Season Observations...

[praisethesuns]

Let me first say that I have been a Suns fan for a long time. Lurker on here for quite awhile. I just needed to post this because after tonight's game I am just sick to my stomach.

I honestly feel like Jeff will not play any rookies because he is trying to keep his job. I think people are starting to see he isn't the greatest coach. This Portland game with his small ball lineup killed us. It took him 5 minutes to change it up. I think he is out of here at the seasons end.

Why do we never have any rookies dress. Ennis and Warren should be getting minutes! At least send Zoran to Bakersfield. It literally is starting to bother me that Warren doesn't get any time. Majority of people believe is going to be an above average player. He could even be a stud. Him and Goodwin hustle more than a quarter of our team....

Dragic and Green seem to lost all confidence. You can almost tell the team has quit at times.

I read somewhere that Suns are on pace for the most blown leads in franchise history.... That is disturbing.

Only positive thing I can think of for this season is Len. Very impressed. Too bad he is hurt now.

[In Len We Trust]

I completely agree that Hornacek sucks but realistically there is a 0% chance he's out at the end of the season, so I don't agree with you at all on that part. He has an overrated reputation and the Suns are promoting him as the face of the rebuild. It will take a little time, his reputation has to go first.

[Flying Colors]

I dunno about keeping the job part, If the FO wanted the rookies to be played, then Jeff would have no choice but to play them if "he wants to keep his job" , the fact that this isn't happening tells me that his isn't in danger of losing his job for that reason. FO probably has one goal in mind and thats "make the playoffs" Sometimes fighting for a playoff spot and devolping your rookies don't always align.

[Grots]

FO probably has one goal in mind and thats "make the playoffs" Sometimes fighting for a playoff spot and devolping your rookies don't always align.

And now we probably won't do either.

[RaisingArizona]

I'm unsure this is thread worthy.

[Revived]

He isn't getting fired after this season. He'll get at least 3 years, maybe even more since so many fans like him so much due to his history here.

He's so god damn old for a 2nd year HC. Would be amazing if he just decided to retire to spent time with his kids or grand kids or whatever. But again, zero chance of tha happening.

[Barkley6]

He isn't getting fired after this season. He'll get at least 3 years, maybe even more since so many fans like him so much due to his history here.

He's so god damn old for a 2nd year HC. Would be amazing if he just decided to retire to spent time with his kids or grand kids or whatever. But again, zero chance of tha happening.

He's 51. He's not going to retire from his first ever head coaching job after 2 seasons, especially at 51 years of age. Some guys don't start coaching until later, Hornacek wanted to wait until his kids were older before becoming a head coach. Steve Kerr became a first time head coach at 49. I don't see your point here other than you hate Hornacek.

[Barkley6]

Let me first say that I have been a Suns fan for a long time. Lurker on here for quite awhile. I just needed to post this because after tonight's game I am just sick to my stomach.

I honestly feel like Jeff will not play any rookies because he is trying to keep his job. I think people are starting to see he isn't the greatest coach. This Portland game with his small ball lineup killed us. It took him 5 minutes to change it up. I think he is out of here at the seasons end.

Why do we never have any rookies dress. Ennis and Warren should be getting minutes! At least send Zoran to Bakersfield. It literally is starting to bother me that Warren doesn't get any time. Majority of people believe is going to be an above average player. He could even be a stud. Him and Goodwin hustle more than a quarter of our team....

Dragic and Green seem to lost all confidence. You can almost tell the team has quit at times.

I read somewhere that Suns are on pace for the most blown leads in franchise history.... That is disturbing.

Only positive thing I can think of for this season is Len. Very impressed. Too bad he is hurt now.

I actually asked Paul Coro on Twitter about why Zoran hadn't been sent to Bakersfield, and he said it's really up to the player. He's been a pro for 10 years in Europe and is 25 years old.

Bakersfield probably feels like a step down for him.

