I could recap last night's game, but it'd just be a mixture of the usual nonsense and disgust at Dan Gadzuric's beard. Instead, I'd like to turn our attention to the coach. I rarely question coaching and management in this space because so much of that takes place behind the scenes and out of earshot. One thing strikes me, though, and I think it's something you guys have picked up on as well. D'Antoni gets very hot; he nearly throttled a referee last night after a foul on David Lee went unnoticed. We haven't really seen him let loose on his players, though. It's hard to say what goes on in the locker room, but from what we see on TV, D'Antoni has yet to hold his guys accountable in the form of scolding. With a team that's 1-6 and can't find any semblance of chemistry, that probably shouldn't be the case. I understand that D'Antoni is a "player's coach" and cares deeply about his squad, but something has to give. It doesn't have to be the coach himself yelling and screaming. It could be a quicker trigger on calling timeouts, or it could be more willingness to bench guys who are a step slow (which, to be fair, made an appearance last night). D'Antoni could even preserve his camaraderie with the players by having an assistant play the role of bad cop, like Doc in Remember the Titans. Can't you picture Herb Williams yelling "you're lookin' like a bunch of BUMS out there!" after a huge opposing run?
Anyway, to put poorly what Tommy expressed quite well, I'm of the opinion that D'Antoni's at fault not for his system, but for his motivational techniques. Just like Tommy, I saw Coach passionately preach defense throughout training camp. I don't doubt that his intentions are pure. It just seems like his message lacks a punch, and that's where a little anger might help matters. But that's just me. How accountable do y'all think D'Antoni is for this woeful start? Is it a matter of strategy, motivation, or something else entirely? Discuss the 'stache in the comments.