Hoopsworld: Suns Losses Are on the players, Not Coach

[mkot]

We all wanted D'Antoni's head, and we now know we were wrong. In some sorts we are partially to blame as the fans also contribute to media hype, which in turn lead to D'Antoni's internal pressure and his decision to leave.

I disagreed. I'd never want MikeD gone. I, along with some other posters here, always thought he's the best coach we could have at that moment and that he had done a good job to take the team as far as he could. He has his flaws but I'd take it with the good and I'm always hopeful for his adjustments made throughout the season and during playoffs. Kerr should take the most blame for MikeD's leaving.

[rsavaj]

We all wanted D'Antoni's head, and we now know we were wrong. In some sorts we are partially to blame as the fans also contribute to media hype, which in turn lead to D'Antoni's internal pressure and his decision to leave.

I disagreed. I'd never want MikeD gone. I, along with some other posters here, always thought he's the best coach we could have at that moment and that he had done a good job to take the team as far as he could. He has his flaws but I'd take it with the good and I'm always hopeful for his adjustments made throughout the season and during playoffs. Kerr should take the most blame for MikeD's leaving.

PREACH IT BROTHER!

[NashtyNas]

No, the coach IS to blame. Terry Porter is not fit to be a head coach; AT ALL.

[Gorilla Warfare]

Correction, i blame harshey1388

great suns input bro, you're using your membership/account well.

i do not know how to argue with that awesome point you are making. BOW to your knowledge.

Why thank you good sir.

[The Diesel]

D'Antoni is a million times better than Porter.

[Frank Lee]

......Its a hierarchy. Kerr wants a guy he can control, and he can control Porter moreso than MikeD, Saunders or some other big name high paid coach.

This, in a nut shell, is the root of our problem. Trouble is, with 5% ownership, the Kerr-laid will continue to flow....regardless.

And with this mindset, What coach will/would want to come here ? The players must know this and its only a matter of time till this over all frustration boils over, beginning the exodus.

[rsavaj]

The Bad

Phoenix Suns: Before moving on to Terry Porter, please note that I believe the franchise and previous coach Mike D'Antoni should be granted equal credit for sabotaging what had been a great situation.
Did the Suns win anything significant in D'Antoni's seven-seconds-or-less system? No, but they certainly were close enough two years ago that a personnel tweak (or less stubbornness when the subject of defense was raised) could have enabled a title run to happen if the Suns stayed the course.

In Porter, Phoenix now employs a coach who tries to emphasize defense and presides over a squad that has fallen from 16th to 25th in defensive efficiency. Sure, it's no hayride when your three best players would have trouble guarding a bear in a phone booth.

Interesting that the hue and cry regarding defense was followed by the trading of the team's two best defenders (Shawn Marion and Raja Bell). The Bell (and Boris Diaw) trade did yield a talented scorer in Jason Richardson; imagine what the Suns would be like with D'Antoni still here to coach him.

The lesson: try to avoid running off a really good coach if you don't have someone at least as good waiting to take his place.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/9121 ... 162&ATT=73

[NetsForce]

Hoopsworld writes worse articles than RealGM posters make threads on the general board.

[The Hypnotoad]

I blame coach Porter ENTIRELY for our situation. He is out of his league.

And Nash too, its time. Trade him NOW!!!

[rsavaj]

How would we become better by trading Nash?

[garrick]

When we lose, our bench players have been giving us very little production, Barnes and Barbosa have been invisible lately.
Another thing is that we really are not incorporating J Rich into the offense very much, at times he is delegated to being a spot up 3pt shooter.

I hate to say it but with Shaq being in good shape and being such a offensive weapon it's kind of hurting the team because this team was not built around Shaq. It was built around Nash and Amare and the SSOL offense and unless you make a huge overhaul of the team we're not going to be successful running the offense through Shaq.

[mkot]

I hate to say it but with Shaq being in good shape and being such a offensive weapon it's kind of hurting the team because this team was not built around Shaq. It was built around Nash and Amare and the SSOL offense and unless you make a huge overhaul of the team we're not going to be successful running the offense through Shaq.

This is spot on. And it's not like no one has seen this coming. When the trade is made some of us were talking about how this trade made us a DIFFERENT team not necessarily an IMPROVED team. And we're just seeing the result now. But I still believe that the trade has to be made to compete with teams like the Lakers and Spurs. It's just a matter of the coach to play to the strengths of all the players on the floor. Remember the 'triangle' play MikeD installed to run through the offense through Shaq? Remember how we still run with or without Shaq on the floor? What we need is balance, but Porter didn't see it that way.

[Gorilla Warfare]

I FINALLY FOUND THE SOLUTION TO ALL THE SUNS PROBLEMS!

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/t ... &te=&cash=

[Gorilla Warfare]

or maybe try this one on for size...

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/t ... &te=&cash=

[blackjays]

Pretty much what garrick but even more so; the Suns have too many all-star players, too many 'me' guys. It's not simply about individual talents, it's about overall cohesion and combined effectiveness. The bigger picture. Right now J-Rich, Stat and Shaq could all be superstars on another team. But on this one they're supposed to play their respective 'role', that ain't happening.

Oh, and they need to fire Porter.