D'Antoni will make Lakers debut tonight

Mike D'Antoni said he will make his coaching debut Tuesday night against Deron Williams and the Brooklyn Nets.

D'Antoni, who was surprisingly hired over Phil Jackson last week, has already taken charge of the team and has been running practices, but he has yet to lead the Lakers in-game from the sidelines as he recovers from knee surgery.

The 61-year-old coach has been getting around on crutches, but was originally expected to be on the bench for the Lakers' game against Houston this past Sunday before his debut was pushed back.

After starting 0-3 and 1-4, the Lakers have won four of five and two straight games to get back to .500 at 5-5.