by Stop Mike Lupica on May 11 at 10:23PM
Sometimes I really hate the local media in NYC. Especially the sports media.
I haven't been writing much lately, but I did note (and comment) several times over the past week or two about how obvious it was that certain members of the local media, particularly the Daily News, were clearly pining for Mark Jackson to get hired by Donnie Walsh as the Knicks new head coach. Frank Isola must have written at least one article a day stating that "Mark Jackson was the leading candidate", and that "Mike D'Antoni has no interest in the Knicks, and is only using them to get more money from the Bulls". Why the love for Mark Jackson? Because he's an old school New Yorker, one of the few people that still answers the phone when a guy like Mike Lupica or Frank Isola call for a quote. Mike D'Antoni is an unknown quantity to the local media. And he comes with his own set of "personal" reporters, guys like Jack McCallum, who beat all the local beat writers to the scoop that D'Antoni had agreed to a $24 million, 4-year deal to coach the Knicks.
So what's the result? We get one blatant column in the Sunday Daily News, with Frank Isola ripping Donnie Walsh's "credibility", while calling the hiring "a risk". Any quotes for the article? You can always tell the writer's personal angle by the quote that hemakes up uses for the story. What do we get today?:
"I think it's a terrible match," said one rival head coach. "I don't get it. Two of the biggest problems with the Knicks are that they don't practice and they don't play defense."
Not to pick on Isola, let's see how the rest of the local media did. Peter Vecsey took the usual Post route, which is to say the same thing as the News, but with more hyperbole. DONNIE WALSH BLEW IT. A picture of D'Antoni, with the caption "Bad choice". Thoughts from Vecsey?:
I'm stunned and baffled by the decision.
Any quotes from "rival head coaches"?
"Not only are the Knicks known to shoot themselves in the foot, they often crouch down to get a better aim," zaps column contributor Brian McGunigle.
Who? Whatever... I could keep breaking on these local beat writers/fools, but now there is someone else to do it! Check out this great post from The Palpable Masses, for the some Fire Joe Morgan style riffing on Isola.
We do all realize that the Knicks just signed one of the two most successful coaches in the NBA over the past four seasons, right? The other, Avery Johnson, has won over 70% of his games as head coach, and is the only other person available that should be considered a better candidate than D'Antoni. I personally would have preferred AJ, but Mike D'Antoni is no scrub. And as much as I liked Mark Jackson as a player, and as an announcer... when did he become the second coming of Red Auberach?
For that matter, we do realize we are talking about a guy who, as a Hall of Fame point guard, was notorious for his shabby defense?!? Was Mark Jackson really going to teach Jamal Crawford how to defend better?
Do you see how the media manipulates the discussion? Most people, most Knick fans, aren't excited that the Knicks just signed a top coach to lead their team. Not just a top coach with a winning record - check that, a stunning record over the past four years, including 232 regular season wins - but the coach and architect of the most exciting system in the NBA! Yeah, man are we unlucky or what?
This is why nobody likes NYers.
But, of course, the local media credits the entire Suns success to Steve Nash, a great point guard who plays no defense. Jamal Crawford is no Steve Nash; Stephon Marbury is no Steve Nash. But neither of them will be any worse on the defensive end than Nash is. If the Suns could win without playing defense, maybe D'Antoni really is the perfect coach for the Knicks. After all, it's not like the Knicks offense last season was effective, or efficient; they also ran almost no plays, and had no cohesive system. Those are problems that are just as important to fix as the defense (which isn't as bad as advertised - guys like Robinson, Chandler, Balkman, and Jeffries aren't terrible, and the Knicks would sometimes be able to put together good runs of defense and rebounding when they had the right personnel on the court).
Let's talk about what Mike D'Antoni brings to the table....
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I haven't been writing much lately, but I did note (and comment) several times over the past week or two about how obvious it was that certain members of the local media, particularly the Daily News, were clearly pining for Mark Jackson to get hired by Donnie Walsh as the Knicks new head coach. Frank Isola must have written at least one article a day stating that "Mark Jackson was the leading candidate", and that "Mike D'Antoni has no interest in the Knicks, and is only using them to get more money from the Bulls". Why the love for Mark Jackson? Because he's an old school New Yorker, one of the few people that still answers the phone when a guy like Mike Lupica or Frank Isola call for a quote. Mike D'Antoni is an unknown quantity to the local media. And he comes with his own set of "personal" reporters, guys like Jack McCallum, who beat all the local beat writers to the scoop that D'Antoni had agreed to a $24 million, 4-year deal to coach the Knicks.
So what's the result? We get one blatant column in the Sunday Daily News, with Frank Isola ripping Donnie Walsh's "credibility", while calling the hiring "a risk". Any quotes for the article? You can always tell the writer's personal angle by the quote that he
"I think it's a terrible match," said one rival head coach. "I don't get it. Two of the biggest problems with the Knicks are that they don't practice and they don't play defense."
Not to pick on Isola, let's see how the rest of the local media did. Peter Vecsey took the usual Post route, which is to say the same thing as the News, but with more hyperbole. DONNIE WALSH BLEW IT. A picture of D'Antoni, with the caption "Bad choice". Thoughts from Vecsey?:
I'm stunned and baffled by the decision.
Any quotes from "rival head coaches"?
"Not only are the Knicks known to shoot themselves in the foot, they often crouch down to get a better aim," zaps column contributor Brian McGunigle.
Who? Whatever... I could keep breaking on these local beat writers/fools, but now there is someone else to do it! Check out this great post from The Palpable Masses, for the some Fire Joe Morgan style riffing on Isola.
We do all realize that the Knicks just signed one of the two most successful coaches in the NBA over the past four seasons, right? The other, Avery Johnson, has won over 70% of his games as head coach, and is the only other person available that should be considered a better candidate than D'Antoni. I personally would have preferred AJ, but Mike D'Antoni is no scrub. And as much as I liked Mark Jackson as a player, and as an announcer... when did he become the second coming of Red Auberach?
For that matter, we do realize we are talking about a guy who, as a Hall of Fame point guard, was notorious for his shabby defense?!? Was Mark Jackson really going to teach Jamal Crawford how to defend better?
Do you see how the media manipulates the discussion? Most people, most Knick fans, aren't excited that the Knicks just signed a top coach to lead their team. Not just a top coach with a winning record - check that, a stunning record over the past four years, including 232 regular season wins - but the coach and architect of the most exciting system in the NBA! Yeah, man are we unlucky or what?
This is why nobody likes NYers.
But, of course, the local media credits the entire Suns success to Steve Nash, a great point guard who plays no defense. Jamal Crawford is no Steve Nash; Stephon Marbury is no Steve Nash. But neither of them will be any worse on the defensive end than Nash is. If the Suns could win without playing defense, maybe D'Antoni really is the perfect coach for the Knicks. After all, it's not like the Knicks offense last season was effective, or efficient; they also ran almost no plays, and had no cohesive system. Those are problems that are just as important to fix as the defense (which isn't as bad as advertised - guys like Robinson, Chandler, Balkman, and Jeffries aren't terrible, and the Knicks would sometimes be able to put together good runs of defense and rebounding when they had the right personnel on the court).
Let's talk about what Mike D'Antoni brings to the table....
**********************
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