(EPA)
No one doubts former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni is a brilliant offensive technician who wins big when players, particularly the point guard, master his complicated speedball system that relies heavily on players reading the defense and reacting.
D’Antoni’s coaching style and demeanor turned out not to be a good fit for these four tumultuous seasons of Knicks roster upheaval. And D’Antoni clearly was not the right coach for Carmelo Anthony, a player who needs a coach’s attention, whether it be love or discipline, not indifference.
According to people familiar with the situation, D’Antoni never looked at himself as a locker-room therapist. D’Antoni’s relationship with Anthony, his inflexibility with the offense despite an ever-changing roster and lack of communication skills with certain players proved his downfall and led him to resign Wednesday amidst a six-game losing streak and reports of Anthony’s keen dissatisfaction with him.
Knicks interim coach Mike Woodson is ruling with an iron fist, which is far from D’Antoni’s way, and the players have responded by playing with defensive ferocity. Woodson has them worrying less about minutes and more about victories.
Accountability has been Woodson’s buzzword. His stern approach was indeed needed, and the Knicks, who host Toronto tomorrow, are 3-0 under Woodson, winning by a combined 71 points.
“[D’Antoni’s] greatest success came when players held themselves accountable in the locker room,’’ said a D’Antoni confidant. “There are two kinds of coaches — disciplinarians and hands off. He let the players handle themselves. It’s great when you have a Steve Nash in your locker room. It’s not great when you have players who knew they wouldn’t be around too long. He’s a great coach, great X’s-and-O’s guy but never got the chance to really show it.’’
The confidant said probably any coach immersed in the massive rebuilding program former Knicks president Donnie Walsh undertook and Glen Grunwald extended would not have had great success.
D’Antoni coached 58 players in his four Knicks seasons.
Walsh, currently a Knicks consultant who lives in Indiana, attended Saturday’s Knicks-Pacers game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Walsh said he still feels badly about putting D’Antoni in such a rugged situation. D’Antoni got handsomely paid — four years, $24 million — but earned it in angst.
“With Mike, I felt bad. I thought it was a difficult four-year period because we constantly were changing the team, which is a very difficult thing to do for the coach,’’ Walsh told The Post yesterday. “It was never settled, being rebuilt on the fly. Even in the third year, we broke the team down, added players [in the Anthony trade]. And then this year, the lockout, players were coming in one at a time. But the first two years were very tough.’’
D’Antoni has taken a vow of silence with the media since resigning. He felt he had become ineffective, specifically in getting the most out of Anthony.
But D’Antoni is not bitter he lost a power struggle with Anthony and hopes to coach next season, according to the person debriefed by D’Antoni.
“Mr. Dolan picked a different prom date,’’ the person said. “There will be other dances.’’
Four years ago, D’Antoni chose the Knicks over the Bulls. And it was a bad omen a week later when Chicago won the lottery for Derrick Rose. The Knicks, meanwhile, spent two seasons making trades to clear cap space that ultimately landed them Amar’e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton — not LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
“He was promised a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but it never came,’’ a D’Antoni confidant said.
One person who spoke to D’Antoni said the test of Woodson will come when he feels Anthony or Stoudemire aren’t putting out and he benches them during a game.
Woodson has already subtly reduced Anthony’s and Stoudemire’s minutes without complaint. In a shrewd maneuver on his first full day, Woodson massaged their egos immediately, saying in “crunch time,’’ he wanted Melo and Stoudemire to take the shots because “they are guys who have done it.’’
However, Woodson has changed the substitution pattern, having Anthony play roughly the first eight, nine minutes instead of the whole first quarter because of a deep, effective bench.
Everything’s worked so far.
“[Woodson] stays on top of guys throughout the game, in shootaround, practices, before the game, during the game, halftimes,’’ Tyson Chandler said. “He keeps you on your toes.’’
That coming from a D’Antoni supporter.
marc.berman@nypost.com