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For their head coaching vacancy, Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Hornets are expected to decide between Kenny Atkinson and Mike D’Antoni.
Atkinson, who is currently in the NBA Finals as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors, was Steve Nash’s predecessor as the head coach of the Nets. D’Antoni, a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans, was most notably a head coach for the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets.
D’Antoni is the more famous of the two, and he is in a strong position to get the gig. It’s fun to imagine an offensive genius like LaMelo Ball playing for a coach like D’Antoni, especially considering the success he had coaching the uber-talented James Harden.
Although both are well-qualified for the job, however, Atkinson is the better fit. He was lauded for his player development and was credited for helping get the most out of D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, and Joe Harris.
From 2008 until 2012, Atkinson served as an assistant coach for D’Antoni on the Knicks. He later applied many of D’Antoni’s principles to his own fast-paced, motion-based offensive philosophies (via The Athletic):
“According to D’Antoni, the two spent countless hours together in New York, discussing offensive philosophy and the advantages of a team that could play what has now become known as positionless basketball … Atkinson readily admits to applying many of the lessons he learned as a pupil of the coach he considers a pioneer.”
Dating back to his time working with Jeremy Lin on the Knicks, Atkinson has always been a hands-on leader. Even as a head coach, he participated in the most physical drills alongside his players.
With all due respect to the 71-year-old D’Antoni, Atkinson is the kind of coach who is going to get the most out of Charlotte’s young and developing squad. The Hornets operate as a small-market team, and they need someone like Atkinson, who is willing to get in the trenches with his roster.
For a young team like this one, Atkinson would be a home-run hire.
The Tip-Off
During Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, former NBA referee Steve Javie hopped on ESPN’s broadcast and told viewers that they call the game different for players who already have one technical foul.
Here is what our own Andy Nesbitt had to say about that statement:
“NBA refs shouldn’t be thinking that way, right? If one player already has a technical foul then the normal rules shouldn’t really apply to that player for the rest of the game? If that’s the way refs operate, and I obviously can’t say for sure that they do, then it seems like fans would be right for questioning the integrity for which refs call big games.
In a league that already feels like the refs have way too big of an impact on games, this thought process shared by Javie is a very bad one and shouldn’t be taken lightly by the NBA. That it was just so openly shared on the broadcast of a NBA Finals game is just insane.”
I understand where Javie is coming from, but he may have said the quiet part a little too loud here. Ultimately, I agree with Nesbitt on this one.
If you’re more lenient on players with a technical foul, it just encourages players like Draymond Green to get T’d up earlier in the game so that they can play a more lawless and chaotic game — without fear of getting ejected.
Shootaround
— Steph Curry and Jordan Poole looking at each other after Poole’s buzzer-beater became a meme
— Could the Quin Snyder departure signal the end for Donovan Mitchell with the Jazz?
— Rookie Wire’s Cody Taylor provides his latest mock draft
— HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan ranked the top 100 players (!) in the NBA, based on trade value
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