Is Porter Still The Bad Guy?

[JordanL]

Just popping in cause I was curious: do Suns fans still think Terry Porter was the problem with their team?

It sucks to see what Kerr and Sarver are doing to this team because I loved the way they played...

[lilfishi22]

Quite frankly, he took on a team he shouldn't have taken on in the beginning. I'm sure Kerr would've explained to him about possible fallouts with guys like Nash, Bell, Diaw or even Shaq if Porter tried to bring in a radically new system but he took the job anyway.

He's definitely a decent coach with a good vision, but we're a win-now kinda team, we don't have time for his brand new system.

[jaypo]

I think he tried to turn the Suns into the Spurs. He had the right idea, but no one bought into the system. Nash and Amare like the run and gun offense and both suck on defense. Defense does win 'chips, so Porter tried to get them to play defense, and they rebelled.

[rsavaj]

He was never 'the bad guy'; he was simply Kerr's "yes-man", and Kerr/co. are the real idiots.

[technoviking]

To me it's like this, while these are two different sports I think the analogy holds true. Take the Cardinals for example, Ken Whisenhunt came from the Steelers smashmouth organization but say that the Cardinals didn't have the personel to do that and would be much better suited to running the high flying passing offense, in comparison Terry Porter does the exact opposite with the Suns. I'm sorry, but any coach who goes away from arguable the best pick-n-roll combo of the last decade is a moron. That's the difference between a good coach and a mediocre coach.

[WTFsunsFTW]

If you look in the dictionary for the term FUBAR, it will have a picture of the Suns offense after Porter got a hold of it. The perfect description if ever one was available.

He took something that wasn't broken and FUBARed it. And his defensive accomplishments were nothing to write home about.

Not to mention the HackaBowen
And claiming Aziubuike is not a 3 point threat
And not knowing the steps it would take to ween veterans off of a no-defense diet
And being a worse interviewee than Marion
And completely ignoring the initial and necessary steps it takes to create a chemistry and mutual respect with veteran players that have been here long before you.


He couldn't even land the head job in Detroit, where he had been an assistant for YEARS.
I admit my admiration of Porter when he was a player clouded my judgement of him at first, but I in no way currently think he is head coaching material for the NBA.

No apologies here, good riddance.

[NashtyNas]

It wasn't his fault, his system just wasn't the right fit. If there's anyone to blame, it's obviously Kerr / Sarver.

[JohnVancouver]

It wasn't his fault, his system just wasn't the right fit. If there's anyone to blame, it's obviously Kerr / Sarver.

--- Agreed, and it's worth noting that while people like JVG are calling out Nash, Hill and Shaq for not giving Porter's style a chance, Hill is on record as saying that the team collectively busted ass in training camp and the early months of the season. They began to tune out when it was apparent that it wasn't working, needed tweaking and Porter had no ideas on how to adjust his plans to fit the personnel.
Hill is not one to be talking about such things unless the situation was very bad. Nor Nash, who although he tries to give real answers to media questions is unfailingly politic while doing so.
Porter also pulled some foolish stunts like a game-day, full dress practice/walk-through in the morning. You don't get far treating All-Star and MVP vets like rookies. Things like that contributed to the team's feeling that the guy simply did not know what he was doing. If you heard any of the "wired" segments on TNT games where Porter's instructions to the troops were broadcast ... they were head-shakingly inept and unhelpful. If that was the quality of direction he was providing, I can't fault the guys for tuning out.

Porter did not seem to be a great X's and O's guys, and had, on the evidence, very little in the way of leadership and communication skills. He was brought in to improve defense - it declined appreciably. At the same time the offense marginalized Nash and Stoudamire. We ended up with the worst of both worlds. he underutilized the bench and the rookies, two problems under D'Antoni he was also supposed to address.

Other than that, he's a lovely guy, by all accounts.

[BurningHeart]

He was never 'the bad guy'; he was simply Kerr's "yes-man", and Kerr/co. are the real idiots.

Yep.

[mkot]

I don't think people (players, fans, etc.,) look at him as a bad guy, he's just dumb. Same goes to Kerr. They, along with Sarver, together ruined this team. We could've been in the playoff picture under Mike or Gentry and probably still have Boris to replace the injured Amare.

[-SDU-]

i think porter was told to help us go a certain direction which was destined to fail with our current roster

because that was so obvious it made porter look stupid but im sure he was towing the company line

[krac36]

Porter didnt do anything right.... he didnt improve defense, he just reduced the tempo of the game and stopped doing the most successful thing: pick and rolls between Nash and Stoudemire. He cannot change a Run and Gun team into a defensive juggernaut because of their score first mentality.


Defense isnt necessary to win championships..... Just offense better than the opponents defense.


I hope we make the payoffs just to keep the team together. No chance of winning

[eastsidecrossover]

No, defense wins championship krac36. There is a reason why our pathetic team has not done crap with this pu*** pushovers. If you want to win, you play at least some D.

Good take SDU.

This hiring falls squarely on Kerr's shoulders. He listened to what everyone was saying. We need a big man down low, we can’t win with a team that is all run and gun with no D. Most in here were calling for MD’s head, same with Nash because we could not play D. Now, we bring in a guy that was suppose to preach and get this team to play defense, and they never bought in.

Wrong coach, wrong team, and wrong time. Simple as that.

This team makes me sick.

[JordanL]

Interesting insight, but my question was more along the lines of "what exactly was Porter doing wrong if things haven't improved"?

I'd need to check to make sure, but I think the Suns are less than .500 since Porter was fired... what was Porter doing wrong and why hasn't it been fixed yet?

[TASTIC]

^Amare is rather a big issue that couldn't be 'fixed'...

3 straight wins is a good start...Essentially Porter put the clamps on Nash. Which is like trying to drive with the handbreak on

[toucansma]

Interesting insight, but my question was more along the lines of "what exactly was Porter doing wrong if things haven't improved"?

I'd need to check to make sure, but I think the Suns are less than .500 since Porter was fired... what was Porter doing wrong and why hasn't it been fixed yet?

The Suns won three straight, then Amare went down. Granted it was the Clippers and OKC, but still. I think Gentry has done an excellent job since he took over. He has really expanded the bench, increased the tempo, kept an emphasis on defense, and increased morale on the team. Without Amare, a rough schedule, and a full training camp, Gentry has done pretty darn well.

The biggest thing that Alvin has done has let the players play. That's what I liked about D'Antoni often. Porter did not do this. If a player makes a mistake under Porter he yelled at them and then pulled them. Gentry lets them play through it. Since NBA players are so close in terms of athleticism (the overall picture obviously), that the mental part of the game is huge. Porter was severely limiting the abilities of many of these players I think.

[Donald Kaufman]

Defense isnt necessary to win championships..... Just offense better than the opponents defense.

That you, D'Antoni?