In the program "Chu Na", Smith bluntly said that the teaching assistant is actually the most suitable position for D 'Antony, especially beside Nash. After all, their previous cooperation with the Suns was very successful, and they won many regular seasons, but they never reached the finals.
In Smith's view, D 'Antoni is undoubtedly the master who guides the team's attack, but D 'Antoni is actually very lucky to get the job of teaching assistant for the Nets. After all, the team he coached has never reached the finals before. He can improve a team's offense, but he can't lead the winning team to the championship. Now, the Nets are Nash's team. He can give D 'Antoni offensive training, but he has to find someone else for defensive training.
I have to say that Smith's remarks are a bit harsh, but they also tell a part of the truth. Previously, D 'Antoni coached Suns, Knicks, Lakers and Rockets successively, and also coached Nuggets in the shrinking season of 1998-99, but he never led a team to the finals, let alone won the championship.
During this period, D 'Antoni led the team to the Western Conference three times. The first two times were when he coached the Sun, in 2005 and 2006 respectively. As a result, the Sun lost to the Spurs and the Lone Ranger. The third time was when I coached the Rockets in the 20 17- 18 season. In the West, the Rockets once led the Warriors 3-2, but were turned over by their opponents.
Of course, human factors cannot be ruled out. For example, after 20 18 Western Conference G5, Paul injured his hamstring, missed G6 and tiebreaker, and Harden couldn't support himself, which led to the Rockets being turned over. But it is also an indisputable fact that the team coached by D 'Antoni is always one breath away from the finals.
The reason for this may be related to D 'Antoni's negligence in defense. Looking at the teams he has coached, there are only two teams with the highest defensive efficiency 10 in a single season. One team is the Knicks in the 20112 season (losing 100 rounds 10 1 points, ranking fifth in the league), and the other team is 2065438. The defensive efficiency of other teams he coached in a single season is basically not higher than that of the league 13, and several teams are at the bottom of the league. Perhaps this is why Smith said that he is more suitable to be a teaching assistant specializing in attack.
Therefore, D 'Antoni went to the Nets to coach. It does not rule out that the Nets need someone to guide their offense. Nash needs a mentor to guard his inexperience, but there is also a reason why he can't say it, that is, he may be close to no one in today's NBA coaching market. His neglect of defense and the wonderful mini-lineup created by the Rockets make him a "mad scientist" in the contemporary NBA, which makes all teams think twice when selecting coaches.
In fact, on the eve of McMillan's class, someone linked the team with D 'Antoni. Jonathan Tjraks, a reporter for The Ring, once wrote an article suggesting that the pedestrians send Miles Turner away in exchange for a side road, discharging a small lineup composed of Oladipo, Bro Tegart, Lamb, Warren and Sabonis Jr., holding high the flag of the ball, and asserting that "the smaller the lineup, the happier Oladipo will be."
D 'Antoni also took the lead in having an affair with the Pacers after leaving the Rockets. But in the end, the Pacers chose Nate Bjorkegren, a former Raptors teaching assistant. Bjorkegren is most famous for putting forward the Box- 1 tactical restriction library during the 20 19 finals. It can be seen that the Pacers chose a defensive coach, which can also explain why D 'Antoni did not enter their sight.
As Smith said, D 'Antoni is a master of attack, but that doesn't mean he can become a qualified coach. If we can help Nash win the first championship in his coaching career in the Nets, it will be a success.