Mike D'Antoni's Bad Luck...

[The Diesel]

Hey guys,

It seems recently that Mike D's critics have said that his style of basketball can't win Championships. How can that be true when you consider that Phoenix MOST LIKELY would have won the Championships in 2005,2006, and 2007 IF:

- Joe Johnson didn't get hurt

- Amare didn't get hurt

- Amare and Diaw weren't suspended

Why have so many people criticized D'Antoni when the team has gotten so unlucky in recent years?

I mean, the bad luck continued this year when Hill got injured after the team won 15 of their last 20 games in the regular season.

Mike D is arguably the best coach in the NBA and I think Phoenix would have 3 Championships by now if not for some really bad luck.

Why so much criticism of him and his style of basketball supposedly not being able to win Championships when you consider all the bad luck in recent years?

Man, I wish he stayed. I think he would have stayed if Kerr didn't make that stupid trade.

Marion was the PERFECT fit for Phoenix.

The team is really going to miss him and I think Shaq is going to disrespect Porter as much as he disrespected Stan van Gundy.

I wouldn't be surprised one bit if Shaq doesn't even finish this next season with Phoenix.

I just don't see him and Porter getting along.

[rsavaj]

But MIke was a joke of a coach, don't you see? He took us to two WCFs and led us to our winningest stretch in 4 years! That means he sucks! He's atrocious!!!

btw, I think the reason that our fanbase gets such a bad rap is that we keep playing the "what-if" card...in the end, history won't remember those what-ifs.

I wish Marion stayed, and I wish D'Antoni stayed, and I'm not going to pull the "just move on" card, because I'm personally still reeling at how it all ended so suddenly, but eventually, we're going to have to begrudgingly(or enthusiastically) accept this new team.

[The Diesel]

That's my problem; why so much criticism of him by certain people?

The guy is an amazing coach and I would take him over Porter ANYDAY.

He just got unlucky year after year after year.

But he's a great X's and O's coach and players LOVE to play for him.

I'm telling you, Shaq and Porter won't get along and this trade will only continue to look worse.

Why couldn't Mike just stay one more year?!

Things were looking so promising under him towards the end of the season after the trade until Grant went down...

[Miklo]

I think generally the major complaint, and a valid one, about DA is a sustainability issue. He runs 7 guys into the ground and refuses to develop young talent. Sorry, but I don't want to come close to championship (which you can make excuses about, but we really didn't have the D to move on in most cases) and then become a 15 reg season game winner once Nash and Shaq and Hill get older and Amare opts out accordingly (since no moves are made to sustain it, no way he would have stayed - still questionable now).

And I legitimately don't know exactly what the term "X's and O's" coach means, but under the assumption that you mean playmaking, DA came out a number of times and referred to only having about 6 plays. Obviously an exaggeration, but he had a bit too much of a hands-free approach, which is why we had GUIDANCE issues in the playoffs. I was just as pissed about the injuries/calls as anyone but you yourself mentioned the "what-ifs" and I feel the what-ifs are applied more to those than to the coaching. Every team has injuries, bad calls, erratic play (look at even the Celts this playoffs!), but you have to as a coach step in and demand more of the uninjured, unerratic players that you've been giving minutes too all season to prepare for these what-ifs (oops, that's arguably why these things you complain of had a greater effect than they should have!)

[The Diesel]

But injuries to players of the calibre of Joe, Amare, and Hill?

Joe was emerging as a star in 2005 and has become a superstar since then, and his injury was a huge blow against the Spurs in 2005.

Amare is the most dominant player in basketball, and missed all of 2006 and YET the team still made it to the WCF.

Then Grant Hill, a future Hall of Famer, went down injured this season.

I don't know how much more D'Antoni could have done.

He did an amazing job in Phoenix. I doubt Porter can do better.

And again, will Shaq respect him after playing for Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, and D'Antoni?

He really disrespected Stan van Gundy and I'm really worried he'll do the same to Porter.

What has Porter done as a Coach to deserve his respect?

[ma_falaa_50]

As a fan injuries happen and obstacles are put before you. MD lack of adaptability cost him his job. he was here for 4 yrs and the team didnt improve on defense, rebounding, and last year chemistry became an issue.

This was a guy who just wanted 1 championship! who didnt be;lieve in boxing out! who USED Marion then traded him to save his ass. MD was cocky and has entitlement issues. He felt that Kerr and Sarver owed him something. Kerr and Sarver wants to win a championship and they were going to do whatever they needed to in order to get that ring and MIKe just was not as commited.

