Thursday, April 21, 2011

D'Antoni Is A Bad Late Game Coach

New York Knicks head man Mike D'Antoni is not a bad coach. Not by any means. He can get your team to the playoffs, rack up plenty of wins in the regular season, and plays an exciting style of basketball. His only problem is that he's a bad late game coach.

Watching the Knicks melt down in the first two games in the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Boston Celtics reminded me of when he was coaching the Phoenix Suns. Suns fans probably know what I'm talking about and were probably having flashbacks watching the Knicks give away the first two games to the Celtics.

For all the flash the Suns had, they constantly found ways to lose to the Spurs, among others, in the playoffs. The Suns were always there in the end but found ways to lose it. Credit D'Antoni for that. He wasn't the greatest late game tactician. That flaw reared it's ugly head in games 1 and 2.

In game 1 Amare' Stoudamire was punishing Kevin Garnett in the fourth quarter, but for some reason he didn't see the ball down the stretch. Now if Stoudamire is the hot hand you keep going to it, don't you? I know I would, but I'm only a Playstation coach so how would I know. All plays should've been ran through Stoudamire, save for Toney Douglas' three pointer. Then you let Carmelo Anthony settle for a 30 footer for the last shot. Take your chances for overtime. I didn't watch much of game 2, but I saw enough to come to the realization that D'Antoni doesn't make the best choices late in the game.

The Knocks will be a force in the Eastern Conference in the years to come, whether D'Antoni will be there to see it through I don't know. I'm not calling for his job, but the Knicks are destined to become the new age version of the 1980's Milwaukee Bucks. Win a lot of games, but won't win big in the playoffs.    

Duke Football Player Arrested For Drug Trafficking

When you think of Duke, you think of academic excellence, their highly successful basketball program, and scores of graduates that have tasted success in the real world. You normally don't think of their football program and when you do think of it, it brings me the thought a sad sack team usually getting crushed in the ACC. But their players are probably the boss at a Fortune 500 company so their not bothered by it. Go ahead Duke fans rip me if you want, I can take it.

Duke linebacker Tyree Glover tried his hardest to get rid of the Duke image as a goody two shoes university. There's nothing wrong with being what I just labeled them, I only said that because Glover was arrested and charged for trafficking in cocaine. Hardly what you think of when you think of Duke.  

The 6-foot-1, 255-pound sophomore linebacker from Crescent City, Fla., was being held in the Durham County jail Thursday in lieu of $750,000 bond ...



[Police spokesperson Kammie] Michael said police then obtained a search warrant and searched his dorm room on the Duke campus where they found marijuana.


Michael said police confiscated 29.6 grams of powder cocaine and 72.4 grams of marijuana.

Naturally he was kicked off the team by head coach David Cutcliffe "for conduct unbecoming of a member of the program". Translation: Tyree f'd up bad.

Nice way of trying to dispel the Duke stereotype Mr. Glover. Duke is one of the most prestigious universites in America and you go there trying to be Nino Brown. What's with college football players trying to be the dopeman these days.