[JTrain]

Do you guys really believe Hornacek "sucks" as a head coach? I mean, I know some of these losses are extremely frustrating and he is contributing to those to some extent, but I just don't see good evidence that he is legitimately a bad coach, even under the most uncharitable interpretations.

Being an NBA fan can be a brutal endeavor. When your team is playing ugly games and not living up to expectations, an 82-game season feels like an endurance event. Our psychology leads us to blow the negative experiences out of proportion. I was as furious as anyone watching the Memphis game slip away. And I think the criticisms of Hornacek's lineup in the last few minutes were warranted. But after the frustration had somewhat worn off, I looked at the game as a whole and thought Hornacek's handling of the lineups was actually quite good for the first 40+ minutes of the game.

There are a lot of mid-level teams whose coach you could make to look like a bumbling idiot if you highlight certain parts or stretches of games-- just about any of them, really. Doc Rivers and the Clippers are a perfect recent example. How do you take a team with legitimate top five talent (including two superstars) and lose to the Nets, then get outright embarrassed by the Cavs and Raptors? Those are three Eastern Conference teams not named the Hawks. I'm sure you could find plenty of Clippers fans right now thinking Doc sucks. But if you take a more objective survey among people more likely to be able to evaluate, you probably won't find any that go along with that.

When I survey the opinions of experts (local and national) more likely to know what they're talking about than I am, I see primarily positive opinions of Hornacek and the coach he is at this (early) stage in his head coaching career.

[bigfoot]

Hahahahaha ... this thread. Someone played high school basketball and think they know everything.

[Barkley6]

Do you guys really believe Hornacek "sucks" as a head coach? I mean, I know some of these losses are extremely frustrating and he is contributing to those to some extent, but I just don't see good evidence that he is legitimately a bad coach, even under most of the more uncharitable interpretations.

Being an NBA fan can be a brutal endeavor. When your team is playing ugly games and not living up to expectations, an 82-game season feels like an endurance event. Our psychology leads us to blow the negative experiences out of proportion. I was as furious as anyone watching the Memphis game slip away. And I think the criticisms of Hornacek's lineup in the last few minutes were warranted. But after the frustration had somewhat worn off, I looked at the game as a whole and thought Hornacek's handling of the lineups was actually quite good for the first 40+ minutes of the game.

There are a lot of mid-level teams whose coach you could make to look like a bumbling idiot if you highlight certain parts or stretches of games-- just about any of them, really. Doc Rivers and the Clippers are a perfect recent example. How do you take a team with legitimate top five talent (including two superstars) and lose to the Nets, then get outright embarrassed by the Cavs and Raptors? Those are three Eastern Conference teams not named the Hawks. I'm sure you could find plenty of Clippers fans right now thinking Doc sucks. But if you take a more objective survey among people more likely to be able to evaluate, you probably won't find any that go along with that.

When I survey the opinions of experts (local and national) more likely to know what they're talking about than I am, I see primarily positive opinions of Hornacek and the coach he is at this (early) stage in his head coaching career.

You've also got to account for the third youngest roster in the league. Teams need to "learn how to win" and this is a season in which we're (hopefully) doing so. Sure, a guy like Popovitch is a great coach, but it doesnt hurt having strong veteran leaders on the team.

[Revived]

He isn't getting fired after this season. He'll get at least 3 years, maybe even more since so many fans like him so much due to his history here.

He's so god damn old for a 2nd year HC. Would be amazing if he just decided to retire to spent time with his kids or grand kids or whatever. But again, zero chance of tha happening.

He's 51. He's not going to retire from his first ever head coaching job after 2 seasons, especially at 51 years of age. Some guys don't start coaching until later, Hornacek wanted to wait until his kids were older before becoming a head coach. Steve Kerr became a first time head coach at 49. I don't see your point here other than you hate Hornacek.

That is my point.

And I know it's not a real possibility he retires, I said it in jest.

[bigfoot]

Greg Popovich was 48 when he started coaching the Spurs. His first season he went 17-47. The next season he adds David Robinson (back from injury) and Tim Duncan to basically the same team. Suddenly he is the greatest coach ever.

