Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni looks in the direction of the scoreboard while playing the Indiana Pacers during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014. The Pacers won 118-98. (A

MEMPHIS, Tenn.–Just outside the Lakers’ locker room stood Mike D’Antoni, rolling his eyes and looking annoyed

“We want a certain type of basketball and we’re trying to establish that and put everything into it,” D’Antoni said. “Our numbers clearly say that when you spread the floor and move the ball and get up and down the floor, we have a lot better chance to win.”

Inside the Lakers’ locker room stood Pau Gasol, visibly irked and audibly frustrated.

“If we want to continue to play small, we have to play to that advantage and utilize our quickness,” Gasol said. “If you get outrebounded by 20 rebounds, I don’t care who you are or what you do it’s not going to work and we’re not going to win.”

Gasol uttered those words following the Lakers’ 118-98 loss Tuesday to the Indiana Pacers where the Lakers were outrebounded 62-42. D’Antoni issued his response just before the Lakers played the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday here at FedEx Forum.

Unsurprisingly, Gasol and D’Antoni remain as far apart as the cities the Lakers traveled on consecutive nights. Gasol sounded upset with D’Antoni’s basketball philosophies. D’Antoni seemed annoyed about Gasol sharing his critiques publicly.

“The thing I don’t appreciate is, I think every coach, you keep it in house,” D’Antoni said. “It’s very easy to come over and talk about your frustrations. We’ll try to work something out and figure something out. To go to you guys and do it in the papers, that’s disturbing. I don’t think that’s the way to go. I understand we’re all trying to solve the same problems. So let’s put our head together and do the best we can.”
Continue reading “Mike D’Antoni disagrees with Pau Gasol’s critiques on small ball & lack of discipline” »

Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni during their game against the Thunder at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Thursday, February 13, 2014. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

The Lakers aren’t winning the NBA championship this season. They’re not making the NBA playoffs, either.

So what are they playing for in their remaining 28 games? OK, so if you break down the mathematics, the Lakers (18-36) could take the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference if a number of scenarios happen. 1. The Lakers nearly go undefeated. 2. Oklahoma City (43-18) coughs up no more than two wins through the rest of the season. The Lakers could technically make the playoffs, assuming bottom feeding contenders such as Phoenix (32-21), Golden State (33-22) and Dallas (32-23) plummet.

In other words, the Lakers have a .0000000001 percent chance of their season going beyond mid-April. So with that framework in mind, how does Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni treat the rest of his season? Does he approach it like a training camp where he cares more about lineup combinations than bottom-line results. Or is D’Antoni still fixated on padding the Lakers’ awful win total?

“You try to win and you try to play well,” D’Antoni said. “If they can’t fit into that, then they can’t play. With winning, it’s not about an individual’s game. It’s about winning. We’re going to do everything we can to have a great record these last 28 games and see who fits into that. They’re all talented players and they all can play losing basketball. That’s not hard to do. But we’ll see who plays winning basketball and try to build on that.”

The Lakers (18-36) enter tonight’s game against the Boston Celtics (19-36) at Staples Center with the pretty clear message from the front office that they’re looking ahead toward next season. Even if the Lakers failed to acquire additional draft picks or fall below the luxury tax threshold, trading Steve Blake to the Golden State Warriors for seldom-used guard Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks sent a clear message the Lakers are worried more about long-term development than maximizing this season’s win totals.

Lakers forward Pau Gasol will play after nursing a strained right groin for the last nine games. Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will play around 20-25 minutes in his second games since nursing a hamstring injury. Blake’s departure coupled with Steve Nash’s absence (nerve irritation in back) will thrust Kendall Marshall back into the starting lineup. With continual injuries to Kobe Bryant (fractured left knee), Nick Young (fractured left knee) and Xavier Henry (bone bruise in right knee), D’Antoni also plans to play Bazemore and Brooks between 15-25 minutes tonight against Boston. Essentially everyone outside of Bryant will audition for their NBA future.

So how does D’Antoni evaluate whether his players fit into the rotation?

“For me, the first thing starts with energy especially on the defensive end,” D’Antoni said. “You do what you do and can you hone in everyday and bring that? Offensively, can you not be an individual? Can you play with your teammates? If you do those two things, you’ll get time and that will give you time to develop.”

D’Antoni then shares his feedback with the Lakers’ front office, including general manager Mitch Kupchak and vice president of player personnel Jim Buss.