MD blocked the hiring of Tom Thiboduex for the toher guy who was suppose to coach MArcus banks. what happened to marcus banks during the season? The improvement in Barbosa's play was due to Dan Dantoni not MIKE. Did u guys remember when he was the GM? he signed banks and traded Rondo?

I hate the fact that some people blame the suns not winning on "bad luck" but lets be honest was it all that there was to it?

[pidi]

first of all injuries:
he used to play his favorite 7-8 players the whole year - that imo causes injuries in the playoffs -
and no one could realy step up because they didn´t play the whole year.. he didn´t develope any kind of bench. remember jim jackson?? played solid for us and dind´t get a minute the next season.

than md thought he is the star on this team, you can hear it in every interview.

and don´t tell me that no other coach could had reached the finals with a team with nash & trix on theyre prime, amare was a beast, joe johnson played great, jim jackson and even steven hunter had goood games.

let´s see what porter can do before we judge over his head..

[The Diesel]

My issue with Porter is I don't think him and Shaq are going to get along and that alone is going to be a HUGE problem.

[Miklo]

I just don't think you have much basis for coming out and being so sure that Porter and Shaq won't get along, and that Shaq "may not even finish out this season". Shaq became a lot less of an a-hole when he joined PHX, saying that for the first time ever HE would adapt his style to fit with the TEAM. Let's face it, Shaq sees us as a project and is hungry for another ring. At this point IMO he doesn't initiate any chemistry issues. He will arguably thrive even more under Porter with a renewed focus on defense/less of a fastbreak based offense. Even if he and Porter don't gel well, its not going to be a "HUGE" problem. Shaq will still mentor Amare and Lopez even if he doesn't have a mutually respectful relationship with Porter (remember, Shaq has mad respect for Amare), and worst comes to worst he gets traded for expiring and we get huge cap relief.

[The Diesel]

That's a good point you make about the Shaq/Amare relationship. They have great respect for each-other, but is Porter the right guy to get THEIR respect?

I mean, that's a huge question mark for me. If your star players don't respect the coach, it's a problem.

But I think Shaq will WANT to end his career in Phoenix because he wanted to go to Phoenix and he loves Amare and he's also really good friends with Grant Hill; although Grant is probably going to retire after next season.

[Miklo]

You're right, that's the big question mark. When we had Frank Johnson coaching he had good interpersonal relations with the players. BUT he was too close to them, thus not commanding their respect. Porter if nothing else seems to have a head on his shoulders and he has already indicated that he is gonna show toughness as a coach. I think Amare needs that (and the question for him is does he realize it or does he take that as disrespect), and I think Shaq will respect Porter's toughness as I feel that Shaq is a player who truly senses weakness among coaching staff. But you're certainly right in that Shaq and Amare need the right type of coach due to their egos.

[eastsidecrossover]

Well he is obviously one of the better coach's in the league, and has been. But you are only as good as your roster is. He took a team that had some talent, got a pg and players that worked well with his style. As the roster changed and other teams were ready for the run and gun style, he reluctily would not change, or address weakness in his team or coaching style. That is what makes him not a great coach (+ not winning a championship)

JJ's injury sucked, but I do not in any way see us getting past the spurs that year.

Next year, amare was a big blow in our run, but doris stepped up and a motivated team and TT came to the squad. Bell got hurt in the dallas series which hurt us.

The year after that, Doris and Amare coming off the bench hurt, but you know what, if he was not so damn ignorant and would have gone deeper than 7 guys, we could have won game 5 without amare and doris. Are team was so hyped for this game and it showed until he once again, ran 5 guys into the ground. When he did try a guy or two, he did not stick with them, and they looked lost b/c of his coaching flaws druing the season.

Bad luck yes, but also bad coaching decisions that hurt this team. They had a chance to win, but the rest of the nba has catched up, and he has not brought anything new to the table.

Even tho I hate this guy, MD is not even close to pops or Phil J. they go deep into their bench, saving their starts and vets legs for the most important time of the year.......the playoffs. Jackson roster really is not that good, and he put his faith and played the young guys in creating one of the deepest bench's in the game. these cats were not top 10 pics either.

MD did not really coach, he did not teach, and he did not lead his team like a coach should. I liked him, but he was bigger than the team, and he was going to live and die by his system. All he had to do is tweek a few things, thats it, but he was too ignorant to see it.

[eastsidecrossover]

If this years team can in some way find that same fire and determination they did in the 05/06 season, hell, they can win it. As of now, even with a new coach, I dont see that in this team.

