NEW ORLEANS — Mike D’Antoni, inventor of the “Seven Seconds or Less” offense, admits he has tinkered with his formula during the Knicks’ surge, having slowed the attack.
“As long as it’s 24 seconds or less,” D’Antoni said jokingly before the Knicks won their fourth straight and fifth in six games in a comeback victory over the Hornets at New Orleans Arena.
D’Antoni said the dramatic change came after their franchise-worst 1-9 start, finally realizing the talent does not translate to speedball. When D’Antoni accepted the Knicks job before the 2008-09 season, there were questions if D’Antoni would adapt his system to the talent. It took him a while, but he’s finally adjusted.
Indeed, point guard Chris Duhon, who got off to an awful start to the season but now is on a major roll, has proven better at running a halfcourt offense.
“We’ve slowed it down,” D’Antoni said. “We’d like to run at every opportunity. This pace suits us better as a team.”
Jack McCallum authored a book on D’Antoni’s Suns, called “Seven Seconds or Less,” championing D’Antoni’s style. It encourages the ball to be rushed up court to keep the defense off balance and launch a shot or be in position to shoot seven seconds into the shot clock.
But D’Antoni admitted the pushing the ball led to ill-advised shots. They’ve been a lot more efficient offensively — shooting 48.4 percent in the 4-1 streak, compared to 44.5 percent prior.
“It was several seconds and a mess,” D’Antoni quipped.
“We were rushing some shots,” D’Antoni said. “We got carried away. Once you’re in a hole, maybe you try to push it even harder and that can backfire.”
Occasionally, Duhon can be seen walking the ball upcourt — something that directly flies in the face of D’Antoni’s revolutionary Suns’ offense.
Asked if it pains him to slow down his attack, D’Antoni said, “What pains me is losing. I don’t care. I want to win. You have in mind how you want to play sometimes but certain guys are better playing a different way. We’re better this way.”
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Hornets GM/coach Jeff Bower said he’s not worried about Chris Paul re-signing after the 2011 season. The Knicks could have cap space in 2011 if they get shut out in 2010. “We’re thinking about today,” said Bower, the former Marist assistant coach. “We’re not creating a frenzy like you guys are.” . . . Toney Douglas was a DNP with Larry Hughes gobbling up the backup PG minutes.