The Coaching Corner: Coach and Front Office Talk

[Saberestar]

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[wheezy]

Suns hiring a director of analytics here

[jcsunsfan]

The more I hear Monty talk, the more I feel like he's too humble for his own good to be a head coach. It's a young team and without a strong voice it's relatively easy to lose a locker room. I hope I'm wrong about this though. None of us want to see another coaching change.

It is a mistake to think that he talks the same way in the locker room as he does before the press.

[SlovenianDragon]

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Montys dick is HUGE

I have a dirty mind.....

[Saberestar]

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[bwgood77]

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[Saberestar]

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[WeekapaugGroove]

Igor died for this . I still believe Igor got a raw deal but can't deny that Monty looks like a good hire 3 games in.

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[darmani]

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[Ghost of Kleine]

I'm sorry, But I'm starting to have real concerns with Monty's coaching ability. As I have yet to see any semblance of competent rotations, In game adjustments, Or even any evidence of quality defensive strategies, and proper application of basic team fundamentals. I'm sorry to sound harsh or critical, But we're now roughly almost a third through the season, And we are still struggling with the very same issues that we had to start the season. After every loss, I hear him say this is another learning experience. But honestly, How much learning does it take for the team to understand basic fundamentals of basketball? Also, what exactly is he teaching them if after two nearly two months into the season, they can't even perform basic defensive rotations, and fundamentals such as boxing out, help defense, and rebounding. At the very least, He should have them showing consistent effort. Not this apathetic, casual indifference that we're currently seeing! Lastly, How long does it take for him to figure out his rotations. It's really not that difficult. Play what's shown to be effective, and adjust accordingly to compliment a players skillset and create mismatches. But he's been driving certain inefficient lineups into the ground. I get that he's a really nice guy, well liked, and a decent motivator. But apart from that, does he has any proficient coaching skills to employ at all?

[Revived]

His rotations are just puzzling.

Even with Ayton out, Suns should still be good enough to beat some of the teams they’ve lost to.

Injuries can’t be an excuse. Kings have beat teams like Denver, Boston, Dallas, Utah, Houston etc without their starting PG and PF in Bagley and Fox. Even their losses have been extremely close ones like 1pt losses to Celtics, Spurs and 76ers on the road. They play hard just about every night even while significantly shorthanded.

I don’t mind losses as much as I hate them playing so lethargic. It’s understandable to play without energy for a handful of games in an 82 game season but it’s been a frequent thing lately. At least play hard even if you lose. This is something they did well in the beginning of the season but games like the ones against New Orleans (both times including the win), Orlando, Memphis, Charlotte (won but still played terrible) etc.

Defensively this Suns team may be worse than last year’s tanking Suns team. I think we’re among the dead last in most defensive metrics over the last 3-4 weeks.

[Saberestar]

His rotations are just puzzling.

Even with Ayton out, Suns should still be good enough to beat some of the teams they’ve lost to.

Injuries can’t be an excuse. Kings have beat teams like Denver, Boston, Dallas, Utah, Houston etc without their starting PG and PF in Bagley and Fox. Even their losses have been extremely close ones like 1pt losses to Celtics, Spurs and 76ers on the road. They play hard just about every night even while significantly shorthanded.

I don’t mind losses as much as I hate them playing so lethargic. It’s understandable to play without energy for a handful of games in an 82 game season but it’s been a frequent thing lately. At least play hard even if you lose. This is something they did well in the beginning of the season but games like the ones against New Orleans (both times including the win), Orlando, Memphis, Charlotte (won but still played terrible) etc.

Defensively this Suns team may be worse than last year’s tanking Suns team. I think we’re among the dead last in most defensive metrics over the last 3-4 weeks.

I disagree.

I think that our team is playing well, we are without Ayton yet, our second best player on the roster. Keep that in mind.

The Kins are 11-13, exactly like us. They are not a tougher team than us, they have had ups and downs like every other team fighting for the playoffs.

We are playing hard, I do not think effort is an issue at all. But we are not talented enough to win every single game. Just look the last game, the Grizzlies have Valanciunas, JJJ and Clarke as their frontocourt. Do you think that they are worse than Saric, Kaminsky and Baynes? They had a clear advantage there.

That Grizzlies team is a decent one, it is not crazy to lose against them. Too many good role players and Ja is the ROY.

The biggest problem to me is that Book looked hurt yesterday. His right wrist had a big bandage and he could not hit any long shot. That can be huge for us, hopefully it is not a big deal.

