Lakers expect Sunday debut for Mike D’Antoni and ‘Showtime’ offense

Mike D’Antoni told reporters Thursday he’s likely to make his Lakers coaching debut on Sunday against Houston.

D'Antoni: "I don't think I'll be ready by Friday. Probably Sunday."—
Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) November 15, 2012

D’Antoni, who was hired when Mike Brown was fired after a 1-4 start to the 2012-13 season, thinks the Lakers are built to contend.

D'Antoni: “We’re built to win this year, this is not a project. We have a window and we’re going to try and get through it.”—
Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) November 15, 2012

D’Antoni confirmed that he would bring his “Showtime” offense to the Lakers.

"We would like to play Showtime-type basketball," Mike D'Antoni said.—
Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) November 15, 2012

Despite the offseason additions of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, the Lakers offense struggled using a new Princeton style system. D’Antoni said he expects to see the Lakers’ scoring increase dramatically from their current 96.5 points per game.

Mike D'Antoni says #Lakers should average 110-115 points per game and if they don't "we got to talk.''—
Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) November 15, 2012

Unlike Brown, D’Antoni doesn’t like to call plays, letting his players set the offense.

D'Antoni doesn't believe in calling plays. Complete opposite of Brown, who micromanaged every second of the game.—
Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) November 15, 2012