There is a TON of upside to D'Anonti, not least of which is his absolute confidence in Nash's ability to run a pick and roll offense to perfection, not as good as Stockton to Malone but his ability to pass inside to Howard should become a pretty serious offensive threat around the basket. With Nash's skill at creating offensive opportunities for his teammates front and back court and his outside shot, most teams will be forced into man coverage which should give Gasol and Howard room inside consistently.
I agree about the defense but with Howard patrolling the paint I think most teams will be forced into perimeter games. Once the team gels and gets away from the stagnant stand around Princeton offense and gets used to Nash controlling tempo and spacing, they may very well live up to the expectations we had, I am SOOOO relieved Brown is gone!