Monty is good. I like him and I think he is a big upgrade over Kokoskov. Not even close.

[bwgood77]

I'm sorry, But I'm starting to have real concerns with Monty's coaching ability. As I have yet to see any semblance of competent rotations, In game adjustments, Or even any evidence of quality defensive strategies, and proper application of basic team fundamentals. I'm sorry to sound harsh or critical, But we're now roughly almost a third through the season, And we are still struggling with the very same issues that we had to start the season. After every loss, I hear him say this is another learning experience. But honestly, How much learning does it take for the team to understand basic fundamentals of basketball? Also, what exactly is he teaching them if after two nearly two months into the season, they can't even perform basic defensive rotations, and fundamentals such as boxing out, help defense, and rebounding. At the very least, He should have them showing consistent effort. Not this apathetic, casual indifference that we're currently seeing! Lastly, How long does it take for him to figure out his rotations. It's really not that difficult. Play what's shown to be effective, and adjust accordingly to compliment a players skillset and create mismatches. But he's been driving certain inefficient lineups into the ground. I get that he's a really nice guy, well liked, and a decent motivator. But apart from that, does he has any proficient coaching skills to employ at all?

They had the basic fundamentals down to start the season and even Booker was saying you have to bring defense every night because offense won't always be there and shots won't always fall. Starting Kaminsky has hurt but last night he really stepped up...but of course Booker, Oubre and Saric sucked, as did Jerome.

Oubre plays WAY too much....38 minutes opposed to Bridges 21? I see him getting Nashty votes when shoting 5/13 and then he might put up some blocks but he racks up some of those other numbers simply from minutes and shoots so much. Even if Bridges doesn't start, he should certainly get as many minutes. Just dumb.

[bwgood77]

His rotations are just puzzling.

Even with Ayton out, Suns should still be good enough to beat some of the teams they’ve lost to.

Injuries can’t be an excuse. Kings have beat teams like Denver, Boston, Dallas, Utah, Houston etc without their starting PG and PF in Bagley and Fox. Even their losses have been extremely close ones like 1pt losses to Celtics, Spurs and 76ers on the road. They play hard just about every night even while significantly shorthanded.

I don’t mind losses as much as I hate them playing so lethargic. It’s understandable to play without energy for a handful of games in an 82 game season but it’s been a frequent thing lately. At least play hard even if you lose. This is something they did well in the beginning of the season but games like the ones against New Orleans (both times including the win), Orlando, Memphis, Charlotte (won but still played terrible) etc.

Defensively this Suns team may be worse than last year’s tanking Suns team. I think we’re among the dead last in most defensive metrics over the last 3-4 weeks.

I disagree.

I think that our team is playing well, we are without Ayton yet, our second best player on the roster. Keep that in mind.

The Kins are 11-13, exactly like us. They are not a tougher team than us, they have had ups and downs like every other team fighting for the playoffs.

We are playing hard, I do not think effort is an issue at all. But we are not talented enough to win every single game. Just look the last game, the Grizzlies have Valanciunas, JJJ and Clarke as their frontocourt. Do you think that they are worse than Saric, Kaminsky and Baynes? They had a clear advantage there.

That Grizzlies team is a decent one, it is not crazy to lose against them. Too many good role players and Ja is the ROY.

The biggest problem to me is that Book looked hurt yesterday. His right wrist had a big bandage and he could not hit any long shot. That can be huge for us, hopefully it is not a big deal.

Monty is good. I like him and I think he is a big upgrade over Kokoskov. Not even close.

And defense is far better than last year. I mean we are not losing by 20 or 30 points on regular basis. Some of that was lack of offense but we had Ayton every game as well as most of our scorers.

[WeekapaugGroove]

I don't think there's been a coach in the history of the NBA that the fans don't bitch about rotations.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using RealGM mobile app

[Ghost of Kleine]

I'm sorry, But I'm starting to have real concerns with Monty's coaching ability. As I have yet to see any semblance of competent rotations, In game adjustments, Or even any evidence of quality defensive strategies, and proper application of basic team fundamentals. I'm sorry to sound harsh or critical, But we're now roughly almost a third through the season, And we are still struggling with the very same issues that we had to start the season. After every loss, I hear him say this is another learning experience. But honestly, How much learning does it take for the team to understand basic fundamentals of basketball? Also, what exactly is he teaching them if after two nearly two months into the season, they can't even perform basic defensive rotations, and fundamentals such as boxing out, help defense, and rebounding. At the very least, He should have them showing consistent effort. Not this apathetic, casual indifference that we're currently seeing! Lastly, How long does it take for him to figure out his rotations. It's really not that difficult. Play what's shown to be effective, and adjust accordingly to compliment a players skillset and create mismatches. But he's been driving certain inefficient lineups into the ground. I get that he's a really nice guy, well liked, and a decent motivator. But apart from that, does he has any proficient coaching skills to employ at all?

