Sports & Hip-Hip: The D’Antoni Era Begins in L.A., The Rise of the Knicks & More Posted by Lucas Garrison on 11/15/12 | Filed under Sports, Sports & Hip-Hop

A Note from Nathan S: Since the dawn of time, or at least since N.W.A. started rocking Raiders hats, sports and hip-hop have gone together like Rosa Acosta stretching videos. So while most sites might just recap the last week's biggest sports stories, we're upping the level of difficulty and attempting to recap the week's biggest sports stories...via music.

I'll let the homie Lucas Garrison take it from here:

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MURS - “L.A”


Last week, I covered the Lakers early season struggles and said despite poor play and an injury to the newly acquired Steve Nash it was still too early to panic. Well it seems the Lakers front office did not heed my advice, because last Friday they fired Mike Brown. Over the weekend, there was much discussion as to who the replace Brown, and it wasn’t long before Mike D’Antoni and Phil Jackson emerged as the two potential successors. Many believed that Phil Jackson was the man for the job and that his history witht eh team and past experience handling Kobe Bryant, who, like most NBA superstars has a pretty big ego, would make him the best replacement. During the game on Friday, it was pretty clear whom the fans wanted, as they could be heard chanting “We Want Phil!”



Even Kobe himself seemed to lean towards a reunion with his old coach. After the game Friday, Kobe seemed to hint at relishing the chance to play for Jackson again, and brought his name up, when he was asked about whom potential replacements might be.



Everyone seemed to expect Jackson to be hired and it appeared as though Jackson himself was expecting it as he had some pretty lofty demands. Jackson wanted control over player personnel and, even more ridiculous, he wanted travel restrictions. To me, that is absolutely absurd, if you are an NBA coach being paid millions of dollars, how could you think that not being on the sideline with your team is OK. It appears as though the Lakers might have thought the same thing because on early Monday morning, the team announced that Mike D’Antoni would be the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

While it may not have been the most popular move, I think hiring D’Antoni was the right move. His offensive scheme, based heavily on the pick- and roll, is very well suited for the type of players the Lakers have. Another reason D’Antoni is a good fit is that he coached Steve Nash in Phoenix, and led the Suns to two Western Conference Finals appearances and two more playoff appearances. His experience with Nash will pay dividends in getting this team used to playing his fast paced style of offense. Nash will serve as the quarterback of the team and as he goes, so should this Lakers squad who have great perimeter shooters and Dwight Howard in the paint. D’Antoni explains his offense in the video below, showing Laker fans what they might see moving forward.



I chose MURS’ “L.A” for this topic because when talking about something as important to LA natives as the Lakers, it is only fitting to incorporate the Cali native and underground hip-hop mainstay, who is as woven into the fabric of the city as the Lakers.

Nas - NY State of Mind


Now on to one of D’Antoni’s former squads; the New York Knicks. After a tumultuous, drama filled season last year, the Knicks are off to a great start. After last nights 99-89 point win, they are 5-0 and the only NBA squad left without a loss. The Knicks offense is firing on all cylinders, averaging 103.4 points a game, second best behind only Miami’s 105.5 PPG. Leading the offensive charge is Carmelo Anthony who is averaging 26.8 points a game, which is the best average in the league, and is 7.4 rebounds per game is a nice addition to his impressive scoring ability. In the Olympics, Melo showed tremendous ability to score and it appears as if his hot streak has carried over.



Even players like erratic and tatted-up JR Smith are contributing solid numbers. According to this ESPN Article,

“Based on John Hollinger's Player Efficiency Rating -- a metric used to measure a player's per-minute performance -- Smith has been the second-best player on the Knicks. Through four games, Smith is posting a 20.5 PER, second to Anthony's 24.3. Last year, Smith recorded a PER of 15.27."

Those numbers are sure to improve after Smith, who leads the league in 3 point percentage, carried his team last night against the Magic, putting up 21 points as well as 3 assists, 2 steals and, 4 rebounds.



What is really surprising about this team is their commitment to defense. The Knicks currently rank 1st in defensive efficency, which is measured by the number of points a team allows per 100 possessions. As great as Melo has been offensively, his defensive effort is even more impressive and has even rubbed off on his teammates. After last nights game, in which the Knicks went on a 14-4 run in the fourth quarter, Melo said “It's just my focus level is real high right now. I know what I want for myself and this team. It starts with me -- lead us on both ends of the floor. It's carrying over to everybody else.” Well, when you make plays like he does in the video below, its hard not to get you teammates excited.



The Knicks new defensive mindset will benefit them greatly, as it makes them a more well balanced team, and should Anthony or Smith have an off night, the D can step up and carry the team. I chose Nas’ classic “New York State Of Mind” because playing good defense is all about mindset and having the will power to shut your opponent down and it appears as thought the New York Knickerbockers certainly have the right state of mind.

Notorious B.I.G. - “Hold Ya Head”


As you probably already know, concussions and serious head injuries have become a hot topic in the NFL. The NFL has been criticized for not doing enough to prevent such injuries, and as a result, have made significant changes in equipment and rules to protect players from getting serious head injuries and playing too soon after innjusries are sustained. Well, no matter what rules they put in place, concussions will forever be an issue in football and last Sunday was a perfect example. Three quarterbacks, Mike Vick, Jay Cutler and Alex Smith all suffered concussions and were taken out of the game. Check out the hits on Cutler and Smith below





While Smith seems to be okay and is expected to play Sunday, Vick and Cutler were not so lucky. Eagles head coach Andy Reid said Vick’s concussion was significant and on Monday said “He was a little foggy last night…Mike has a headache is what he's got -- a pretty good one. He's tired. One of the things that is important is that he gets rest”. Making matters worse is that Vick, who takes a ton of hits, anyway, has one of the worst offensive lines in football protecting him. The Eagles have given up 29 sacks, which is tied for second most, and an astonishing 77 QB hits, the most in the NFL. Even if Vick is able to play in the next few weeks, if he takes hits like these, he wont be in for long.



While Vick’s status is up in the air for Sundays divisional showdown with the Redskins, Cutler’s appears to be a little more defined, unfortunately for the Bears it is in a bad way. Cutler is doubtful for their Monday night game against the 49ers that could end up being a very important contest with significant playoff implications. The Bears are currently one game ahead of the Packers in their division and should they lose Cutler, who has a history of concussions for an extended period of time, the Bears could be out of the running for home field advantage and even worse, they could end up losing the NFC North to the Packers.

I chose Hold Ya Head by Notorious BIG for this because of all the concussion issues in the past week and if teams like the Bears and 49ers want to make a successful playoff run, then it all rests on the heads of their QB’s.

See Also: Sports & Hip-Hop: Doug Martin Runs Wild, The Lakers Struggle & More