The last time Mike D’Antoni won a playoff game, Steve Kerr was his boss, Shaquille O’Neal was his center, and Amar’e Stoudemire still hadn’t added the apostrophe to his first name.
In the nearly nine years since D’Antoni’s Suns avoided a sweep at the hands of the Spurs in the first round of the 2008 playoffs, the “Seven Seconds or Less” innovator has survived Linsanity, a Dwightmare and “The Process,” only to accumulate an 0-8 postseason record. In 2011, his mediocre Knicks, fresh off trading for Carmelo Anthony, stood no chance against the Celtics. In 2013, his Lakers, without an injured Kobe Bryant, were humiliated by the Spurs as Dwight Howard was ejected from his last game in LA.