In recent interviews Lakers new coach Mike D’Antoni said the Lakers are a much slower team due to age than many of the teams they are coming up against. He still wants to play the run and gun game, but much of that success will be predicated on the return of Steve Nash from injury. But he’s not using Nash’s absence as a scapegoat for all of the teams problems. He points to their lack of energy and needing to play smarter and more efficient in order to stem the tides until Nash returns to lead their high tempo offensive strategy:
“That’s not going to change. I can’t come in here and make you faster,” he said. “But if we play with the right amount of concentration and energy then we’re OK.
“We have to understand you can’t come out and play half speed. Our half speed is like quarter speed. So far, we’ve had trouble with young, athletic teams.”
He said producing a solid effort game in and game out could disguise many of the team’s flaws.
“We realize where we are. We realize what problems we have structurally that we’re not going to solve, like being a little older, a little slower, a little of this and that. We can solve them by being better,” D’Antoni said.
(H/T to OC Register for Quotes)
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