Mike D’Antoni Fired – Fantasy Perspective
April 30, 2008 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under NBA News, NFL Player Analysis
Mike D’Antoni of the Phoenix Suns has reportedly coached his final game for the Suns. On Tuesday night, D’Antoni and the Suns were eliminated from the 2008 NBA playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs after losing Game 5 92-87.
If the reports are true and D’Antoni is let go, there could be major changes in store for the Suns. With fantasy basketball in mind, this could be devastating news for players on the Suns. D’Antoni’s free flowing offensive sets allowed the Suns to have some of the best fantasy players in the game over the last few years.
Steve Nash particularly will undoubtedly suffer from the loss of D’Antoni. Nash thrived under D’Antoni, winning two MVP awards and cementing his legacy as a Hall of Fame player. If a defensive oriented coach comes on board, Nash’s offensive production could be severely hurt and he could see his minutes reduced.
The only player on the Suns who likely won’t be affected much is Amare Stoudemire. Stoudemire will likely continue to get many offensive touches. If anything, Stoudemire’s rebounding and shot blocking could increase under a new management.
However, everyone else – from Nash to Raja Bell to Boris Diaw to Shaquille O’Neal to Leandro Barbosa – will need to be reevaluated for the 2008-09 fantasy basketball season.
Photo: Newscom
I don’t think it was his fault, after all, they did only run into the Spurs, in which they (the Suns) have never won against them in a single playoff series and the Spurs were too confident, too experienced, and the Suns just made mistakes (not much because it was mostly credited to the Spurs’ defense) and the Spurs capitalized on all of them! It’s not Mike D’Antoni’s fault, it’s the Spurs fault!