LOS ANGELES — Mike D’Antoni’s Lakers’ coaching debut will have to wait another game. If not more.
“I’m a little disappointed. I wanted to be on the bench,” said D’Antoni, who took the advice of the Lakers’ medical staff, including athletic trainer Gary Vitti, and sat out last night’s 119-109 triumph over the Rockets and Jeremy Lin last night at Staples Center. “[Vitti] convinced me not to do it. I’m anxious a little bit to get out there and get ready to go.”
D’Antoni, who could make his debut Tuesday night against the Nets, gave the reasons for sitting following his knee replacement surgery.
“Number one, I don’t want to be a sideshow. These are important games at home. Two, the biggest problem I have is just the energy waning at the end, so third or fourth quarter I’m sitting there,” D’Antoni said. “It could be Tuesday, it could be Wednesday [at Sacramento]. I don’t know yet.”
There was the fear D’Antoni could be bowled over so close to the court. And there was one other reason he jokingly employed — he didn’t want to show up Steve Nash, who has been out since the second game with a small fracture in his leg.
“I’ll give him a break by not coaching today because I do have knee replacement and I’m beating him back. It doesn’t look good,” D’Antoni quipped.
So assistant Bernie Bickerstaff again ran the team as an interim. D’Antoni, who has retained fired coach Mike Brown’s staff while adding his brother Dan, said Bickerstaff will remain for the rest of the season — “Unless he loses [last night].”