Horny takes a bunch of young players expected to be last place in the NBA. Vegas over/under for wins was about 16 games. Horny takes them to 48 wins and barely misses the playoffs (if not for injuries). This year the team gets younger (adds two rookies, a second year player) and loses Veteran leadership in Channing Frye). Two new starters are thrown in the mix, Alex Len and Markieff Morris. Still the Suns are competing with most playoff caliber teams (either winning or losing close games). That is why this post isn't even thread worthy.

[bwgood77]

Do you guys really believe Hornacek "sucks" as a head coach? I mean, I know some of these losses are extremely frustrating and he is contributing to those to some extent, but I just don't see good evidence that he is legitimately a bad coach, even under the most uncharitable interpretations.

Being an NBA fan can be a brutal endeavor. When your team is playing ugly games and not living up to expectations, an 82-game season feels like an endurance event. Our psychology leads us to blow the negative experiences out of proportion. I was as furious as anyone watching the Memphis game slip away. And I think the criticisms of Hornacek's lineup in the last few minutes were warranted. But after the frustration had somewhat worn off, I looked at the game as a whole and thought Hornacek's handling of the lineups was actually quite good for the first 40+ minutes of the game.

There are a lot of mid-level teams whose coach you could make to look like a bumbling idiot if you highlight certain parts or stretches of games-- just about any of them, really. Doc Rivers and the Clippers are a perfect recent example. How do you take a team with legitimate top five talent (including two superstars) and lose to the Nets, then get outright embarrassed by the Cavs and Raptors? Those are three Eastern Conference teams not named the Hawks. I'm sure you could find plenty of Clippers fans right now thinking Doc sucks. But if you take a more objective survey among people more likely to be able to evaluate, you probably won't find any that go along with that.

When I survey the opinions of experts (local and national) more likely to know what they're talking about than I am, I see primarily positive opinions of Hornacek and the coach he is at this (early) stage in his head coaching career.

You make good points. No matter what team "In Len We Trust" was a fan of, he would think their coach was the worst team in the league. He thinks Horny is personally responsible for half of our losses and probably all the wins had nothing to do with him. Apparently he feels we have the talent to be about 40-12 right now. I think most every team, if not every team ahead of us has far more talent.

[bwgood77]

Greg Popovich was 48 when he started coaching the Spurs. His first season he went 17-47. The next season he adds David Robinson (back from injury) and Tim Duncan to basically the same team. Suddenly he is the greatest coach ever.

Horny takes a bunch of young players expected to be last place in the NBA. Vegas over/under for wins was about 16 games. Horny takes them to 48 wins and barely misses the playoffs (if not for injuries). This year the team gets younger (adds two rookies, a second year player) and loses Veteran leadership in Channing Frye). Two new starters are thrown in the mix, Alex Len and Markieff Morris. Still the Suns are competing with most playoff caliber teams (either winning or losing close games). That is why this post isn't even thread worthy.

Exactly. Some of these opinions are so utterly ridiculous I don't even know why I keep reading them.

[Revived]

Greg Popovich was 48 when he started coaching the Spurs. His first season he went 17-47. The next season he adds David Robinson (back from injury) and Tim Duncan to basically the same team. Suddenly he is the greatest coach ever.

Horny takes a bunch of young players expected to be last place in the NBA. Vegas over/under for wins was about 16 games. Horny takes them to 48 wins and barely misses the playoffs (if not for injuries). This year the team gets younger (adds two rookies, a second year player) and loses Veteran leadership in Channing Frye). Two new starters are thrown in the mix, Alex Len and Markieff Morris. Still the Suns are competing with most playoff caliber teams (either winning or losing close games). That is why this post isn't even thread worthy.

Again, your bring up records that nobody cares about for a team that's rebuilding/retooling.

Pop implemented a system that's capabke of winning titles. A system that relies heavily on ball movement, passing, shooting, moving without the ball, defending and rebounding.

What does Hornacek's system rely on? Transition basketball, 3pt shooting and isolation offense.