Mike D’Antoni was just as shocked as you were he was hired as Lakers head coach

Newly minted Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni was just as shocked as everyone else to discover it was him and not Phil Jackson who would be taking over the coaching reins for the Lakers. D’Antoni has started giving interviews and has been cleared to fly – he had knee surgery but he’s good to go now! But back to D’Antoni’s thoughts on his hiring:

“Sure I did,” he told the New York Daily News late yesterday when asked if he thought Jackson was going to get the nod over him. “For sure I did. Didn’t everybody? When I got the call that it was me, my first reaction was, ‘Are you serious?'”

Something went really wrong. But I ask this question, if the Lakers were expected to get to the finals by many with Mike Brown as the head coach, why is their such doom and gloom with D’Antoni at the helm. Obviously, there are emotional attachments to Phil but is there really this little confidence in D’Antoni as a head coach?