They had the basic fundamentals down to start the season and even Booker was saying you have to bring defense every night because offense won't always be there and shots won't always fall. Starting Kaminsky has hurt but last night he really stepped up...but of course Booker, Oubre and Saric sucked, as did Jerome.

Oubre plays WAY too much....38 minutes opposed to Bridges 21? I see him getting Nashty votes when shoting 5/13 and then he might put up some blocks but he racks up some of those other numbers simply from minutes and shoots so much. Even if Bridges doesn't start, he should certainly get as many minutes. Just dumb.

Totally agree. Also Bridges should definitely be starting, So he can bring a defensive aspect to our starting lineup that has been sorely lacking for awhile now. I think that my biggest concerns though are still in seeing our inabilty to adapt to and overcome adversity, also to correct our critical errors, a lot of which are basic defensive fundamentals such as boxing out, helping on rotations and even properly hedging on the pick and roll to cut down on dribble penetration. And most of all, play with some modicum of urgency. These are all things that should be addressed and corrected as soon as their identifjed by the coach and his staff. Yet we're now almost 25 games into the season with no apparent corrections or adjustments having been made. After each loss, Monty says it's another learning moment! But when are we going to actually see what they have apparently learned?

It's just really fustrating, And It really confuses me in that at the start of the season as you even pointed out, We showed the necessary drive and desire and overall commitment to play with energy, fight for every possession and on occasion tough things out and will ourselves to a win.

But as of late, it appears that we've lost any interest in competing and fighting for the playoffs, etc. As everyone has stated, it appears that the players just continually " check out" of games emotionally , then just halfheartedly run through the motions. And after awhile, seem to just concede the game to their opponents. It's like we have no self pride, belief in ourselves, Or even the hunger to compete. We are internally weak and lacking intestinal fortitude. We have to become tougher, and play with some modicum of aggression and be out to prove something at least. Whose job is it again to keep our team properly motivated and playing optimally again? And why after so long haven't we seen these issues corrected yet?

I get that we've been a losing team for quite a long time now. But wasn't the idea with respect to the roster and front office changes built around a supposed change in culture! And the then often professed desire to fight, compete and then earn respect from the rest of the league to no longer be considered a joke of a franchise? Shouldn't that at least be a strong enough motivator to have us compete with energy, maybe even play with a " chip on our shoulder" and with a little attitude instead of just constantly rolling over and dying metaphorically of course.

I guess my point in all this rambling is in that it seems at least to me, That we as a team have chosen and apparently accepted the identity of a losing team. And perhaps we as a team just feel sorry for ourselves with our severe span of bad luck and now are obviously apathetic to the idea of losing!!!

Also, as has been already mentioned by many here, We have depth on our roster, and players who bring that energy and consistency every night. But they aren't even seeing any playing time. What good is shortening your rotation for the sake of continuity if your rotations are never adaptive, lack any semblance of energy or effort, and are only contributing to losing?

You have players that can change the teams' dynamic through energy and defense( on your roster) players such as: Carter, Diallo, Okobo, ***Bridges. So why not play them. After a full training camp and preseason and now 24 games into the season, shouldn't you as a coach have figured out your players well enough to make solid adjustments in order to correct breakdowns both offensively and defensively? I'm sorry again if I do sound harsh or overtly critical. But what good is roster depth, if you never choose to use it when you're struggling? And what good is having a coach, If he takes almost half a season to figure out his own roster and how to effectively use his own players? So with respect to Monty, Yes, he's a great guy, and a decent motivator. But given our current situation, and the continuing general apathy to our struggles. I have to wonder if we didn't need a stronger and more dominant voice to better hold players accountable, And be a leader for our team as opposed to merely a kind and forgiving, nurturing, soft spoken, and somewhat passive dynamic. Strong people ( men) are born from adversity and from adapting to it, not from being consistently coddled and nurtured. We need strong and vocal leaders for this team, someone who's willing to call our players out for their lack of effort, as opposed to simply patting them on the back and consoling them in losses. I just want him to be a mentor in times of adversity, Not be an insulator or pacifier to it. I hope that makes sense.