[lilfishi22]

We have had some bad luck over the years down the stretch, but it does come to a point where you can't blame things on bad luck. Yes injuries have been a big issue, but look at the year when Amare was out with knee surgery, and we still got to the WCF! MD made it work throughout the whole season without Amare and still got us to the WCF. But if he can do that, then you really can't blame bad luck on losing in the first round to spurs or when we lost JJ. It just got to the point where we has to start blaming someone because bad luck just can't be an excuse 3 seasons in a row. Someone had to take the blame, and people pointed their finger at MD.

I do agree MD is the best coach for this team, but when it came down to crunch time, he chokes and playing his 6-7 players into the ground during the regular season really hurt us. When you play the same group of guys through 35minutes a game for 82 games, the chances are someone will get injured. The only thing I would say is bad luck is timing of the injuries.

But really, its just a whole lot of what-ifs, and that sorta BS is just holding us back, as a fan you do have the right to an opinion to who is to blame, but MD is long gone now, we gotta look to the future and hope Porter can guide our guys to a championship.

[NashtyNas]

But MIke was a joke of a coach, don't you see? He took us to two WCFs and led us to our winningest stretch in 4 years! That means he sucks! He's atrocious!!!
btw, I think the reason that our fanbase gets such a bad rap is that we keep playing the "what-if" card...in the end, history won't remember those what-ifs.

I am one that critizies Mike, and not for his coaching style, but for the mistake's he made when he was our GM. My biggest problem is why he ever decided not to draft a quick, agile, pass first gaurd who could have defended so well and changed a lot on our team. Only because he couldn't shoot? That's what i grudge him most for, maybe because i play like Rondo and love this guy, but come on. Everyone has flaws, he wouldve been perfect with all the other shooters we had. But like you said, the What-If's arent going to matter in the future. People will forget 5 years from now what happend in the 2007 WCF and the Spurs will remain champions, just like how the referees made the Lakers win and they will remain champs even though the Kings won that year (2003). But in my eyes, we will always be in the champs in 2007. The league is (Please Use More Appropriate Word) not to understand when to use the rules and when to restrict them or bend them. The Spurs are the dirtiest players in the world, but then again, they do what it takes to win.

[The Diesel]

The only thing that Mike D did last season that really made me upset (and still does) is why on earth he played the starters against Portland in the last game of the regular season.

I mean, ESPECIALLY Grant Hill! He got hurt in that game, and it was really dumb to risk having the starters get hurt and that's exactly what happened.

The team's best all-round player got hurt and it really hurt the team in the playoffs.

That was a dumb decision by Mike and it still makes me upset.

Grant is injury-prone and to risk playing him was a really stupid move and it backfired.

[WTFsunsFTW]

You're delusional, Diesel.

Free agents AVOIDED Dantoni. He was constantly outcoached, had horrible time out management, horrible playtime management, and under-emphasized defense. He is an idiot savant in every context of the word. He was brilliant on offense, but a one trick pony. Once the rest of the league caught on, our team was less and less consistent in their execution.

He also preferred to throw temper tantrums and yell uncontrollably than get the refs on his side.

Epic failure.

[pidi]

You're delusional, Diesel.

Free agents AVOIDED Dantoni. He was constantly outcoached, had horrible time out management, horrible playtime management, and under-emphasized defense. He is an idiot savant in every context of the word. He was brilliant on offense, but a one trick pony. Once the rest of the league caught on, our team was less and less consistent in their execution.

He also preferred to throw temper tantrums and yell uncontrollably than get the refs on his side.

Epic failure.

especialy bad timeout managment when we didn´t score like seven minutes in the sa series - hell
what the holy... i screamed in here to call a timeout.

but we shouldn´t blame him now he´s gone. i wish him best luck and hope we´ll see him again in the finals...

[walkingart]

I think all of Mike D's problems are summoned up in one word, arrogance.

His lack of adapting and holier than thou attitude proved to be his demise.

He was successful in Europe, but they also play a much shorter season. His first two season in the NBA were nothing to write home about, and then they added Nash to the team. He is an above average coach, but in no way is he great.

Porter will demand Shaq's respect, and if he doesn't get it, he will take it. That's the way he played and that is who he is as a person. You want to compare one of the toughest guys to ever play in the NBA to Stan Van Gundy. You'll be lucky if Porter doesn't reach out of your monitor and knock some sense into you!

[-SDU-]

yeah thanks for bringing all that back up diesel