Mike D'Antoni is a step closer to being the Hornets' next head coach.After being blown out in the Play-In Tournament in back-to-back seasons, the Hornets parted ways with head coach James Borrego, who had been with the team since 2018-19. A number of coaches have since been linked to the Hornets, but reported in May thatthere was "ongoing buzz in Henri Jokiharju Jersey league coaching circles" that D'Antoni is in "a strong position" to replace Borrego.More recently, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that D'Antoni is set to meet with team owner Michael Jordan and the Hornets are expected to extend an offer to either him or Kenny Atkinson soon.The last time we saw D'Antoni in a head coaching role was the 2019-20 season. He spent 2020-21 as an a sistant coach on the Nets, but he stepped down at the season's end.Would D'Antoni be the right head coach for the Hornets?MORE: D'Antoni has a way of getting the most out of lead ball handlers.In Phoenix, D'Antoni implemented the "seven seconds Glenn Hall Jersey or le s" offense that proved to be ahead of its time with its focus on pick-and-rolls, playing with pace and getting up a ton of 3-pointers. The system got the most out of Steve Nash, who won not one, but two MVP awards under D'Antoni.D'Antoni had similar succe s in Houston with James Harden. Harden blo somed into a superstar when D'Antoni took over as head coach, earning one MVP award while leading the league in scoring three times and a sists once. D'Antoni changed his system to play to Harden's strengths as a one-on-one scorer, but the principles were very much the same play with pace and space the floor as much as po sible.D'Antoni's time with the Knicks and Lakers didn't go as well, but the likes of Jeremy Lin and Kendall Marshall still thrived under his watch.The arrival of D'Antoni would bode well for LaMelo Ball, who has established himself as one of the most electrifying talents in the league. The No. 3 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Ball earned Rookie of the Year honors with averages of 15.7 points, 6.1 a sists and 5.9 rebounds per game in 2020-21. He bumped those numbers up to 20.1 points, 7.6 a sists and 6.7 rebounds per game this past season, earning him the first All-Star selection of his career.Ball is a much different player than Nash and Harden Nash is one of the greatest shooters in NHL Chicago Blackhawks Jersey NBA history, and we may never see someone play iso-ball to the extent Harden did in his prime but few players see the court as well as he does. He also lives in transition, so the "seven seconds or le s" strategy would only increase his production.Stein reported that the Hornets " " with Ball. There's no doubt D'Antoni checks that box. Getty Images Dominant as D'Antoni's teams have been offensively throughout his career, they haven't been nearly as good defensively.In D'Antoni's 16 seasons as a head coach, Luc Snuggerud Jersey his teams have had an above-average offensive rating 11 times, including a three-year stretch in which the Suns had the best offensive rating in the league and a three-year stretch in which the Rockets finished in one of the top two spots.As for the other end of the court, D'Antoni's teams have only finished in the top half of the league in defensive rating four times, and one of those instances was a season (2011-12) in which he resigned following an 18-24 start.How teams have played under Mike D'AntoniSeasonTeamOffensive Rating (rank)Defensive Rating (rank)1998-99Nuggets101.4 (12)108.6 (29)2003-04Suns100.3 (20)104.2 (25)2004-05Suns112.7 (1)105.7 (18)2005-06Suns110.2 (1)104.7 (16)2006-07Suns112.9 (1)105.5 (15)2007-08Suns112.0 (2)107.0 (17)2008-09Knicks107.0 (17)109.4 (23)2009-10Knicks106.4 (18)110.3 (27)2010-11Knicks109.9 (5)109.9 (23)2011-12Knicks103.5 (17)100.2 (5)2012-13Lakers107.0 (8)105.9 (21)2013-14Lakers103.2 (23)109.3 (28)2016-17Rockets114.1 (2)108.4 (18)2017-18Rockets114.1 (1)105.7 (7)2018-19Rockets114.9 (2)110.1 Gustav Forsling Jersey (17)2019-20Rockets112.5 (6)109.8 (15)The problem, of course, is the Hornets aren't a very good defensive team to begin with.Stein reported that defensive i sues were "said to be a key element of James Borrego's unexpected downfall" in Charlotte. The Hornets finished 23rd, 25th, 16th and 22nd, respectively, in each of his four seasons with the franchise.D'Antoni would almost certainly provide a boost offensively, but his hiring alone wouldn't solve Charlotte's defensive concerns. The Hornets would probably look to pair him with a defensive-minded a sistant if he is hired, much when he was running the show in Houston. , Jim Boylen is "expected to emerge as an a sistant" if D'Antoni takes over as head coach.