Again, it's merely my opinion, But I just feel like we need our coach to bring that energy, and toughness and tenacity to our team and instill that resiliency and fight,And a " Never quit" attitude to our team. And can be more than just a coach who merely consoles, forgives and acts more like a comforting friend more than a strong mentor. I'm sorry for the rant! But I like many others have many concerns and questions that I truly hope are addressed with this team.

After 10 years of losing, You'd think we'd be hungry enough to compete. I really hope that Monty and this team can get out of their own heads, pull it together and remember what it means to be a team and play like one.

[Ghost of Kleine]

His rotations are just puzzling.

Even with Ayton out, Suns should still be good enough to beat some of the teams they’ve lost to.

Injuries can’t be an excuse. Kings have beat teams like Denver, Boston, Dallas, Utah, Houston etc without their starting PG and PF in Bagley and Fox. Even their losses have been extremely close ones like 1pt losses to Celtics, Spurs and 76ers on the road. They play hard just about every night even while significantly shorthanded.

I don’t mind losses as much as I hate them playing so lethargic. It’s understandable to play without energy for a handful of games in an 82 game season but it’s been a frequent thing lately. At least play hard even if you lose. This is something they did well in the beginning of the season but games like the ones against New Orleans (both times including the win), Orlando, Memphis, Charlotte (won but still played terrible) etc.

Defensively this Suns team may be worse than last year’s tanking Suns team. I think we’re among the dead last in most defensive metrics over the last 3-4 weeks.

I disagree.

I think that our team is playing well, we are without Ayton yet, our second best player on the roster. Keep that in mind.

The Kins are 11-13, exactly like us. They are not a tougher team than us, they have had ups and downs like every other team fighting for the playoffs.

We are playing hard, I do not think effort is an issue at all. But we are not talented enough to win every single game. Just look the last game, the Grizzlies have Valanciunas, JJJ and Clarke as their frontocourt. Do you think that they are worse than Saric, Kaminsky and Baynes? They had a clear advantage there.

That Grizzlies team is a decent one, it is not crazy to lose against them. Too many good role players and Ja is the ROY.

The biggest problem to me is that Book looked hurt yesterday. His right wrist had a big bandage and he could not hit any long shot. That can be huge for us, hopefully it is not a big deal.

Monty is good. I like him and I think he is a big upgrade over Kokoskov. Not even close.

I really do appreciate your strong optimism man, it's awesome and likely needed around here to be sure. But I must disagree with you on a couple points:

- First, With regards to our team playing well ( without Ayton).

- And with respect to them playing with good effort.

- And 3rd, Not being talented enough.

So let's address our team playing well in spite of not having Ayton. I guess our definitions of playing well will just have to be of varying perspectives. We are currently 11-13, once again considered a losing ( lottery team). We haven't had a consistent win streak in over a month, over 17 games ago. Our opponents are consistently shooting over close to 50% or better against us, our defense is currently rated as one of the worst in the league. Our coach is unavailable to make even basic in game adjustments, Devin Booker ( Our proclaimed star and max player) has been wildly inconsistent and the majority consensus has been that he doesn't even show up to play (metaphorically) in terms of effort for most of the games this season.


We consistently give up leads, Then get into a YMCA style shootout with the opposing teams, Then constantly give up on defense and just concede a loss. Devin Booker, who again is our primary star should be a strong vocal leader for us, yet it looks like he could honestly care less. Really Baynes has been our only symbol of dominance and physical play. We have actual roster depth, Yet our coach refuses to actually use it. Instead stubbornly using the same shortened rotations that have quite obviously proven to be inneffective for long durations. We're relying heavily on other teams cast offs to carry us through games. And our current struggles and losing record is a direct reflection of this. As revived pointed out, Good teams don't use injuries as excuses for poor play,
They adjust, fight, hold each other accountable and overcome adversity to remain competitive.

We have yet to do that , So I am going to have to disagree with you on the perspective that we are playing well. But again, I do appreciate your loyalty and optimism. And I absolutely do hope that we can right this ship upon Aytons' return.

