Mike D'Antoni, who just led the Houston Rockets to the second round of the playoffs, believes injury and lack of trust in his run-and-gun system were the prime factors behind his disastrous coaching stint with the Lakers three years ago.
D'Antoni had a chance to talk about his infamous coaching stint in Los Angeles and the recent success he is reaping as the mentor of the Houston Rockets in an interview with ESPN Los Angeles Ramona Shelburne.
The Lakers tapped D'Antoni to replace Mike Brown five games into the 2012-13 season. Tasked with a mission of leading a talented but disorganized group of All-Star to the title, D'Antoni fell flat in accomplishing that goal as the Lakers barely secured a spot in the playoffs and eventually got eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.
To his defense, D'Antoni had to will the team to playoff contendership without any training camp or Kobe Bryant in the postseason after the star suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the final weeks of the regular-season.
"There were just injuries, and people were pretty stubborn in their roles, and it's like 'sorry guys, this is not me. It's not going to work right here,'" D'Antoni said of his time in Los Angeles via ESPN. "So, things happen, and you coach, you learn, you go on and you hope for a better situation."
D'Antoni kept the job the next season, but his offensive brilliance was not enough to power up the Lakers depleted roster, who sorely missed the absence of an injured Kobe to an entire year and Dwight Howard to free-agency. Steve Nash was a shell of his former self, as he played just 15 games during the 2013-14 season.
With the Rockets, D'Antoni believes he has the chance to go all the way to June and compete for an NBA championship with a perfect point guard in James Harden.
"I would have never got the job if his reaction was 'No, I'm not playing point.' So, let's not kid ourselves. He was open to it, and it took a little, just showing him film and talking about it. James is willing to try anything to win."
The Rockets punched their way to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in five competitive games in the series.
