Mike D’Antoni may not have any Superstars besides Kobe Bryant on his current roster, but the Lakers head coach likes what he sees out of this team.
D’Antoni has long, young, athletic guys on the wing, something the 2012-13 Lakers couldn’t buy a season ago.
The Lakers are 9-8 on the season, and according to the L.A. Times, D’Antoni likes this team, and feels they are easier to coach.
“It’s a lot easier to coach them,” D’Antoni said Saturday of his current players. “They listen and do kind of what they want to do. So I haven’t made a whole lot of adjustments; it’s just a different atmosphere.”
Players on this current team see a different D’Antoni as well.
“He’s telling everybody what their roles are and he’s believing in everybody and giving them the confidence to go out there and just play basketball,” forward Wes Johnson said of D’Antoni before unveiling the coach’s mantra. “‘You’ve been playing this game your whole life; just go out and play it.’ “