Put it however you want, but it was the most successful season the Los Angeles Lakers had until they put together a group of promising young players with a bit of experience on their backs. Considered what came after, Lakers fan should have enjoyed what they had in that moment, because, albeit not much, it was better than that.

D’Antoni was practically forced to resign that summer leaving Los Angeles with a memory of malcontent and controversy about him.

Although he does not win a championship, he will probably go down as a Hall of Famer for his brilliant offensive mind. His approach to the game changed NBA basketball forever. He is so innovative that he was not ahead of his time. He made his time. He made it in what he thought basketball was supposed to be, and, championship or not, he succeeded, leading teams to great runs with his unconventional approach.

So, was he bad in LA? No. He had the wrong personnel to play the way he wanted to play. And how can you have success with a star not willing to embrace your system? When he was given the right personnel, he was at least able to organize a fun team according to the talent provided.

He was just the wrong man at the wrong time. The fault was much more on the Los Angeles Lakers’ front office for hiring him. Mike was just guilty of accepting a lucrative contract. Who would not, regardless of the team?