Mike D'Antoni doesn't meet expectations

Mike D'Antoni's resignation as head coach of the Knicks ends a particular chapter of un-met expectations.

But was it ever fair to expect so much from D'Antoni?

It's difficult in any sport to truly measure the impact a coach has on his team. So much ego and personality managing goes into the job. So many behind-the-scenes decisions take place that it's virtually impossible to fully quantify the positive or negative impact a coach has. But there are a few ways to get some decent perspective. One of these deals with expectations.

Baseball stat guru Bill James invented a formula to determine how well a team should do based on how many runs they scored and runs they allowed. The basic benefit is this: If a team does better than its expected record, the team is overachieving; if they do worse, they're underachieving. It's also a good way to spot teams who may be primed for a winning or losing streak. Luckily, Daryl Morey, the current GM of the Houston Rockets, found a way to adapt it to basketball.

For instance: Based on the Knicks' points scored and points allowed, they were projected to go 27-27 in the 54 games played during the 2010-11 season before acquiring Carmelo Anthony. They actually went 28-26 in that span, suggesting they slightly overachieved. After getting Anthony they were expected to go 14-14, which is exactly what they did.

We decided to look at the expected wins and losses of every D'Antoni team throughout his career and see where his squads exceeded expectations and where they failed to meet them. Then we judged him against a few names who've been mentioned as possibilities for the Knicks head coaching job, assuming interim coach Mike Woodson isn't retained (though we checked his stats out too). Obviously the quality of a team matters here, which is why we're looking at multiple years of a coach's career (in most cases with multiple teams):

- Mike D'Antoni

career record: 388-339

expected record: 400-327

D'Antoni is 12 games worse than he was expected to be at this point in his career. His teams have underachieved six times (including all four with the Knicks), met expectations once and overachieved just three times (all with Phoenix). He was eight games worse than expected during his three-plus seasons in New York.

- Phil Jackson

career record: 1,155-485

expected record: 1,136-504

We all know what an extraordinary career Jackson has had, but here's one more measure of his excellence: He's 19 games better than he was expected to be. His teams underachieved seven times and overachieved 13 times.

- Jeff Van Gundy

career record: 430-318

expected record: 433-315

Van Gundy is three games worse than he was expected to be. His teams  underachieved six times, met expectations once and overachieved four times. While with the Knicks, his teams either broke even or overachieved five out of seven seasons. The Knicks were six games over their expected record while Van Gundy was coach.

- Mike Woodson

career record: 206-286

expected record: 207-285 (does not include Knicks)

Woodson is just one game worse than he was expected to be at this point in his career. His teams have underachieved three times and overachieved three times.

Woodson has essentially done what was projected of him throughout his career. But now that job includes leading the Knicks to the playoffs.

"The Numbers Game" is a Newsday app-only exclusive.