After Dwight Howard spurned the Lake Show for the allure of playing with James Harden, Chandler Parsons and the rest of the Houston Rockets, the Lakers could decide between one of two options.
They could give up on the year, throwing in the towel and essentially tanking for a chance at Andrew Wiggins. Doing so would have doomed coach Mike D'Antoni to an early departure from the sidelines of the Staples Center.
The other option was tougher, and it involved making value signings and figuring out a way to maximize the talent on the roster. Of course, that's the route the ever-proud Lakers chose, and it's one that proves D'Antoni is here to stay.
The D'Antoni System
In order for this argument to work, you need a rudimentary understanding of the offense D'Antoni runs. We don't need to get into the nuances, but at least let's deal with the basics.
While offenses like the Triangle Offense and the Miami Heat's current system under Erik Spoelstra are rather complicated and require plenty of practice, D'Antoni's offensive concepts are rooted in simplicity. He's going to have his team run plenty of pick-and-roll sets, use backdoor cuts and play uptempo basketball that promotes quick shots and plenty of three-pointers.
You can view a basic video breakdown of the system here:
There are plenty of European-style complications as well.
D'Antonio often asks his players to form bunches on the wings during the middle of the action, confusing defenses about who picks up whom when they break. It's sort of similar to that out-of-bounds play everyone ran while growing up, the one where the players line up and run in random directions when the passer yells, "Break." <...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
