You can say all you want about your dislike of Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni an that he doesn't preach defense, but in reality who is going to take over as head coach?
I will not answer that question, because I have not been venting about this guy needing to be fired due to a 3-game losing streak of a team that is still building it's chemistry. In fact, in games such as the win over the Heat a few weeks ago, we have witnessed glimpses of this team's defensive ability and seen that they can step up in big situations. The real issue is they only play defense when they WANT to. If it's a team under .500%, where the new-look-knicks are K-4, the team doesn't think about defense. It is truly absurd that they cannot play defense consistently. They can play it though, they can. Every time they suffer a loss like last night's 119-117 loss to the Pacers they literally should watch footage of their 91-87 win over the Heat, to realize how good they can play defense. They should watch footage of their blowout and defensive win over the New Orleans Hornets. Those games will motivate these players to step up on defense. I do believe that D'Antoni can be persuaded by players such as Chauncey Billups to start focusing more on defense. Maybe they already have convinced him and it just hasn't translated on-court yet. Keep in mind with 10 seconds left last night and down two, Carmelo drove to the hoop and tied the game with about 7 seconds remaining in the game. He could have dragged it down to the buzzer and went to OT, but he knew this team had to try and make a defensive stop. He knew thats the answer to improving. Unfortunately they gave it their best and still lost in the end.
However every time the Knicks win a game we love 'em and praise the trade, and every time they lose a game we criticize coach Mike D'Antoni and call for his head on a platter. I've heard plenty of it this morning that D'Antoni needs to be fired after this season. I do not agree necessarily, because unless they convince Phil Jackson to be the coach, I really don't see who is out there that can have an impact on this team's defense while maintaining their high-powered offense.