Next, I must unfortunately disagree with your assertion that they're playing with good effort. In the majority of our losses, We have consistently got outrebounded ( Not boxed out properly) allowed the opposing teams to get high percentage shots on the perimeter by not closing out properly ( lazy, slow defensive rotations) given up constant high percentage shots at the rim by not stopping the dribble penetration with help defense( again slow rotations). Consistently given up leads( through lack of tenacity and toughness = effort). Not gotten stops late in the game when critical posessions matter most ( either due to fatigue or indifference) but ultimately, All of these issues are honestly overcome with solid effort and intensity. Furthermore, If you look at our team's general disposition, they are appear energetic, apathetic and/or otherwise aloof in their attitude towards the outcome of the game. Where's their fight, their will to win, their hunger to be a competitive team? The energy just isn't there. It's almost as if they've already conceded the season and are just going through the motions or something.

Lastly, Not being talented enough, You actually have a fairly good argument here, As again, Our only real discernible high level of measurable talent can be tied to a couple of players alone: That of course being Booker, Ayton, Bridges, and perhaps Oubre. But apart from talent, We really aren't lacking in terms of skilled veterans. Rubio, Baynes, and even Saric or considered quality veterans for a team.


So I'd argue that it's more a matter of consistent effort than just a matter of lack of overall talent. I believe that the reality of our losses is that we have developed a " Woe is me" losers mentality, We've lost our belief in ourselves as a team, as well as our legitimacy to be considered a good team. We've had some very embarassing losses, yet have not yet shown to be a tough team that is built to overcome. We're more of a "paper tiger" in that we lack the mettle or internal strength to overcome adversity. At the first sign of struggles, We fold and then concede victory to the opposing teams with much if any resistance.

Now I will agree with you that we've improved in the capacity that we don't get consistently blown out by 20 points + as we did last year, However we still really anything more than a treadmill lottery team even with Aytons' return until we overcome this lack of consistent effort and the defeatists' mentality. This is where coach Williams needs to prove he was the right choice, make proper adjustments, properly utilize his roster depth to address potential fatigue issues and properly motivate our players with the necessary tenacity, toughness, and will to win so they can actually compete and not just give away winnable games.

[Revived]

His rotations are just puzzling.

Even with Ayton out, Suns should still be good enough to beat some of the teams they’ve lost to.

Injuries can’t be an excuse. Kings have beat teams like Denver, Boston, Dallas, Utah, Houston etc without their starting PG and PF in Bagley and Fox. Even their losses have been extremely close ones like 1pt losses to Celtics, Spurs and 76ers on the road. They play hard just about every night even while significantly shorthanded.

I don’t mind losses as much as I hate them playing so lethargic. It’s understandable to play without energy for a handful of games in an 82 game season but it’s been a frequent thing lately. At least play hard even if you lose. This is something they did well in the beginning of the season but games like the ones against New Orleans (both times including the win), Orlando, Memphis, Charlotte (won but still played terrible) etc.

Defensively this Suns team may be worse than last year’s tanking Suns team. I think we’re among the dead last in most defensive metrics over the last 3-4 weeks.

I disagree.

I think that our team is playing well, we are without Ayton yet, our second best player on the roster. Keep that in mind.

The Kins are 11-13, exactly like us. They are not a tougher team than us, they have had ups and downs like every other team fighting for the playoffs.

We are playing hard, I do not think effort is an issue at all. But we are not talented enough to win every single game. Just look the last game, the Grizzlies have Valanciunas, JJJ and Clarke as their frontocourt. Do you think that they are worse than Saric, Kaminsky and Baynes? They had a clear advantage there.

That Grizzlies team is a decent one, it is not crazy to lose against them. Too many good role players and Ja is the ROY.

The biggest problem to me is that Book looked hurt yesterday. His right wrist had a big bandage and he could not hit any long shot. That can be huge for us, hopefully it is not a big deal.

Monty is good. I like him and I think he is a big upgrade over Kokoskov. Not even close.

Effort is an issue though. Booker and Rubio both mentioned it after last night’s game and Monty Williams himself has mentioned it after several other games.

Memphis has the 3rd worst record in the West. Their far from a decent team. I can maybe understand the Suns losing to them on the road but at home with everyone back except Ayton should’ve been a blowout win imo.

Losses like the one against Houston, Lakers etc are all understandable and I completely expect losses there. But teams like Memphis, Washington, Orlando are all games the Suns gotta win imo. Not only are we not winning but we play dreadful defense to start each of those games.