"Ok, Lakers, everyone line up over there and prepare to fit a square peg into a round hole.
"We're calling this new system the D'Antoni Vintage Offense In Decline, or D'VOID. The goal is to run fast, spread out, go deep, cut to the basket, hit the open man and make really long distance three-point shots. My apologies if I end up messing with your heads and everything else you were taught about how to play the game.
"Some of you may turn from terminal bench warmers to perennial All-Stars, while others will look foolish and wish you were on the next plane to Memphis or Portland. Best of luck. Kobe, please pass me the ball."
And so it might have gone for D'Antoni, who seemed as surprised for getting the coaching gig as Phil Jackson did for not getting it.
While some of us will never quite understand what the Buss family was thinking when they hired D'Antoni over Jackson, the fact is that this is the guy who's in charge of getting the Lakers from point A to the NBA Finals in June. For that, he can use all our support, as well as a one-way ticket out of L.A. should he fail to deliver.
It's quite obvious from the team's herky-jerky, roller coaster, up and down, down and out style of play that the D'VOID system is giving them problems, some more than others.
Having a healthy Steve Nash on the court to direct the offense certainly will make life easier for those who seem lost (and you know who you are); but there are no guarantees that Nash will heal 100 percent from his broken foot (officially a small non-displaced fracture in the head of his fibula in his left leg), and be the same super point guard who has two league MVPs in his trophy case.