“We talk all the time,” D’Antoni said. “I’ll have my opinion, but whether it’s weighed or not, we’ll wait and see. I think it’s a normal thing. Everybody talks all the time as a staff. You get a pretty much get a consensus.”

Just as D’Antoni stressed the front office has no direct influence on playing time, the Lakers’ players stressed their individual auditions won’t compromise their team mindset.

“I just want to play,” Farmar said. “We play to win. Coach coaches that way and we try to get wins every night.”

Still, players are also aware of the big picture implications of their career.

Bazemore has played limited minutes in Golden State and has provided energy, but he’s known more for his celebrated dance moves off the bench than his actual play. He also conceded playing with a chip on his shoulder after going undrafted in 2012 after starring at Old Dominion.

“My contract expires at the end of the season so it’s definitely an important time for myself personally,” said Bazemore, who made $750,000 this season with Golden State. “But I’ve never been a selfish kind of player. I’m here to play under Coach D’Antoni’s system. Whatever happens, happens. But I’m going to bring consistent effort every night.”

Meanwhile, Brooks rookie season with the Nets where he averaged 12.6 on 42.8 shooting in 29.8 minutes soon soured in a diminished role in Brooklyn in the 2012-13 season (5.4 points in 12.5 minutes) and this season both in Boston (3.1 points in 7.3 minutes in 10 games) and Golden State (1.9 points in 2.1 minutes in seven games). Brooks said he’s eager to prove he’s improved defensively, that he can still score at a prolific rate and that he can both play at shooting guard and point guard.

“I haven’t played basketball in a long time. I’m excited to see how good I’ve gotten,” Brooks said. “I expect a little rust, but I’m just going to go out there and play hard. Everything else will fall into place. It’s basketball. The main thing is playing with a lot of effort.”

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com

Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni yells instructions during the game against the Charlotte Bobcats. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker/L.A. Daily News)

The same old disturbing images play over and over again, and it appears the Lakers can’t do anything to hit the stop button.

The Lakers don’t defend. The Lakers concede All-Star performances to B-list players. The Lakers play without any buzz or star power. The Lakers lose.

Everything surrounding the Lakers’ 110-100 defeat Friday to the Charlotte Bobcats featured all those same elements that have made all their other games unwatchable. But instead of lauding his injury-ravaged roster for making the best of circumstances, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni faulted them instead.

“They just weren’t ready to play, for whatever reason,” D’Antoni said. “Whether it’s the end of January, who knows. It’s inexcusable. We can’t do that. We better learn from it real quick or it’s going to be a long season.”

D’Antoni paused after he spoke those words. But before anyone could fully process that the Lakers (16-31) have only a one-game lead over the Sacramento Kings for last place in the Western Conference or that the Lakers have conceded over 100 points in 14 consecutive games, D’Antoni confirmed the obvious.

“It already is. It could be ugly,” D’Antoni said. “They have to understand that the only chance we have is to have 48 minutes of energy. We didn’t have it.”
Continue reading “Mike D’Antoni questions Lakers’ effort in 110-100 loss to Charlotte Bobcats” »

HOUSTON – The gratitude over Jeremy Lin and Mike D’Antoni experiencing “Linsanity” spills out in different ways.

After granting Lin the chance to morph from an anonymous player to a star that took New York by storm, D’Antoni received an invitation this fall to attend the “Linsanity” documentary. After adding a feel-good story to an otherwise dreary Knicks season two years ago, Lin received permission this summer from D’Antoni to work out at the Lakers’ practice facility. At several points during the season, the two exchange text messages.

“We’ll always have a special bond,” Linsanity said, “because of everything that happened.”

Lin became the first first American-born NBA player of Taiwanese descent and the first Harvard product to play in the NBA since 1954. Lin went on a six-game stretch in which he scored at least 20 points. His heightened play left Golden State and Houston guilty for passing on him before the Knicks picked him up. The Rockets made up for their mistake by signing him last year to a three-year, $25 million deal. Fast forward a year later, and Lin just penned an endorsement deal with Adidas.

Lin says he’s seeing a similar thing take place with Lakers guard Kendall Marshall. The Lakers signed him because of a depleting backcourt, and Marshall has taken advantage of the stint. In his three starts, Marshall has averaged 15.6 points and 12.67 assists. The Lakers also kept him on the roster, ensuring he will make $547,570 this season and a non-guaranteed $915,243 next season.

“He’s done a great job and a phenomenal passer,” Lin said of Marshall. “He’s a smart smart player. He’s definitely taking advantage of the opportunity and all the injuries that they have and have done a good job. I think people are happy for him.”

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com