I think Game 3 of the Lakers/Rockets is very big or D'Antoni's legacy in the league. The primary reason that I have always argued that he is not an elite NBA coach is because he has never been able to make adjustments within games or within series. He basically is very very good at implementing a system that fits his talent, and hopes it is enough. He has been kind of like a bullpen closer that throws 101 MPH fastballs, and has a lot of success but when an elite fast ball hitter comes to the plate, he still throws the heater. I think this is why when many of his talented teams seem to roll, then reach a series where they go down in flames. Even in the OKC series, I thought they won because they had the better players by a decent margin, but was out coached by Donovan throughout the series.

Coach Popovich would always drive me crazy because of his amazing in game adjustments. Phil Jackson was excellent with adjustments from game to game within a series. In my opinion it is what separates the good coaches from the elite coaches. In Game 2, the Lakers adjusted and was aggressive in getting to the basket....and were often met with little resistance. If D'Antoni simply continues to play the same strategy without real adjustments, the result will be the same as it has been for previous D'Antoni teams.